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host-specific.

capable of living solely on or in one species of host, as a parasite that infests only chickens.

Family planning

"Family planning benefits the health and well-being of women and families throughout the world. Using contraception can help to avoid unwanted pregnancies and space births; protect against STDs, including HIV/AIDS; and provide other health benefits."

evolution

(1) The change in genetic composition of a population over successive generations, which may be caused by natural selection, inbreeding, hybridization, or mutation. (2) The sequence of events depicting the evolutionary development of a species or of a group of related organisms; phylogeny. In order for evolution to occur, there must be genetic variation. Genetic variation brings about evolution. Without it there will be no evolution. There are two major mechanisms that drive evolution. First is natural selection. Individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to reproduce successfully, passing these traits to the next generation. This kind of evolution driven by natural selection is called adaptive evolution. Another mechanism involves genetic drift, which produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. Evolution that arises from genetic drift is called neutral evolution.

ecosystem

A system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in an area as well as its physical environment (abiotic factors) functioning together as a unit. An ecosystem is made up of plants, animals, microorganisms, soil, rocks, minerals, water sources and the local atmosphere interacting with one another.

evaporation definition

. The changing of a liquid into a gas, often under the influence of heat (as in the boiling of water). (See vaporization.) Note: The evaporation of water from the oceans is a major component in the hydrologic cycle.

filtration.

1) The movement of water and solutes across the cell membrane due to hydrostatic pressure from the cardiovascular system. (2) The process of separating suspended particles from the fluid through a porous material in which the fluid can pass while the suspended particles are retained.

first-generation pesticides.

1st Generation pesticides are simple, usually very toxic chemicals which harm almost everything they come into contact with Considered to be any type of pesticide used large-scale before 1950's both inorganic compounds and botanical pesticides Inorganic compounds include sulfur, arsenic, calcium arsenate, copper acetoarsenite, hydrogen cyanide, mercury, lead, Highly toxic Persistent Accumulate Non-specific Botanical compounds include nicotine sulfate, rotenone, pyrethrum, and chlordecone Usually non-persistent Highly toxic

industrialized countries

A developed country, industrialized country, or "more economically developed country" (MEDC), is a sovereign state that has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations.

fragmentation.

A form of asexual reproduction wherein a parent organism breaks into fragments, each capable of growing independently into a new organism. (2) The breaking into smaller parts.

gasohol.

A fuel consisting of a blend of ethyl alcohol and unleaded gasoline, especially a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

GENE

A gene is the molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is used extensively by the scientific community as a name given to some stretches of deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and ribonucleic acids (RNA) that code for a polypeptide or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains. Genes hold the information to build and maintain an organism's cells and pass genetic traits to offspring. All organisms have genes corresponding to various biological traits, some of which are instantly visible, such as eye color or number of limbs, and some of which are not, such as blood type, increased risk for specific diseases, or the thousands of basic biochemical processes that comprise life. The word gene is derived from the Greek word genesis meaning "birth", or genos meaning "origin"

Fall Turnover

A physical phenomenon that may take place in a body of water during early autumn. The sequence of events leading to fall overturn include: (1) the cooling of surface waters; (2) a density change in surface waters producing convection currents from top to bottom; (3) the circulation of the total water volume by wind action; and (4) eventual vertical temperature equality. The overturn results in a uniformity of the physical and chemical properties of the entire water body.

The Fecal Coliform Test

A water sample is collected in a sterile container. The water sample is filtered and the filter is placed in a sterile petri dish with a special nutrient solution. The dish is incubated for 24 hours at a constant temperature. After the incubation, the number of fecal coliform colonies are counted. The results are calculated and reported as the number of fecal coliform colonies per 100 ml of water. (100 ml is about 1/2 cup)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts - to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. Our three main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations

environmental impact statement

An EIS is a tool for decision making. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed action, and it usually also lists one or more alternative actions that may be chosen instead of the action described in the EIS.

farm cooperatives

An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative where farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity.

Ecological risk assignment

An ecological risk assessment is the process for evaluating how likely it is that the environment may be impacted as a result of exposure to one or more environmental stressors such as chemicals, land change, disease, invasive species and climate change.

ecotone

An ecotone is a transitional area between two different ecosystems, such as a forest and a grassland. In landscape ecology, an ecotone is the border area where two patches meet that have different ecological composition. The ecotone contains elements of both bordering communities as well as organisms which are characteristic and restricted to the ecotone. Ecotones can be a wide zone where two communities gradually change from one to another or a more abrupt boundary where the change from one association to another is sharply defined. An ecotone can occur very locally (as between a single field and an adjoining forest) or more regionally (as in those between two different biomes). The appearance of an ecotone varies depending on the scale of study. Thus, an ecotone can be studied at many spatial scales, from centimeters to thousands of kilometers. Ecotones are not limited to terrestrial communities; for example, the transition from soft bottom to hard bottom marine communities is an aquatic ecotone.

Endemic Species

An endemic species is one whose habitat is restricted to a particular area. The term could refer to an animal, a plant, a fungus, or even a microorganism. The definition differs from "indigenous," or "native," species in that the latter, although it occurs naturally in an area, is also found in other areas. Endemic species are often endangered, and particular examples may become a focus point for campaigns to protect biodiversity in a given environment. Some have become national, or regional, emblems

Estuary

An estuary is a body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, mixing with the seawater. Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of transition from land to sea, and from freshwater to saltwater. Although influenced by the tides, estuaries are protected from the full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by the reefs, barrier islands, or fingers of land, mud, or sand that surround them.

heterotroph/heterotrophic.

