Scope 16 Picture Vocab

Pollution

A harmful substance that contaminates a natural environment

Climate Change

A long-term change in the temperature range and related environmental variables for regions of Earth

Anthropogenic Changes

Changes in the environment induced by human activity—including habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and climate change—which can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species

Environment

Everything that surrounds a system

Deforestation

Removal of a forest or stand of trees, which are then used for nonforest purposes

Agriculture

The science, art, and business of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock

Biodiversity

The sum of the different forms of living things in a given area or population

Consumption

The use of resources, such as fuel and food, by specific populations

Overexploitation

Use of a natural resource at a level that results in the unwanted depletion or destruction of the resource

Sustainable Farming and Fishing

A type of farming and fishing that produces food in a way that does not harm the environment

Ecosystem

All of the biotic and abiotic factors and the interactions among them in a given area

Invasive Species

An alien (non-native to the ecosystem) species, usually brought to an area by humans, that competes for resources and causes problems for the native species within an ecosystem