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32 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Acid desposition
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Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by bruning fossil fules, enter the atmosphere-where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid-and return to Earth's surface.
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Acid precipitation
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Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog.
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Active solar energay systems
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Solar energy system that collects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovaltaic cells or flat-plate collectors.
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Air pollution
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Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level than occurs in average air.
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Animate power
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Power supplied by animals or people.
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Biochemical oxygen demand
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Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution.
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Biomass fuel
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Fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste.
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Breeder reactor
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A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium.
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Chlorofluorocarbo (CFC)
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A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers.
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Desertification
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Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily becaude of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.
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Fission
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The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy.
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Fossil fuel
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Energy source formed from the resuidue of platns and animals buried millions of years ago.
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Fusion
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Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium.
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Geothermal energy
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Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks.
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Green Revolution
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Rapid diffusion of new agricultral technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.
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Greeenhouse effect
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Anticipated increase in Earth's temperature, caused by carbon dioxide trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface.
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Hydroelectric power
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Power generated from moving water.
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Inanimate power
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Power supplied by machines.
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Nonrenewable energy
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A source of energy that is a finite supply capable of being exhausted.
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Ozone
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A gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation, found in the stratosphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers above Earth's surface.
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Passive solar energy systems
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Solar energy system that collects energy without the use of mechanical devices.
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Photochemical smog
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An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions.
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Photovoltaic cell
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Solar energy cells, usually made from silicon, that collect solar rays to generate electricity.
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Pollution
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Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate.
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Potenial reserve
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Then amount of energy in desposits not yet identified but though to exist.
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Proven reserve
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The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits.
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Radioactive waste
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Particles from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation; contact with such particles may be harmful or lethal to people and must therefore be safely stored fro thousands of years.
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Renewable energy
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A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans.
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Resource
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A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologicaly feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use.
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Sanitary landfill
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A palce to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires, and to discourage vermin.
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Sustainble agriculture
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Farming methods that preserve longterm productivity of land and and minimize pollution, typically by rotating soil-restoring crops with cash crops and reducing inputs of fertilizer and pesticides.
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Sustainable development
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The level of development that can be maintained in a country without depleting resources to the extent that future generations will be unable to achieve a comparable level of development
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