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esm terms
list 3
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| where rivers meet seas. highly productive coastal ecosystem facing increasing stress from human activities | estuaries |
| land areas covered with water all or part of the year | coastal wetlands |
| lands covered with freshwater all or part of the time and located away from coastal areas. marshes, swamps, prairie potholes | inland wetlands |
| one way to protect undeveloped lands from human exploitation is by setting them aside legally as undeveloped land | wilderness |
| the process of repairing damage caused by humans to the biodiversity and dynamics of natural ecosystems. ex-replanting forests | ecological restoration |
| diversity of the earth's species, the genes they contain, the ecosystems in which they live, and the ecosystem processes of energy flow and nutrient cycling that sustain all life | biological diversity/biodiversity |
| process affecting the number and types of species on the earth in which an entire species ceases to exist | extinction |
| species that are found in only one area. they are especially vulnerable to extinction | endemic species |
| as local environmental conditions change, species disappear at a low rate | background extinction |
| a significant rise in extinction rates above the background level | mass extinction |
| the fact that these components of biodiversity exist, regardless of their use to us | intrinsic value |
| their usefulness to use in the form of economic and ecological services | instrumental value |
| has so few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct over all or most of its natural range | endangered species |
| still abundant in its natural range but because of declining numbers, is likely to become endangered in the near future | threatened species |
| conservation biologists summarize the most important secondary causes of premature extinction using this acronym. Habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation, Invasive species, Population growth, Pollution, Climate change, and Overexploitation | HIPPCO |
| by roads, logging, agriculture, and urban development. occurs when a large continuous area of habitat is reduced in area and divided into smaller, more scattered, and isolated patches or habitat islands | habitat fragmentation |
| indigenous people in much of west and central africa have sustainably hunted wildlife as a source of food/protein for centuries | bush meat |
| preserve genetic information and endangered plant species by storing their seeds in refrigerated, low humidity environments | gene/seed bank |
| some or all of the wild individuals of a critically endangered species are captured for breeding in captivity, with the aim of reintroducing the offspring into the wild | captive breeding |
| the growth of low-density development on the edges of cities and towns gobbling up the surrounding countryside is a major problem | urban sprawl |
| being exposed to sounds that cause you to raise your voice to be heard, ringing ears, muffled hearing. | noise pollution |
| the enormous amount of heat generated by cars, factories, furnaces, lights, air conditioners, and heat absorbing dark roofs and streets in cities create this that is surrounded by cooler suburban and rural areas | urban heat islands |
| artificial lights make it difficult for observers to enjoy the night sky. affects some plants and animal species | light pollution |
| tenements and rooming houses where 3-10 people live in a single room | slum |
| people live on the outskirts of cities, some perched precariously on steep hillsides subject to landslides. built from scavenged materials | squatter settlements/shantytowns |
| one way to encourage more environmentally sustainable development that requires less dependence on cars, controls and directs sprawl, and reduces wasteful resource use | smart growth |
| consists of discarded tv sets, cell phones, computers, toys and other electronic devices. fastest growing solid waste problem in the US | electronic waste/e-waste |
| any unwanted or discarded material we produce that is not a liquid or a gas | solid waste |
| often called garbage or trash which consists of the combined solid waste produced by homes and workplaces in a municipal area | municipal solid waste (MSW) |
| produced by mines, agriculture, and industries that supply people with goods and services | industrial solid waste |
| major category that threatens human health or the environment | hazardous/toxic waste |
| a variety of strategies for both waste reduction and waste management | integrated waste management |
| involves cleaning and using materials over and over and thus increasing the typical life span of a product. rely more on items that can be used repeatedly instead of on throwaway items | reuse |
| involves reprocessing discarded solid materials into new, useful products. separate paper, glass, cans, plastics, metal, and other items, and buy products made from these materials | recycling |
| one way to recycle is to send mixed urban wastes to these. machines and workers separate the mixed waste to recover valuable materials for sale to manufacturers as raw materials | materials-recovery facilities |