An organism that cannot manufacture its own food and instead obtains its food and energy by taking in organic substances, usually plant or animal matter. All animals, protozoans, fungi, and most bacteria are heterotrophs. Compare autotroph.

industrialized agriculture.

At the core of industrial food production is monoculture—the practice of growing single crops intensively on a very large scale. Corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton and rice are all commonly grown this way in the United States.

global climate change.

Earths planet change

ecotourism.

Eco-tourism focuses on local cultures, wilderness adventures, volunteering, personal growth and learning new ways to live on our vulnerable planet. It is typically defined as travel to destinations where the flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the adverse effects of traditional tourism on the natural environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people.

Ecological Pest management

Ecological Pest Management (EPM) is an approach to increasing the strengths of natural systems to reinforce the natural processes of pest regulation and improve agricultural production. Also know as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), this practice can be "defined as the use of multiple tactics in a compatible manner to maintain pest populations at levels below those causing economic injury while providing protection against hazards to humans, animals, plants and the environment.

Ecological Restoration

Ecological restoration is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability. Frequently, the ecosystem that requires restoration has been degraded, damaged, transformed or entirely destroyed as the direct or indirect result of human activities.

economic exclusion

Economic exclusion includes lack of access to labour markets, credit and other forms of 'capital assets'.

Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across this Nation. It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.

Fermentation

Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases, and/or alcohol. It occurs in yeast and bacteria, but also in oxygen-starved muscle cells, as in the case of lactic acid fermentation.

flood irrigation.

Flood irrigation is an irrigation technique in which a field is essentially flooded with water which is allowed to soak into the soil to irrigate the plants. This type of irrigation is one of the oldest techniques known to man, and can be seen in use in some developing nations and in regions where water supplies are ample. There are several different styles of flood irrigation in use, with varying degrees of efficiency. This type of irrigation has been criticized because it can be extremely wasteful when it is not done with care.

freshwater.

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, icebergs, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water although it does include mineral-rich waters such as chalybeate springs. The term "sweet water" (from Spanish "agua dulce") has been used to describe fresh water in contrast to salt water.[1] The term fresh water does not have the same meaning as potable water. Much surface fresh water and some ground water are unsuitable for drinking without some form of purification because of the presence of chemical or biological contaminants.

environmental resistance.

Full expression of the biotic potential of an organism is restricted by environmental resistance, any factor that inhibits the increase in number of the population. These factors include unfavourable climatic conditions; lack of space, light, or a suitable substrate; deficiencies of necessary chemical compounds or minerals; and the inhibiting effects of predators, parasites, disease organisms,...

genetic control.

Genetic control may be on the transcriptional or translational level. Transcriptional control works by controlling the number of RNA transcripts of a region of DNA, indirectly controlling protein synthesis. Translational control of protein synthesis works by regulating the step of translating RNA into protein.

genetic makeup

Genetic make-up is the most important factor dictating vigor and potency. Its also called PHENOTYPE. A phenotype is any observable characteristic or trait of an organism: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, or behavior. Phenotypes result from the expression of an organism's genes as well as the influence of environmental factors and possible interactions between the two..

geothermal energy.

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

habitat alteration

Habitat alteration is defined as a change in the particular environment or place where organisms or species tend to live. Habitat alteration is a topic that, by definition, includes many other issues such as pollution, invasive species, overfishing, and aquaculture. However, there are issues that are having a negative impact on our ocean which are not included within these other categories.

fission.

In biology, fission occurs when a cell (or body, population, or species) divides into two or more parts and the regeneration of those parts into separate cells (bodies, populations, or species).[1][2][3] Binary fission produces two separate cells, populations, species, etc., whereas multiple fission produces more than two cells, populations, species, etc.

Doubling time

In cell biology, the time it takes for a cell to fully divide

erosion

In geomorphology and geology, erosion is the action of exogenic processes (such as water flow or wind) which remove soil and rock from one location on the Earth's crust, then transport it to another location where it is deposited.

Hunger

In politics, humanitarian aid, and social science, hunger is a condition in which a person, for a sustained period, is unable to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs

enrichment

Increasing the proportion of a specific organism or mutant strain from a mixed population

Gully erosion

Major forms of soil erosion include: gully erosion, which is discussed below wind erosion sheet and rill erosion streambank erosion. All forms of soil erosion have on-site and off-site effects, including: reduced yields and income from crops and pastures due to loss of nutrients and organic matter sedimentation damage to, and degradation of, aquatic ecosystems. The cost of gully erosion is high, with environmental, health and economic impacts.

.host-parasite relationship.

Parasitism is a non-mutual symbiotic relationship between species, where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host.

Energy Conservation

The principle that the total amount of energy in a closed system remains always the same, none being lost or created in any chemical or physical process or in the conversion of one kind of energy into another, within that system.

environmental impact

Possible adverse effects caused by a development, industrial, or infrastructural project or by the release of a substance in the environment.

