Keywords A Flashcards

1
Q

economically depleted

A

when a resource costs more to gather than its economic value

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2
Q

refuse

A

trash collected by municipalities from households, businesses, and institutions

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3
Q

reduce

A

to use less of something

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4
Q

anthropocentric

A

idea that humans are the center of all moral values and the cause (indirectly or directly) of environmental change

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5
Q

Endangered Species Act

A

regulated the treatment and conservation of endangered species in the U.S. and abroad (1973)

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6
Q

The Law of Demand

A

states that when prices fall, the quantity of demands lowers or quantity and price are inversely proportional

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7
Q

Gross Domestic Product

A

comprehensive measure of US economic activity or the quantitative measure of value in a market through the production of goods and services during a period of time

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8
Q

Renewable Resources

A

Resources that can be re-used or replenished

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9
Q

Nonrenewable Resources

A

resources that will run out and cannot be replenished

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10
Q

Environmental Impact Report

A

an informational document that describes the potential significant environmental events

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11
Q

Sierra Club

A

the most influential grassroots environmental organization in the U.S.

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12
Q

more developed country

A

highly industrialized country with high incomes, low birth/death rates and high industrialization and urbanization

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13
Q

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA)

A

federal authority for emergency clean-up of hazardous substances that have been released into the environment

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14
Q

The hydrological cycle

A

the water cycle AKA the path through which water travels from the atmosphere onto land and back into the air.

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15
Q

Gross primary productivity

A

the amount of carbon produced by plants (through photosynthesis) in an ecosystem within a given amount of time.

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16
Q

ecological footprint

A

the impact of a person or a community on the environment through their use of resources

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17
Q

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

A

suggests that local species diversity is maximized when ecological disturbance is neither too rare nor too frequent.

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18
Q

reuse

A

to use again or more than once

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19
Q

recycle

A

to convert (waste) into a reusable material

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20
Q

Economic growth

A

When the production of goods and services for a population increases over a period of time

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21
Q

Economic development

A

How the economy progresses to become wealthier and benefits their citizens

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22
Q

Scarcity

A

The declining availability of renewable natural resources, such as freshwater or soil.

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23
Q

Demand

A

A threat that taxes or exceeds a creature’s ability to meet a challenge.

24
Q

Resource Conservation & Recovery Act

A

A federal law which regulates land-based disposal of waste.

25
Q

Per capita

A

Biological capacity available per person

26
Q

natural capitol

A

Natural resources and environmental features in an area

27
Q

natural resources

A

Materials such as minerals, water, forest, etc. that occur in nature

28
Q

natural services(ecological)

A

resources essential for life such as clean water, shelter, food, etc.

29
Q

ecocentric

A

when one recognizes the exosphere, rather than the biosphere

30
Q

Clean Water Act

A

1972: the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States

31
Q

OSHA

A

Occupation Safety and Health Administration

32
Q

less developed country

A

low-income countries confronting severe structual impediments to sustaniable develpoment

33
Q

affluence

A

abundance of wealth and good or the consumption of high volumes of good, particularly those taken from the natural environment

34
Q

poverty

A

a serious shortage of income or of access to the range of resources that usally provide the basic necessities for life for humans

35
Q

NPP

A

the rate of accumulation of biomass or energy - net primary production (gross primary production minus the respiration by the plant)

36
Q

ecological efficiency

A

efficiency which energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next

37
Q

Ecology

A

The study of organisms and their relations to other organisms as well as their evironment

38
Q

Environmental Science

A

The study of the environment through the lenses of physics, biology and geography

39
Q

Biodiversity

A

The variety of life in an ecosystem

40
Q

Clean Air Act

A

American legislation written in 1963 intended to reduce/control air pollution levels

41
Q

GDP

A

Short for gross domestic product: the monetary measure of products produced by countries

42
Q

Biocentric

A

Believing that all life is equal; humans and other organisms deserve the same ethical level of treatment

43
Q

Developed Countries

A

Countries with a higher consumption of natural resources

44
Q

Developing Countries

A

Countries with a lower consumption of natural resources

45
Q

Globalization

A

The expansion of global networks that leads to connections based on environmental regulations

46
Q

GPI

A

genuine progress indicator which provides insight on the impact of economic activity on the environment

47
Q

The law of supply

A

The theory stating that the availability of a resource affects the demand of the resource

48
Q

micro-lending

A

the process of loaning money to help small businesses start in less developed countries.

49
Q

sustainable yield

A

the extraction level of the resource which does not exceed the growth.

50
Q

point source

A

the extraction level of the resource which does not exceed the growth.

51
Q

EPA

A

(Environmental Protection Agency) protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations.

52
Q

The National Environmental Policy Act

A

is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President’s Council on Environmental Quality. The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.

53
Q

osha act

A

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970.

54
Q

nonpoint source

A

(NPS) - pollution source that comes from multiple sources spread out over an area

55
Q

DOE

A

department of energy - whose job is to regulate and protect the energy, environment and nuclear challenges