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Intro to ES
Basic terms for environmental science
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Environmental Science | study of the air, water, and land surrounding an organism or a community and how humans have impacted it |
| Closed system | nothing significant enters or leaves the system. |
| Ecology | the study of interactions of living organisms with one another and with their environment |
| Renewable reources | these resources can be replaced relatively quickly by natural processes (energy from the sun, water, wood, soil, air) |
| Non-renewable resource | these resources form at a much slower rate than they are used (salt, sand, clay iron, aluminum, copper, fossil fuels) |
| Biodegradable | can be broken down by natural processes (paper, food scraps, etc.) |
| Nondegradable | cannot be broken down by natural processes (mercury, plastic, etc.) |
| Ecological footprint | a calculation of the amount of Earth area needed to support one person |
| Sustainability | the ability of the human population to survive indefinitely while human needs are met |