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99 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
what is environmental science
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study of all aspects of the envt, how nature works, how humans interact with nature, how human can solve env problems
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what is sustainability
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meeting the needs of the resent in an equitable and fari fashion without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
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ecosystem
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all the organisms, and their physical and chemical envts
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biotic
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living organisms
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abiotic
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nonliving elements of the envt
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ecosystem fcts
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flow of matter and energy and the processes influencing the distribution
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ecosystem services
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things that ecosystems do for humans
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provisioning
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services/goods
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regulating
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control processes ie absorb pollutants, regulate climate
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cultural
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recreational/spiritual benefits
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supporting
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basic ecosystem processes ie decomposition, soil formation
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principles of ecosystem fct
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matter and energy are conserved, ecosystems are open, processes are self-regulated, ecosystems change
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negative feedback
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directional change reverses direction of change-stabilizes systems
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positive feedback
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directional change reinforces that change-destabilizes systesm
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what is science
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a PROCESS that poses and answers questions objectively to increase knowledge and lessen uncertainty
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ecology
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the branch of env science that focuses on the abundance and distribution of organsism in relation to their envt
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scientific process
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begins with hypothesis
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hypothesis
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alternative answers to a question that can be tested by observation or experimentation
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hypothesis must be ______
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falsifiable by observ. or exp.
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what three branches in US work together for env polic
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legislative, executive, judicial
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first major env policies
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clean air act of 70, clean water act of 72, endangered species act 73
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stakeholder involvement
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people with a personal stake in issue tend to do better job
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types of laws
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customary, conventional, judicial
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customary law
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accepted norms from long-standing precedent ie japan warning US about nuclear power plant destruction
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conventional law
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binding treaties among countries ie 1994 convention on nuclear safety
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judicial law
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based on international courts
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united nation
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54 members, UN development program, UN env program
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Regional consortia
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organization of american states, EU w/ 27 member
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international financial institutions
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world bank/regional banks, WTO
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env policy debates have 8 categories
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govt vs indiv control, competing public values, uncertainty and action, which level of govt decides, govt agency with jurisdiction, protection against selfish actions, best means to an end, political power relationships
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who taught human-centered view of nautre
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Aristotle
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american transcendental movement
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emerson, whitman, thoreau
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preservationist view of nature
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muir and pinchot
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intrinsic value
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value simply for existing
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instrumental value
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value to be used
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how many env ethics frameworks?
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3
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anthropocentric
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only humans have intrinsic value
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biocentric
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all living things have intrinsic value
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ecocentric
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communities and ecosystems have intrinsic value
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can state regulations violate federal env laws?
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no
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animisim
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belief that living and nonliving objects possess a soul or spirit
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john muir
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preservationist: parks and public lands should preserve wild nature in its pristine state
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gifford pinchot
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conservationist: view tht public resources should be used and managed in a sustainable fashion to provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people
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utilitarianism
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example of consequence-based ethics that defines right actions as those that deliver the greatest good to the greatest number of people
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virtue ethics
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action is right if motivated by virtues such as kindness, honesty, loyalty, and justice
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subsistence economy
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society meets its needs from its environment without accumulating wealth
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market economies
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production and consumption of goods and services take place in markets guided by prices based on a system of currency
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free market
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government stays out of economy
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GPI
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genuine progress indicator, GDP plus or minus economic value of enhancements or degradations to the envt
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protons
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postitive charge
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neutrons
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neutral charge
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electrons
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negative charge
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atoms of a particular element always have the same number of
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protons
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isotopes
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same number of protons, but different number of neutrons/weight/radioactivity
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covalent bond
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atoms share electrons
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nonpolar bonds
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electrons distributed evenly
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polar bond
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electrons distributed unevenly
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ionic salts
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atoms donate electrons
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dipole bonds
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electrical charge shifts
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water properties
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polar, heat causes bonds to weaken, polar=excellent solvent
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why does ph matter
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chemical reacitons in environment can only take place at a specific ph, living things can live only in narrow ranges of ph
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energy
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capacity to do work
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potential energy
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stored energy ie resting
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kinetic energy
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energy of motion
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laws of thermodynamics
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energy cannot be created or destroyed, law of entropy-energy becomes less usable per each interactions
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first law of thermodynamics
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energy cannot be created or destroyed
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second law of thermo...
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law of entropy
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forms of energy
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electromagnetic, heat, chemical, nuclear
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electromagnetic radiation
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light, short wavelength=more energy, long wavelength=less energy
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heat
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kinetic energy of molecules, conduction (collisions) convection (circulation due to density) radiation (release of electromagnetic energy) latent heat transfer (evaporation)
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chemical energy
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potential energy associated with the breakage of bonds between atoms
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nuclear energy
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contained in structure of matter itself
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energy units
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joule. calorie, watt-hour/kilowatt-hour
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population
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group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a specific area
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growth rate
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birth+immigration - death+immigration
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exponential population growth
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growth accelerates with each generation
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survivorship
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probability of an organism dying withing a particular time interval
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type 1 survivorship
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risk of death highest when old
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type 2 survivorship
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risk of death same at all ages
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type 3 survivorship
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risk of death highest when young
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fertility rate
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rate of reproduction
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total fertility rate
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potential number of offspring that an average female in a population can produce
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generation time
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difference in age between mothers and offspring
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logistic growth curve
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carrying capacity-when curve flatlines
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what are population sizes limited by
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temp, chemicals, resources, ph
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mechanisms of natural selection
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individuals within populations vary genetically and this variability is heritable, biotic and abiotic components of an organisms envt act as selection pressures, individuals that are best suited to these selection pressures leave the most offspring
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stabilizing selection
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removes all extreme characteristics
finch, soapberry bug |
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directional selection
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removes one extreme characteristic
moderate human birth rate |
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disruptive selection
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removes moderate characteristics
metal-tolerant plants |
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four types of evolutionary measures
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natural selection, mutation, genetic drift, gene flow
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mutation
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random changes in DNA
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genetic drift
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chance event changes frequency of trait, occurs in small/isolated populations
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gene flow
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transfer of genes from one population to another
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layers of atmosphere from top to bottom
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thermosphere, mesosphere, ozone layer, stratosphere, troposphere
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layers of atmosphere from bottom to top
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troposphere, stratosphere, ozone layer, mesosphere, thermosphere
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earths atmospheric composition
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78% nitrogen 21% oxygen .039% CO2
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dew point
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temperature in which relative humidity is 100%
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energy budget
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energy entering and leaving earth,
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coriolis effect
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change in wind direction due to Earths rotation
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