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SS11 - Chapter 13
Counterpoints Chapter 13 Terms & Names
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Biosphere | Regions of Earth occupied by living organisms, made up of all the ecozones. |
| stewardship | The careful management of resources to ensure that they are sustainable. |
| bitumen | A black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons obtained naturally or as a residue from petroleum distillation. |
| permafrost | The artic subsoil that remains frozen all year long. |
| Northwest Passage | A water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic Archipelago of northern Canada and along the northern coast of Alaska. Reduced ice cover is making this route a possible year-round navigation route. |
| carrying capacity | The largest population that an environment can support. |
| deforestation | The process of destroying a forest and replacing it with something else. |
| arable land | A geographical term from Latin (arare, to plough), meaning land that can be used for growing crops. |
| global warming | The observed and projected increase in the earth's average temperature due to burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. |
| ecology | the science concerned with the relationship between living things and their environment. |
| Acid precipitation | any form of precipitation that is high in sulfuric and nitric acids as a result of pollution in the air. |
| Location of most of Canada's oil sands | Northern Alberta |
| Sustainable development | a way to maintain economic growth without damaging the environment. |
| Earth Summit | a meeting of world leaders, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, to discuss environmental changes and sustainable development. |
| Agenda 21 | a statement of environmental action, produced in 1992 that outlined actions that should be taken to protect the planet and achieve sustainable development. |
| herbicides | substances used to kill plants. |
| pesticides | substances used to kill pests such as unwanted plants and animals. |
| organic | grown or produced without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. |
| C02 emissions | this greenhouse gas (GHG) is caused by burning fossil fuels; largest contributor to global warming. |
| biodiversity | having a variety of life forms. |
| ecotourism | tourism to threatened areas that tries to be low-impact and small-scale. |
| watersheds | river basins drained by a river and flowing into the same large body of water. |
| groundwater | Water beneath the earth's surface, often between saturated soil and rock, that supplies wells and springs. |
| surface water | water that is readily available on Earth's surface in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and oceans. |
| wastewater | water that has been used in homes or industries and, as a result, contains waste products. |
| watermilfoil weed | a plant that grows and spreads quickly, choking out native plants, affecting spawning areas for fish, and posing a safety problem if it grows around public beaches. |
| aquifer | an underground layer of rock, gravel, etc., from which water can be drawn for wells and which is a source of springs. |
| Carbon footprint | total amount of carbon dioxide CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product or service. |
| troposphere | the lowest level of Earth's atmosphere. |
| greenhouse gas (GHG) | various gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. |
| Ultraviolet radiation (UV) | invisible ryas from the sun that can cause skin cancer. |
| ozone layer | a thin layer in the atmosphere 15-30 kilometres above Earth; it filters the sun's UV rays. |
| CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) | chemicals used in coolants, solvents, and aerosol cans that damage the ozone layer. |
| Montreal Protocol | an international agreement signed in 1987 to phase out the ozone-depleting chemicals CFCs |
| peatlands | wetlands with soil formed mostly from decomposing plants. |
| greenhouse effect | the trapping of heat in the atmosphere, causing Earth's temperature to rise. |
| carbon sink | a reservoir that can absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, including forests, peat, and oceans. |
| meltwater | melted snow or ice, including ice from glaciers |
| runoff | water from rain and melting snow that cannot be held in the soil so makes its way into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. |
| United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) | the UN's plan to keep greenhouse gas concentrations from increasing, created at the Earth Summit in 1992. |
| Kyoto Protocol | a 1997 international agreement that set binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; the average target is 5 percent of 1990 levels by 2012. |
| carbon credit | if an organization produces more greenhouse gases than it is allowed, it can purchase a credit from an organization that is below its target emission levels. Also known as a "cap & trade" |
| carbon sequestration | CO2 is collected and shipped to a geologically suitable area below layers of impermeable rock. Storage areas might be depleted fossil fuel reservoirs. |
| Greenpeace | An environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) that works to promote sustainable development and the preservation of nature. Founded in Vancouver, 1971. |
| Biofuels | A fuel derived directly from living matter. Ethanol (derived from sugar cane) is an example. |
| Northern Gateway | The name given to a proposed Embridge pipeline that will ship Alberta crude oil to Kitimat, BC for export to China. |
| Silent Spring | Title of Rachel Carson's 1962 seminal book on the impact of chemicals on the natural environment. |
Created by:
pklassen
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