| approach that produces much less air and water pollution and has lower start up costs | source separation |
| simple process in which we copy nature by using decomposing bacteria to recycle some of the yard trimmings, food scraps, and other biodegradable organic wastes we produce | composting |
| boil water to make steam for heating water or space or for producing electricity | waste-to-energy incinerators |
| essentially fields or holes in the ground where garbage is deposited and sometimes covered with soil. rare in developed countries but widely used in developing countries | open dumps |
| solid wastes are spread out in thin layers, compacted, and covered daily with a fresh layer of clay or plastic foam, which helps keep the material dry and reduces leakage of contaminated water from it | sanitary landfill |
| bacteria and enzymes help destroy toxic or hazardous substances or convert them to harmless compounds | bioremediation |
| involves using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from polluted soil and water | phytoremediation |
| liquid hazardous wastes are pumped under pressure through a pipe into dry, porous rock formations far beneath the aquifers tapped for drinking and irrigation water and separated from them by a layer of impervious clay | deep-well disposal |
| ponds, pits, or lagoons into which liners are placed and liquid hazardous wastes are stored | surface impoundments |
| sometimes liquid and solid hazardous wastes are put into drums or other containers and buried in these, which are carefully designed and monitored | secure hazardous waste landfills |
| permit holders use this system to keep track of waste they transfer from a point of generation to an approved off site disposal facility and they must submit proof of this disposal to the EPA | cradle to grave system |
| comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act. goals are to identify sites where hazardous wastes have contaminated the environment and to clean them up on a priority basis | superfund/CERCLA program |
| abandoned industrial and commercial sites | brownfields |
| not in my back yard approach, the waste will always end up in someone's back yard | NIMBY |
| a thick and gooey liquid consisting of hundreds of combustible hydrocarbons along with small amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities. fossil fuels | petroleum/crude oil |
| after extracted, crude oil is transported to one of these by pipeline, truck, or ship | refinery |
| some of the products for oil distillation are used as raw materials in industrial organic chemicals, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, paints, medicines, and many other products | petrochemicals |
| identified deposits from which conventional oil can be extracted profitably at current prices with current technology | reserves |
| a mixture of clay, sand, water, and a combustible organic material called bitumen | oil sand/tar sand |
| slow-flowing, dark brown, heavy. obtained when kerogen is vaporized at high temps and then condensed. can be refined to yield gasoline, heating oil, and other petroleum products | shale oil |
| a mixture of gases of which 50-90% is methane | natural gas |
| a solid fossil fuel that was formed in several stages as the buried remains of land plants that lived 300-400 million years ago were subjected to intense heat and pressure over many millions of years | coal |
| conversion of solid coal to synthetic natural gas | coal gasification |
| conversion of solid coal to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel such as synthetic gasoline or methanol | coal liquefaction |
| produce 85% of the world's nuclear generated electricity | light-water reactors |
| consists mainly of spent fuel rods from commercial nuclear power plants and assorted wastes from the production of nuclear weapons, must be stored safely for 10,000-240,000 years | high-level radioactive wastes |
| retired. the last step in the nuclear power fuel cycle | decommissioned |
| generate more nuclear fuel than they consume by converting nonfissionable uranium-238 into fissionable plutonium-239 | breeder nuclear fission reactors |
| a nuclear change in which two isotopes of light elements are forced together at extremely high temps until they fuse to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy in the process | nuclear fusion |
| involves reducing or eliminating the unnecessary waste of energy | energy conservation |
| getting more work from each unit of energy we use | energy efficiency |
| production of two useful forms of energy, such as high temp heat or steam and electricity, from the same fuel source | cogeneration/combined heat and energy (CHE) |
| energy-efficient gasoline-electric vehicle. small traditional gasoline-powered motor and an electric motor used to provide the energy needed for acceleration and hill climbing | hybrid car |
| a device that combines hydrogen gas and oxygen gas to produce electricity and water vapor, which is emitted into the atmosphere | fuel cell |
| based on energy efficient and money saving designs makes the use of solar cells, fuel cells, roof covered with soil and vegetation, and recycled materials | green architecture |
| energy efficiency design. stacking compacted bales of straw and covering the bales on the outside and inside with plaster or adobe | super-insulated house |