EPA

The EPA is an agency of the United States federal government whose mission is to protect human and environmental health.

The Farmer-centered Agricultural Resource Management (FARM)

The Farmer-centered Agricultural Resource Management (FARM) Programme is an initiative of eight Asian countries. They are: China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The programme is supported by UNDP and implemented by FAO. The FARM Programme was launched in September 1993 in New Delhi as a five year programme. The main area of concern of the Programme is how to achieve sustainable use and management of natural resources in agriculture and the attainment of household food security through innovative approaches. The focus of the Programme is in rainfed areas. To achieve its goals, FARM is working on FARM demonstration sites, supporting farmer to farmer training, training of government officers and NGO staff in gender sensitive participatory approaches to sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. It also supports the promotion of sustainable development policy options in rainfed areas based on the innovative modalities experienced in the thirteen demonstrations sites.

Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act

The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127), known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies direct payment programs for crops and eliminates milk price supports through direct government purchases. The law removed the link between income support payments and farm prices. It authorized 7-year production flexibility contract payments that provided participating producers with fixed government payments independent of current farm prices and production. The law specified the total amount of money to be made available through contract payments under production flexibility contracts for each fiscal year from 1996 through 2002. Payment levels were allocated among contract commodities according to specified percentages, generally derived from each commodity's share of projected deficiency payments for fiscal 1996-2002. The law increased planting flexibility by allowing participants to plant 100% of their total contract acreage to any crop, except with limitations on fruits and vegetables. The authority for acreage reduction programs was eliminated, while nonrecourse loans (with marketing loan repayment provisions) were continued in a modified form. Minimum loan rates generally were calculated each year at 85% of recent past market prices. Authority for the Farmer-Owned Reserve Program was suspended through the 2002 crop year. Authority for the honey program was eliminated. Dairy price support was to be phased down for milk over 4 years and then eliminated, but subsequent legislation continued this program. Had dairy support ended, processors could have obtained recourse loans on dairy products. The peanut program was continued but revised to reduce the likelihood of the federal government incurring loan program costs due to loan forfeitures. The minimum national poundage quota was eliminated. The sugar program also was continued but modified. Trade and food aid programs were reoriented toward greater market development, with increased emphasis on high-value and value-added products.

FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed[5] and veterinary products.

Endangered Species Act.

The US Endangered Species Act (ESA) is Federal legislation that aims to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend. The ESA was signed into law by President Nixon in December, 1973. The ESA protects plant and animal species and is jointly administered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries. Its aim is twofold: to provide protection for species that are in danger of extinction and to conserve the habitats on which those species depend.

entropy.

The amount of disorder in a system.

Focus

The central site in which a disease localizes or develops In biological and pathological contexts, focus refers to the site in the body wherein a disease first develops, or that which localizes. A theory relating to it is called focal infection theory. In this theory, a localized site of infection disseminates microbes or toxins away from the central source. The spread of infection to distant sites may lead to secondary infections. Examples of sites that serve as focus of infection are oral tissues, appendix, bladder, gall bladder, kidney, liver, prostate, and sinuses. The most common focal site of infection is the oral tissues. Proponents of this theory believe that certain diseases could have established over time and could have come from the focal site of infection. However, this theory was largely criticized by many scientists and researchers, and Hobart A Reimann and W Paul Havens were its strong critics.1

Entombment

The decommissioning of a radioactive site by encasing it in concrete

Dust dome

The dome-shaped formation of stagnant and polluted air above a city is known as a dust dome. As any summer city-dweller eager to get to the country for a cool weekend knows, the air in an urban environment is often significantly warmer than air in the surrounding rural area, creating a phenomenon called the urban heat island. Industrial machinery and furnaces, manufacturing complexes, cars, and even air conditioners heat up the city's air; building materials such as concrete, asphalt, and brick retain and radiate that heat well into the night. The large number of windows and other reflective surfaces serve to trap heat, and the lack of areas of open water sustains it. Soon the city is cooking; an inversion layer forms, which, because it's capped at a relatively low level in the atmosphere, causes a dome of air pollutants to form over the city. If there is no wind, the dust dome remains intact, its pollutants sometimes growing a thousand times more concentrated over the urban area than in a nearby rural area. If the winds begin to blow strongly enough, however, the dust dome will elongate downwind, forming a dust plume. The city's pollutants are then spread to its neighbors in the country.

environmental movement

The environmental movement is an international movement, represented by a range of organizations, from the large to grassroots and varies from country to country. Due to its large membership, varying and strong beliefs, and occasionally speculative nature, the environmental movement is not always united in its goals.

First Law of Thermodynamics.

The first law of thermodynamics is the application of the conservation of energy principle to heat and thermodynamic processes:The first law makes use of the key concepts of internal energy, heat, and system work. It is used extensively in the discussion of heat engines. The standard unit for all these quantities would be the joule, although they are sometimes expressed in calories or BTU.

fundamental niche

The full range of environmental conditions and resources an organism can possibly occupy and use, especially when limiting factors are absent in its habitat.

edge effect

The influence that two ecological communities have on each other along the boundary (called the ecotone) that separates them. Because such an area contains habitats common to both communities as well as others unique to the transition zone itself, the edge effect is typically characterized by greater species diversity and population density than occur in either of the individual communities.

dna

The molecule that carries genetic information in all living systems (see genetic code). The DNA molecule is formed in the shape of a double helix from a great number of smaller molecules

Emigration

The movement of an organism out of a population.

energy flow.

