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radiant energy
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sunlight.
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lignite
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the least pure coal.
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focus
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site where an earthquake begins
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deductive reasoning
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A testable prediction/general principle is derived about a specific case.
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weather
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the day-to-day variations in temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity, and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region.
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albedo
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The proportional reflectance of solar energy from Earth's surface, expressed as a percentage.
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troposphere
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Atmosphere layer nearest the Earth's surface
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biocentrism
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All of nature deserves complete respect.
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denitrification
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the process by which specialized bacteria (mostly anaerobic bacteria) convert ammonia to NOy NO2, and N2 and release it back to the atmosphere.
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acid
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Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also, a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.
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omnivores
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organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers.
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biotic
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living or derived from living things.
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symbiotic relationships
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close, prolonged associations between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but do not necessarily benefit the members.
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silviculture
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the management of forest plantations for the purpose of harvesting timber.
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Aerosols
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tiny particles of air pollution made up chiefly of sulfates, nitrates, carbon and mineral dusts. Produced from burning of fossil fuel and forests. These particles further the scattering and absorbtion of sunlight and create brighter clouds, resulting in a warmer atmosphere.
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Charles Richter
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The seismologist who invented the Richter scale in 1935
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ethics
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branch of philosophy dealing with the morals and values of life.
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tropospheric ozone
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ozone that exists in the trophosphere.
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stationary sources
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non-moving sources of pollution, such as factories.
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nitrification
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the process in which soil bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) to a form that can be used by plants; nitrate, or NO3.
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potential energy
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energy at rest, or stored energy.
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petroleum
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a hydrocarbon that forms as sediments are buried and pressurized.
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primary treatment
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when physically treated sewage water is passed into a settling tank, where suspended solids settle out as sludge; chemically treated polymers may be added to help the suspended solids separate and settle out.
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salinization
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the process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until, finally, the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.
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r-selected
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organisms that reproduce early in life and often and have a high capacity for reproductive growth.
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lithosphere
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the outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.
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conservation
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the management or regulation of a resource so that its use does not exceed the capacity of the resource to regenerate itself.
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global warming
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an intensification of the Greenhouse Effect due to the increased presence of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
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contour farming a process in which rows of crops are plowed across the hillside; this prevents the erosion that can occur when rows are cut up and down on a slope.
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fossil fuel
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a hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.
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abiotic
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Pertaining to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving.
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chemical weathering
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the result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.
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Green Revolution
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the development and introduction of new varieties of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.
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Agricultural Revolution
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a significant change in agriculture that occurs when there are discoveries, inventions, or new technologies that change production
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polar easterlies
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one of three kinds of prevailing winds, these winds come from the northeast (near the North Pole) and the southeast, near the South Pole
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Coriolis Effect
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The influence of the Earth's rotation, which tends to turn fluids (air and water) toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
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blind experiments
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An experiment where the subjects don't know they are involved until after everything is over.
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inherent value
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worthy of value simply because you exist.
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clay
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the finest soil, made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.
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risk management
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using strategies to reduce the amount of risk (the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen).
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earthquake
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the result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary.
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sludge processor
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a tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage.
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convection
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the vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.
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fission
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a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments, usually two fragments of comparable mass, releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy.
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fly ash
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a waste product produced by the burning of coal.
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wastewater
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any water that has been used by humans. This includes human sewage, water drained from showers, tubs, sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, water from industrial processes, and storm water runoff.
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Superfund Program
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a program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals; identifies pollutants and cleans up hazardous waste sites.
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toxicity
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the degree to which a substance is biologically harmful.
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Frontier Worldiew
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Viewing undeveloped land as a hostile wilderness to be conquered cleared, planted and exploited for its resources as quickly as possible
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upwelling
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This is what it is called when deeper ocean water comes to the surface
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Richter Scale
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A way to measure the magnitude of energy released by an earthquake. Invented by Charles Richter in 1935.
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mineral deposit
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an area in which a particular mineral is concentrated, mining,the excavation of the Earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.
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logistic population growth
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when populations are well below the size dictated by the carrying capacity of the region they live in, they will grow exponentially, but as they approach the carrying capacity, their growth rate will decrease and the size of the population will eventually become stable.
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Half-life
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the amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to disappear.
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Headwaters
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the water from which a river rises; a source.
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demographic transition model
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a model that's used to predict population trends based on the birth and death rates as well as economic status of a population.
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passive solar energy collection
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the use of building materials, building placement, and design to passively collect solar energy that can be used to keep a building warm or cool.
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Slash and burn cultivation
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Cutting down trees and other vegetation in a patch of forest, leaving the cut vegetation on the ground to dry, and then burning it. The ashes that are left add nutrients to the nutrient-poor soils found in most tropical forest areas. Crops are planted bet
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deep well injection
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drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste.
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Second Law of Thermodynamics
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says that the entropy (disorder) of the universe is increasing. One corollary of the Second Law of thermodynamics is the concept that, in most energy transformations, a significant fraction of energy is lost to the universe as heat.
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traditional subsistence agriculture
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when each family in a community grows crops for themselves and rely on animal and human labor to plant and harvest crops.
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riparian right
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the right, as to fishing or to the use of a riverbed, of one who owns riparian land (the land adjacent to a river or stream).
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Information and Globalization Revolution
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Use of new technologies such as the telephone, radio, television, computers, the Internet, automated databases, and remote sensing satellites to enable people to have increasingly rapid access to much more information on a global scale
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