| covered with plants have been used for decades in parts of europe and us cities. save energy and help to preserve biodiveristy | living roofs/green roofs |
| absorbs and stores heat from the sun directly within a structure without the need for pumps or fans to distribute the heat | passive solar heating system |
| absorbs energy from the sun by pumping a heat-absorbing fluid through special collectors usually mounted on a roof or on special racks to face the sun | active solar heating system |
| can collect and transform energy from the sun into high temp thermal energy which can then be used directly or converted to electricity | solar thermal systems |
| device that converts radiant (solar) energy directly into electrical energy | photovoltaic (PV) cell/solar cell |
| uses the kinetic energy of flowing and falling water to produce electricity | hydropower |
| gas or liquid fuel made from plant material | biofuel |
| heat stored in soil, underground rocks, and fluids in the earths mantle | geothermal energy |
| warm, nutrient rich , shallow water that extends from the high tide mark on land to the gently sloping, shallow edge of the continental shelf | coastal zone |
| the area of shoreline between high and low tides | intertidal zone |
| newly formed lake generally has a small supply of plant nutrients. poorly nourished. often deep and has steep banks | oligotrophic lake |
| a lake with a large or excessive supply of nutrients needed by producers. well nourished. typically shallow and have murky water with poor visibility | eutrophic lake |
| one of our most important sources of freshwater | groundwater |
| top of the groundwater zone | water table |
| underground caverns and porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock through which groundwater flows | aquifers |
| one of our most important resources. the freshwater from precipitation and snowmelt that flows across the earth's land surface and into rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and ultimately to the ocean | surface water |
| surface water is replenished by this from precipitation and melting snow | runoff |
| the land from which surface water drains into a particular river, lake, wetland, or other bod of water | water shed/drainage basin |
| involves removing dissolved salts from ocean water or from brackish water in aquifers or lakes for domestic use | desalination |
| using drip irrigation and copying nature by replacing green lawns with native vegetation. win-win approach. reduces water use by 30-85% and sharply reduces the need for labor, fertilizer, and fuel | xeriscaping |
| when water in a stream overflows its normal channel and spills into the adjacent area. usually include highly productive wetlands | floodplain |
| any chemical, biological, or physical change in water quality that harms living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses | water pollution |
| water pollution can come from single sources, discharge pollutants at specific locations through drain pipes, ditches, or swerer lines into bodies of water | point sources |
| scattered and diffuse and cannot be traced to any single site of discharge | nonpoint sources |
| in a flowing stream, the breakdown of degradable wastes by bacteria depletes dissolved oxygen and creates this. reduces or eliminates populations of organisms with high oxygen requirements until the stream is cleansed of wastes | oxygen sag curve |
| the name given to the natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary, or slow-moving stream, mostly from runoff of plant nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates from surrounding land | eutrophication |
| near urban or agricultural areas, human activities can greatly accelerate the input of plant nutrients to a lake | cultural eutrophication |
| in rural and suburban areas with suitable soils, sewage from each house usually is discharged into this | septic tank |
| a physical process that uses screens and a grit tank to remove large floating objects and to allow solids such as sand and rock to settle out | primary sewage treatment |
| a biological process in which aerobic bacteria remove as much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable, oxygen-demanding organic wastes | secondary sewage treatment |
| the presence of chemicals in the atmosphere in concentrations high enough to harm organisms, ecosystems, or materials, or to alter climate | air pollution |
| harmful chemical emitted directly into the air from natural processes and human activities | primary pollutants (air) |
| some primary pollutants may react with one another or with the basic components of air to form new harmful chemicals | secondary pollutants (air) |
| consisting mostly of sulfur dioxide, suspended droplets of sulfuric acid, and a variety of suspended solid particles that give the resulting smog a gray color | industrial smog |
| a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants formed under the influence of UV radiation from the sun | photochemical smog |
| a layer of warm air can temporarily lie atop a layer of cooler air nearer the ground | temperature inversion |
| the falling of acids and acid forming compounds from the atmosphere to the earth's surface. known as acid rain | acid deposition |
Created by:
jesslo2006