The movement of energy around an ecosystem by biotic and abiotic means. Ecological pyramids (food chains) is where a sizable percentage of energy is held, where organisms in the chain supply an energy source to other organisms and so forth, to the top of the chain which then decomposes after death.

Freshwater Wetlands-

The term "wetlands" encompasses a wide variety of aquatic habitats including swamps, marshes, bogs, prairie potholes, flood plains, and fen. Natural wetlands are lands which, due to geological or ecological factors, have a natural supply of water—either from tidal flows, flooding rivers, connections with groundwater, or because they are perched above aquifers or potholes. Wetlands are covered or soaked for at least a part, and often all, of the year. This makes wetlands intermediaries between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They are neither one or the other, and yet they are both.

euphotic zone

The uppermost layer of the world's oceans is bathed in sunlight during the daytime. This bright ocean layer is called the sunlit zone or the euphotic zone (euphotic means "well lit" in Greek) or the epipelagic zone (epipelagic means "upon the sea"). The depth of this zone depends on the clarity or murkiness of the water. In clear water, the euphotic zone can be quite deep; in murky water, it can be only 50 feet deep. On average, it extends to about 660 feet (200 meters); the depth of the ocean averages about 13,000 feet or 4,000 m. The temperature in this zone ranges from 104 to 27 degrees F. In this zone, there is enough light for photosynthesis to take place, so many plants and other photosynthetic organisms live in this zone and food is abundant. Photosynthesis is a process in which sunlight and carbon dioxide gas are converted into food (chemical energy contained in carbohydrates) and oxygen gas. Photosynthesis in the oceans creates approximately 90% of the Earth's gaseous oxygen. Most of the oxygen is produced by phytoplankton. These primary producers (also called autotrophs) are the first link in the food chain in the oceans. Because of this food source, many animals also live in this zone. In fact, most of the life in the ocean is found in this zone, although it is the smallest ocean zone in terms of volume of water.

hazard.

a danger or risk

indirect solar energy.

Wind, biomass, and hydropower. Energy that isn't directly powered by the sun, instead it is used to power another process that provides energy.

FQPA

With the enactment of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996, Congress presented EPA with an enormous challenge of implementing the most comprehensive and historic overhaul of the Nation's pesticide and food safety laws in decades. The FQPA amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) by fundamentally changing the way EPA regulates pesticides. Some of the major requirements include stricter safety standards, especially for infants and children, and a complete reassessment of all existing pesticide tolerances. This web site provides background information on FQPA's provisions and discusses some of the specific issues raised by FQPA, as well as the law's implementation status.

diversion.

[n] a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal"

hybrid

a hybrid is an offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera.[1] Using genetics terminology, it may be defined as follows.[2] In general usage, hybrid is synonymous with heterozygous: any offspring resulting from the breeding of two genetically distinct individuals a genetic hybrid carries two different alleles of the same gene a structural hybrid results from the fusion of gametes that have differing structure in at least one chromosome, as a result of structural abnormalities a numerical hybrid results from the fusion of gametes having different haploid numbers of chromosomes a permanent hybrid is a situation where only the heterozygous genotype occurs, because all homozygous combinations are lethal.

fusion.

a nuclear reaction in which light atomic nuclei combine to form heavier nuclei, typically accompanied by the release of energy. (see also Controlled Thermonuclear fusion)

Front

a particular area of activity:

environmentalist.

a person who is concerned with or advocates the protection of the environment. synonyms: conservationist, preservationist, ecologist, nature lover; More 2. a person who considers that environment, as opposed to heredity, has the primary influence on the development of a person or group.

fishery.

a place where fish are reared for commercial purposes. a fishing ground or area where fish are caught. the occupation or industry of catching or rearing fish.

.epiphytes.

a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic, such as the numerous ferns, bromeliads, air plants, and orchids growing on tree trunks in tropical rain forests.

Drought

a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall; a shortage of water resulting from this.

dose.

a quantity to be administered at one time, such as a specified amount of medication.

easement

a right held by one property owner to make use of the land of another for a limited purpose, as right of passage.

fuel rods.

a rod-shaped fuel element in a nuclear reactor.

externality/extra cost.

a side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved, such as the pollination of surrounding crops by bees kept for honey. 2. PHILOSOPHY the fact of existing outside the perceiving subject.

endangered species.

a species of animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction.

herbicide

a substance or preparation for killing plants, especially weeds.

Drip irrigation

a system of crop irrigation involving the controlled delivery of water directly to individual plants through a network of tubes or pipes.drip irrigation can reduce the water demand of crops. And our large investment in drip irrigation systems vastly improves the efficiency of water use. Retail drip irrigation systems may become clogged with small particles in the grey water, so they may not be a good choice. Install soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems in areas with trees or shrubs. The best way to water vegetables in containers is with drip irrigation operated by an automatic controller. Everything is watered with a drip irrigation system. We roped in family to create the drip irrigation system. Courtyard entrance with drip irrigation for plants and flowers. Those with drip irrigation or sprinklers invariably were reaping rich harvests and profits. Use efficient irrigation systems such as drip irrigation to minimize evaporation.

fungus, pl. fungi.

a taxonomic kingdom, or in some classification schemes a division of the kingdom Plantae, comprising all the fungus groups and sometimes also the slime molds.

