Chapter 1 Living in the Environment Textbook Vocabulary

Environment

Everything around us (6)

Environmental Science

An interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and nonliving things. (6)

Ecology

The biological science that studies how organism, or living things interact with their environment an with each other. (7)

Environmentalism

A social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life-support systems for us and all other forms of life. (8)

Sustainability

The ability of the earth's various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely (8)

Natural Capital

The natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and support our economies (9)

Solar Capital

Supports that natural capital with energy from the sun(9)

Environmentally Sustainable Society

The society that meets the current and future basic resources needs of its people in a just and equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs(9)

Pollution

anything in the Environment that is harmful to ones health, survival or activities harmful to ones health. (16)

Point Source

Single, indefinable sources (16)

Nonpoint Sources

dispersed and often difficult to find(16)

Pollution Cleanup/Output Pollution Control

to remove or lessen the pollution(17)

Pollution Prevention/Input Pollution Control

Reduce or eliminate the production of pollutants

Resource

Anything obtained from the envioronmet to meet our needs and wants

Perpetual Resource

Continuesly renewed and expected to last 6 million years as the sun compleats in cycle

Renewable Resource

Replenishes fairly quickly through natural processes as long as it is not used to qucikly

Sustainable yield

The highest rate at which a renewable resource this can be used indefinitely without reducing its availability supply.

Environmental degration

When we overuse a natural resource renewal rate, it begins to decrease.

Nonrenewable resource

A resource that is in the earth's crust that only has a certain quantity.

Ecological Footprint

The amount of biologically productive land and water supply.

Per capita Ecological Footprint

The ecological footprint of an individual in a country or given area.

Reuse

To use a resource over and over in the same form.

Recycling

Collecting waste materials and processing them into new ones.

Social capital

Getting people with different views and values to talk and listen to one another, find common ground based on understanding and trust and work together to solve environmental and other problems.

Developed Countries

Countries that have a high industrialization and have high per capita GDP ppp

Developing Countries

Countries that have middle income and are moderetly developed or low income least developed country that per capita GDP is slowly declining

Economic Development

Using economic growth to improve living standards

Environment

anything around us

Environmental Ethics

Are beliefs of what is right and wrong of how we treat our environment

Exponential Growth

When quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country

Per Capita GDP

A measure of the amount of good and services that a country's average citizen can buy