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SS3201 - 12.0
Human Environmental Interactions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| land degradation | Any deterioration of the productive capacity of the soil for present or future use. |
| deforestation | The clearing of forest land for agricultural or other uses. |
| sustainability | The ability to meet our current needs while also ensuring that future generations can meet our needs. |
| erosion | The weathering (breakdown of land surface) and the carrying away of weathered materials by various agents such as wind and water. |
| pollution | The presence of harmful substances (ex. chemicals or solid waste), light, or noise in the environment. |
| chemical soil degradation | The deterioration of soil as a result of acidification, loss of nutrients, toxic chemical pollution, or salination. |
| leaching | The loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil due to rain and irrigation. |
| salination | An increase in the concentration of soluble salts in the soil to the point where the soil becomes toxic for plant growth. |
| physical soil degradation | The reduction in land productivity caused by soil compaction, waterlogging, or subsidence. |
| desertification | A process by which an arid or semi-arid area losses its fertility. this could be due to drought or human activities. |
| solid waste management | The disposal of garbage through various means, such as compacting, incineration, landfills, or recycling. |
| groundwater | Water that exists in rock layers and loose materials below Earth's surface. |
| famine | A severe, short-term shortage of food caused by a temporary failure of food production or food distribution systems. |
| food insecurity | Not having reliable access to adequate amounts of food in order to maintain one's health. |
| intensive farming | High yield farming that occurs on relatively small amounts of land. |
| extensive farming | Low yield farming that occurs on relatively large amounts of land. |
| green revolution | A period of agricultural innovation that took place in the world after 1945 that increased the yields of crops dramatically. |
| monoculture | An agricultural practice in which a single crop is planted over a large area. |
| biotechnology | The field of study that manipulated biological processes for agricultural and industrial purposes (ex. genetic engineering). |
| genetically modified organisms | Species whose genetic structure has been changed by humans to give them characteristics deemed desirable or beneficial. |
| GMOs | genetically modified organisms |
| corporate farming | Large scale food production industry that is owned and operated by corporations. These corporations often produce the inputs required for agriculture (e.g., fertilizers, seeds, machinery). |
| groundwater | Water that exists in the loose materials below the Earth's surface. |
| global commons | Earth's natural resources, such as the oceans or the atmosphere, that have no political boundaries. |
| sewage waste | Wastewater that is composed of water from toilets, sinks, washing machines and runoff from streets. |
| chemical waste | Wastewater from industrial production that contains chemical used in processing materials. |
| agricultural waste | Wastewater runoff from farms that can lead to problems for fish and other aquatic organisms. |
| aquifer | A type of groundwater. Water that has filtered down through the soil and by the force of gravity is pushed into cavities, fissures in the rock and loose sediments found underground. |
| fresh water | Water with low concentrations of salts (ex. glaciers, groundwater, lakes, rivers and streams. |
| salt water | Water with high concentrations of salts (ex. oceans and seas). |
| desalination | The process of removing minerals from salt water so it becomes drinkable. |
| fossil water | Water that fell as rain and was stored in groundwater usually in aquifers. |
| tragedy of the commons | The theory that when people or companies use a shared resource each makes a decision based on their own self-interest and not for the good of the resource. |
| aquaculture | The raising of fish and shellfish in various types of fresh or saltwater fish farms. |
| irrigation | Taking water from natural sources to water farmland. |
| dams | A form of large-scale water use where rivers are blocked to create reserves of water or to generate electricity. |
| greenhouse gases | Atmospheric gases, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, that trap heat as it rises from the Earth and help to maintain higher temperatures on Earth. |
| conventional energy sources | Sources of energy that have been used for a long period of time (coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, nuclear power). |
| coal | A carbon-rich sedimentary rock that burns and is used for electricity generals and production of steel. |
| hydroelectric | Using flowing water usually create by constructing dams to generate electricity. |
| natural gas | A fossil fuel in a gas form that is used as a fuel for heat or generating electricity. |
| nuclear power | Using nuclear reactions to generate electricity. |
| oil | A fossil fuel that is processed into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as well as other products. |
| alternative energy sources | These are sources of energy that are alternatives to conventional energy sources (ex. biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, oil sands, hydrological fracturing). |
| biomass | It is any renewable organic matter that can be use to generate electricity, create heat etc. |
| geothermal | Using the heat that is naturally deep in the Earth to create direct heating and cooling and for electricity. |
| solar | Using photovoltaic cells to directly generate electricity. |
| wind | Using wind power to generate electricity. |
| oil sands | Sandy deposits that contain bitumen a solid form of oil. |
| hydrological fracturing (fracking) | Pumping high pressure fluids water chemicals and sand deep underground to fracture the shale rock and release the oil contained between the layers of rock. |
| hydricity | An energy system based on the production and consumption of hydrogen and electricity. |
| carbon cycle | A natural cycle in which carbon moves throughout the environment. |
| anthropogenic greenhouse gases | Greenhouse gases created by human activities. |
| climate change | A change in global or regional climate patterns. In particular the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and what that will do to climate patterns. |
| Paris agreement | A legally binding international treaty in which countries agree to limit the amount of carbon they release so that Earth's average temperature will not increase more than 2 degrees Celsius. |
| cap and trade | A method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging producers to sell the carbon credit that they do not use. |
| carbon tax | A method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by taxing products and services based on their total carbon emissions. |
| geo-engineering | A term used to describe technological responses to the problem of climate change. |
Created by:
craigcgilbert
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