EL NINO

an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December.

Fertilizer

an object or organism such as an insect that fertilizes an animal or plant

Endocrine Disruptor

are chemicals that may interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.

Modern smog,

as found for example in Los Angeles, is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog.

equilibrium theory.

attempts to explain the behavior of supply, demand, and prices in a whole economy with several or many interacting markets, by seeking to prove that a set of prices exists that will result in an overall (or "general") equilibrium. General equilibrium theory contrasts to partial equilibrium, which only analyzes single markets. As with all models, this is an abstraction from a real economy; it is proposed as being a useful model, both by considering equilibrium prices as long-term prices and by considering actual prices as deviations from equilibrium

Global warming

both refer to the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming.[2][3] More than 90% of the additional energy stored in the climate system since 1970 has gone into ocean warming; the remainder has melted ice, and warmed the continents and atmosphere.[4][a] The observed increases in global average surface temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide have been much faster in recent decades than the natural changes of previous millennia, and levels are now higher than at any time for hundreds of thousands of years prior

HAZMAT

defined and regulated in the United States primarily by laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

eutrophication

excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Famine

extreme scarcity of food.

fossil fuels

formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.

Immigration

he action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. "patterns of immigration from the Indian sub-continent to Britain" the place at an airport or country's border where government officials check the documents of people entering that country.

hydrological cycle.

hydrological cycle.

FIFRA.

is a United States federal law that set up the basic U.S. system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment.[1] It is administered and regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the appropriate environmental agencies of the respective states.[1] FIFRA has undergone several important amendments since its inception. A significant revision in 1972 by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act (FEPCA) and several others have expanded EPA's present authority to oversee the sales and use of pesticides with emphasis on the preservation of human health and protection of the environment by "(1) strengthening the registration process by shifting the burden of proof to the chemical manufacturer, (2) enforcing compliance against banned and unregistered products, and (3) promulgating the regulatory framework missing from the original law".[

environmentalism.

is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements. Environmentalism advocates the preservation, restoration and/or improvement of the natural environment, and may be referred to as a movement to control pollution or protect plant and animal diversity.[1] For this reason, concepts such as a land ethic, environmental ethics, biodiversity, ecology and the biophilia hypothesis figure predominantly.

hormones.

is a class of signaling molecules produced by glands in multicellular organisms that are transported by the circulatory system to target distant organs to regulate physiology and behaviour. Hormones have diverse chemical structures that include eicosanoids, steroids, amino acid derivatives, peptides, and proteins. The glands that secrete hormones comprise the endocrine signaling system. The term hormone is sometimes extended to include chemicals produced by cells that affect the same cell (autocrine or intracrine signalling) or nearby cells (paracrine signalling).

Fluidized-bed Combustion -

is a combustion technology used to burn solid fuels. In its most basic form, fuel particles are suspended in a hot, bubbling fluidity bed of ash and other particulate materials (sand, limestone etc.) through which jets of air are blown to provide the oxygen required for combustion. The resultant fast and intimate mixing of gas and solids promotes rapid heat transfer and chemical reactions within the bed. FBC plants are capable of burning a variety of low-grade solid fuels, including most types of coal and woody biomass, at high efficiency and without the necessity for expensive fuel preparation (e.g., pulverising). In addition, for any given thermal duty, FBCs are smaller than the equivalent conventional furnace, so may offer significant advantages over the latter in terms of cost and flexibility.

Gaia Theory

is a compelling new way of understanding life on our planet. The theory asserts that living organisms and their inorganic surroundings have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of Earth's surface.

emission reduction credit (ERC)

is a credit granted upon request by an emission source who voluntarily reduces emissions beyond required levels of control. An ERC represents the legal ability to emit regulated pollutants in an amount equal to the quantity specified when the ERC was granted

Food chain

is a linear sequence of links in a food web starting from species that are called producers in the web and ends at species that are called decomposers in the web. A food chain also shows how the organisms are related with each other by the food they eat. A food chain differs from a food web, because the complex polyphagous network of feeding relations are aggregated into trophic species and the chain only follows linear monophagous pathways. A common metric used to quantify food web trophic structure is food chain length. In its simplest form, the length of a chain is the number of links between a trophic consumer and the base of the web and the mean chain length of an entire web is the arithmetic average of the lengths of all chains in a food web

free market economy.

is a market system in which the prices for goods and services are set freely by consent between sellers and consumers, in which the laws and forces of supply and demand are free from any intervention by a government, price-setting monopoly, or other authority. A free market contrasts with a controlled market or regulated market, in which government intervenes in supply and demand through non-market methods such as laws creating barriers to market entry or directly setting prices. A free market economy is a market-based economy where prices for goods and services are set freely by the forces of supply and demand and are allowed to reach their point of equilibrium without intervention by government policy, and it typically entails support for highly competitive markets and private ownership of productive enterprises. Although free markets are commonly associated with capitalism in contemporary usage and popular culture, free markets have been advocated by market anarchists, market socialists, and some proponents of cooperatives and advocates of profit sharing.[1]

green house gas

is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions.

.ecosystem management.

is a process that aims to conserve major ecological services and restore natural resources while meeting the socioeconomic, political and cultural and needs of current and future generations

hypothesis.

is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further researc

entomologist

is a scientist who studies insects. Entomologists have many important jobs, such as the study of the classification, life cycle, distribution, physiology, behavior, ecology and population dynamics of insects.

Glucose

is a simple aldosic monosaccharide found in plants. It is a monosaccharide that is absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion

hydroponics.

is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite or gravel.

Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV).

is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There are a variety of HEV types, and the degree to which they function as EVs varies as well. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks (pickups and tractors) and buses also exist.

energy efficiency

is a way of managing and restraining the growth in energy consumption. Something is more energy efficient if it delivers more services for the same energy input, or the same services for less energy input.

herbivore/herbivorous.

is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthparts adapted to rasping or grinding. Horses and other herbivores have wide flat teeth that are adapted to grinding grass, tree bark, and other tough plant material.

Floodplain

is an area of land adjacent to a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.[1] It includes the floodway, which consists of the stream channel and adjacent areas that actively carry flood flows downstream, and the flood fringe, which are areas inundated by the flood, but which do not experience a strong current. In other words, a floodplain is an area near a river or a stream which floods when the water level reaches flood stage.

habitat

is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant, or other type of organism.[1][2] It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population.[3] A habitat is made up of physical factors such as soil, moisture, range of temperature, and availability of light as well as biotic factors such as the availability of food and the presence of predators. A habitat is not necessarily a geographic area—for a parasitic organism it is the body of its host, part of the host's body such as the digestive tract, or a cell within the host's body.[4]

hazard assessment.

is an evaluation of a work place, or work situation, as to the potential for hazards that an employee may encounter while performing the job. Page 5. Requirements. Employers are required (by OSHA) to certify.

hydrocarbons.

is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon.[1] Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls.[2] Aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes), alkanes, alkenes, cycloalkanes and alkyne-based compounds are different types of hydrocarbons.

Host

is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna.

Indicator Species

is any biological species that defines a trait or characteristic of the environment. For example, a species may delineate an ecoregion or indicate an environmental condition such as a disease outbreak, pollution, species competition or climate change. Indicator species can be among the most sensitive species in a region, and sometimes act as an early warning to monitoring biologists.

Heavy metal

is any metal or metalloid of environmental concern. The term originated with reference to the harmful effects of cadmium, mercury and lead, all of which are denser than iron. It has since been applied to any other similarly toxic metal, or metalloid such as arsenic,[4] regardless of density.[5] Commonly encountered heavy metals are chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, silver, cadmium, antimony, mercury, thallium and lead. More specific definitions of a heavy metal have been proposed; none have obtained widespread acceptance

Sustainable architecture

is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment.[1] The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations

Inorganic fertilizer

is comprised of synthetic, artificial ingredients manufactured and ready to use on plants. Chemical and mineral deposits often comprise the properties of this fertilizer. Similar to organic fertilizer, this fertilizer supplies the nutrients necessary to grow plants. The use of a chemical fertilizer, which can be bought at most gardening supply stores, offers some conveniences, but it also has some drawbacks.

Gray water

is defined as wastewater generated from plates and wash-hand basins, showers and baths, which, because it is nearly as clean as potable water, can be recycled onsite for uses such as toilet flushing, landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Greywater often also includes wastewater from clothes washing machines and sometimes include discharge from dishwashers and kitchen sinks. It differs from the discharge of toilets, which is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it contains human waste. In contrast, the amount of human waste present in greywater is so small and so degraded by the soap that its return to the environment requires no systematic wastewater treatment.

gross domestic (national) product per capita.

is defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as "an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident institutional units engaged in production (plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs)."[2] GDP estimates are commonly used to measure the economic performance of a whole country or region, but can also measure the relative contribution of an industry sector. This is possible because GDP is a measure of 'value added' rather than sales; it adds each firm's value added (the value of its output minus the value of goods that are used up in producing it). For example, a firm buys steel and adds value to it by producing a car; double counting would occur if GDP added together the value of the steel and the value of the car.[3] Because it is based on value added, GDP also increases when an enterprise reduces its use of materials or other resources ('intermediate consumption') to produce the same output

exponential increase.

is growth that increases at a consistent rate, and it is a common occurrence in everyday life.

infared

is invisible radiant energy, electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light, extending from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at 700 nanometers (frequency 430 THz) to 1 mm (300 GHz)[1] (although people can see infrared up to at least 1050 nm in experiments[2][3][4][5]). Most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature is infrared.

Emergent plant

is one which grows in water but which pierces the surface so that it is partially in air. Collectively, such plants are emergent vegetation. This habit may have developed because the leaves can photosynthesize more efficiently above the shade of cloudy water and competition from submerged plants but often, the main aerial feature is the flower and the related reproductive process. The emergent habit permits pollination by wind or by flying insects.

Hadley cell.

named after George Hadley, is a tropical atmospheric circulation that is defined by the average over longitude, which features rising motion near the equator, poleward flow 10-15 kilometers above the surface, descending motion in the subtropics, and equatorward flow near the surface. This circulation is intimately related to the trade winds, tropical rainbelts and hurricanes, subtropical deserts and the jet streams. There are one primary circulation cell known as Hadley cell and two secondary circulation cells known as the Ferrel cell, and Polar cell.

hydropower

is power derived from the energy of falling water and running water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower from many kinds of watermills has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as gristmills, sawmills, textile mills, trip hammers, dock cranes, domestic lifts, and ore mills. Since the early 20th century, the term has been used almost exclusively in conjunction with the modern development of hydroelectric power, which allowed use of distant energy sources. Another method used to transmit energy is by using a trompe, which produces compressed air from falling water. Compressed air could then be piped to power other machinery at a distance from the waterfall. Hydro power is a renewable energy source. Water's power is manifested in hydrology, by the forces of water on the riverbed and banks of a river. When a river is in flood, it is at its most powerful, and moves the greatest amount of sediment. This higher force results in the removal of sediment and other material from the riverbed and banks of the river, locally causing erosion, transport and, with lower flow, sedimentation downstream.

.Inductive reasoning-

is reasoning in which the premises seek to supply strong evidence for (not absolute proof of) the truth of the conclusion.

Field Capacity

is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in the soil after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has decreased. This usually takes place 2-3 days after rain or irrigation in pervious soils of uniform structure and texture. The physical definition of field capacity (expressed symbolically as θfc) is the bulk water content retained in soil at −33 J/kg (or −0.33 bar) of hydraulic head or suction pressure. The term originated from Israelson and West[1] and Frank Veihmeyer and Arthur Hendrickson

Half life

is the amount of time required for a quantity to fall to half its value as measured at the beginning of the time period. While the term "half-life" can be used to describe any quantity which follows an exponential decay, it is most often used within the context of nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry—that is, the time required, probabilistically, for half of the unstable, radioactive atoms in a sample to undergo radioactive decay.

humidity.

is the amount of water vapor in the air. Water vapor is the gaseous state of water and is invisible.[1] Humidity indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. Higher humidity reduces the effectiveness of sweating in cooling the body by reducing the rate of evaporation of moisture from the skin. This effect is calculated in a heat index table or humidex, used during summer weather.

hydrogen bonding

is the attractive force between the hydrogen attached to an electronegative atom of one molecule and an electronegative atom of a different molecule. Usually the electronegative atom is oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine, which has a partial negative charge.

genetic engineering.

is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome using biotechnology. New DNA may be inserted in the host genome by first isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using molecular cloning methods to generate a DNA sequence, or by synthesizing the DNA, and then inserting this construct into the host organism. Genes may be removed, or "knocked out", using a nuclease. Gene targeting is a different technique that uses homologous recombination to change an endogenous gene, and can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene, or introduce point mutations.

economic threshold

is the insect's population level or extent of crop damage at which the value of the crop destroyed exceeds the cost of controlling the pest. Economic thresholds can be expressed in a variety of ways including the number of insects per plant or per square metre, the amount of leaf surface damage, etc. In many cases, thresholds have been established through scientific research. Unfortunately, not all combinations of pests and crops have been studied, and some reported thresholds are educated estimates.

Food web

is the natural interconnection of food chain and generally a graphical representation (usually an image) of what-eats-what (a finella) in an ecological community. Another name for food web is a consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs. To maintain their bodies, grow, develop, and to reproduce, autotrophs produce organic matter from inorganic substances, including both minerals and gases such as carbon dioxide. These chemical reactions require energy, which mainly comes from the sun and largely by photosynthesis, although a very small amount comes from hydrothermal vents and hot springs. A gradient exists between trophic levels running from complete autotrophs that obtain their sole source of carbon from the atmosphere, to mixotrophs (such as carnivorous plants) that are autotrophic organisms that partially obtain organic matter from sources other than the atmosphere, and complete heterotrophs that must feed to obtain organic matter. The linkages in a food web illustrate the feeding pathways, such as where heterotrophs obtain organic matter by feeding on autotrophs and other heterotrophs. The food web is a simplified illustration of the various methods of feeding that links an ecosystem into a unified system of exchange. There are different kinds of feeding relations that can be roughly divided into herbivory, carnivory, scavenging and parasitism. Some of the organic matter eaten by heterotrophs, such as sugars, provides energy.

infiltration.

is the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil. Infiltration rate in soil science is a measure of the rate at which soil is able to absorb rainfall or irrigation. It is measured in inches per hour or millimeters per hour. The rate decreases as the soil becomes saturated. If the precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration rate, runoff will usually occur unless there is some physical barrier. It is related to the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the near-surface soil. The rate of infiltration can be measured using an infiltrometer.

hybridization.

is the process of combining two complementary single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules and allowing them to form a single double-stranded molecule through base pairing.

groundwater remediation.

is the process that is used to remove pollution from groundwater. Groundwater is water present below the ground surface that saturates the pore space in the subsurface. Globally, between 25 per cent and 40 per cent of the world's drinking water is drawn from boreholes and dug wells.[1] Groundwater is also used by farmers to irrigate crops and by industries to produce everyday goods. Most groundwater is clean, but groundwater can become polluted, or contaminated as a result of human activities or as a result of natural conditions. The many and diverse activities of humans produce innumerable waste materials and by-products. Historically, the disposal of such waste have not been subject to many regulatory controls. Consequently waste materials have often been disposed of or stored on land surfaces where they percolate into the underlying groundwater. As a result, the contaminated groundwater is unsuitable for use.

ecologist

is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and with their abiotic environment.

Global Commons

is the set of natural resources, basic services, public spaces, cultural traditions, and other essentials of life and society that are, or should be, part of a public trust to be enjoyed by all people and cherished for the planet's well-being

genetics.

is the study of genes, heredity, and genetic variation in living organisms.[1][2] It is generally considered a field of biology, but it intersects frequently with many of the life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems.

Evapotranspiration

is the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth's land and ocean surface to the atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbodies.

gross primary production.

is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through chemosynthesis, which uses the oxidation or reduction of chemical compounds as its source of energy. Almost all life on earth is directly or indirectly reliant on primary production. The organisms responsible for primary production are known as primary producers or autotrophs, and form the base of the food chain. In terrestrial ecoregions, these are mainly plants, while in aquatic ecoregions algae are primarily responsible. Primary production is distinguished as either net or gross, the former accounting for losses to processes such as cellular respiration, the latter not.

Exosphere

is the uppermost region of Earth's atmosphere as it gradually fades into the vacuum of space. Air in the exosphere is extremely thin - in many ways it is almost the same as the airless void of outer space.

ground water

is the water located beneath the earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is recharged from, and eventually flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called groundwater hydrology.

Glass roots movemnet

movement (often referenced in the context of a political movement) is driven by a community's politics. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures. Grassroots movements are often at the local level, as many volunteers in the community give their time to support the local party, which can lead to helping the national party. For instance, a grassroots movement can lead to significant voter registration for a political party, which in turn helps the state and national parties

Exponential Growth

occurs when the growth rate of the value of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value. Exponential decay occurs in the same way when the growth rate is negative.

exotic species

plant or animal species introduced into an area where they do not occur naturally, non-native species.

Forrest edge

refer to the changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats.[1]:780 Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout the range. As the edge effects increase, the boundary habitat allows for greater biodiversity.

Green revolution

refers to a series of research, and development, and technology transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1960s, that increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly in the developing world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s

dissolved oxygen (DO).

refers to microscopic bubbles of gaseous oxygen (O2) that are mixed in water and available to aquatic organisms for respiration—a critical process for almost all organisms. Primary sources of DO include the atmosphere and aquatic plants.

growth momentum.

refers to population growth at the national level that would occur even if levels of childbearing immediately declined to replacement level.[1] For countries with above-replacement fertility (greater than 2.1 children per woman), population momentum represents natural increase to the population. For below-replacement countries, momentum corresponds to continued population decline. Momentum occurs because older cohorts differ in absolute size from those cohorts currently bearing children, which impacts the immediate birth and death rates in the population that determine the intrinsic rate of growth. Formal demographers refer to population momentum as the size of the resulting stationary-equivalent population relative to the current size of the population. Population momentum has implications for population policy for a number of reasons.

Human capital

s the stock of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. Alternatively, Human capital is a collection of resources—all the knowledge, talents, skills, abilities, experience, intelligence, training, judgment, and wisdom possessed individually and collectively by individuals in a population. These resources are the total capacity of the people that represents a form of wealth which can be directed to accomplish the goals of the nation or state or a portion thereof. It is an aggregate economic view of the human being acting within economies, which is an attempt to capture the social, biological, cultural and psychological complexity as they interact in explicit and/or economic transactions. Many theories explicitly connect investment in human capital development to education, and the role of human capital in economic development, productivity growth, and innovation has frequently been cited as a justification for government subsidies for education and job skills training.

infastructure

the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g., buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.

ecology

the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

.hunter-gatherers.

society is a nomadic society in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies, which rely mainly on domesticated species. Anthropologists have remarked that the term foraging is a more appropriate description of the predominant food source for most non-agricultural groups: Gathering is a far more important source of food than is hunting for the majority of non-agricultural societies,

Envrionment

the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu. 2. Ecology. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time. 3. the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.

Energy

the capacity for work.(2) The ability to do work, or produce change.Energy exists in different forms but is neither created nor destroyed; it simply converts to another form. Examples of energy include: kinetic, potential, thermal, gravitational, elastic, electromagnetic, chemical, nuclear, and mass. Energy can be expressed in joules or ergs In biology, energy is often stored by cells in biomolecules, like carbohydrates (sugars) and lipids. The energy is released when these molecules have been oxidized during cellular respiration. The energy released from them when they are oxidized during cellular respiration is carried and transported by an energy-carrier molecule called ATP.

hydrogen ions.

the cation H+ of acids consisting of a hydrogen atom whose electron has been transferred to the anion of the acid. 2 : hydronium.

humus

the dark organic material in soils, produced by the decomposition of vegetable or animal matter and essential to the fertility of the earth

.infant mortality.

the death of children under the age of one year.

ecological succession.

the process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time. Two different types of succession—primary and secondary—have been distinguished. Primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as a result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a retreating glacier. Secondary succession occurs in areas where a community that previously existed has been removed; it is typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do not eliminate all life and nutrients from the environment.

gentrification.

the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents

fertility rate.

the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year

extinction

the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct.

green house effect

the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

Industrial Revolution.

was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, and the development of machine tools. It also included the change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal.

Wood fuel

wood used as fuel.