| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Natural Resource | anything produced by earths natural processes that exist independently of human activity, and which is perceived as being needed by humans, especially water, soil and minerals, air and plants and animals |
| Inexhaustaible Resources | those that will always exist in relatively constant supply regardless of how or whether we exploit them |
| Renewable Resources | Those that cacn be depleted in the short term but that can replace themselves over the long term |
| Nonrenewable Resources | Those that exist in finite supply and are not being generated at a sufficient rate in comparison to our rate of use |
| Potential Resources | those that are not resources at present but may be in the future |
| Biologic Time | time periods of less that 10000 years |
| exploitation | the complete or maximum use of a resource for individual profit or societal gain |
| conservation | the wise utilization of a resource so that use is tempered by protection to enhance the resources continued availability |
| preservation | the nonuse of a resource by which it is fully protected and left unimpaired for future generations |
| global coordinate system | network of east-west and north-south references used to record locations on the earths surface |
| lattitude | measures north and south and indicates the northern and southern hemispheres; lines of latitude are called parallels |
| longitude | measures east and west and indicates the eastern and western hemispheres; lines of longitude are called meridians |
| carrying capacity | the number of organisms that can live in long-term sustained balance with the environment at a reasonable quality of life |
| population density | the number of people living in the geographical area divided by the total area of land |
| land-use | any human activity that takes place on the land |
| subsistence farming | farming to provide food primarily for the farmers immediate family with little or no surplus for sale or trade |
| hydrosphere | all the water in all forms (solid,liquid,gas) on, around and within the earh |
| lithosphere | solid, inorganic (non-living) materials |
| atmosphere | the gaseous envelope that surrounds the earth |
| biosphere | includes all living things (plants, animals and microorganisms) on land in the ari and water |
| hydrologic cycle | the continuious interchange of moisture between the atmosphere and the earths surface |
| permafrost | permanently frozen soil |
| wetlands | areas which are flattish, shallow, and submerged under water at least part of the year and contain a heavy growth of ceratin species of vergetaion |
| rivers and strams (a small river) | a fairly large natural flowing of water following a definite course or series of diverging and converging channels |
| catershed or drainage basin | land area that contributes runoff to a river |
| lakes and ponds (a small lake) | a body of water surrounded by land |
| reservior | man-made lake |
| the refuse act of 1899 | the first action to be taken by the federal government in an effort to improve water quality; prohibited the dumping of trash and garbage into rivers |
| water pollution | the addition of harmful (ie toxic waste) or objectionable (i.e.,sediment) materials to water causing an alteration of water quality |
| point source | pollutants that have a highly definded orgin (i.e. factory, oil spill) |
| non-point source | pollutants that have an ill-defined or unclear source of origin (i.e. runoff from farms, cities, construction sites) |
| sludge | gooey solid mixture of bacteria and virus-laden organic material, toxic metals, synthetic organic compounds, and solid chemicals removed from wastwater at a sewage treatment plant; in past was disposed of in landfills but many not taking it now. often dumped into the ocean |
| land use density | percentage of land covered by impervious surfaces |
| eutrophication | increase in the concetration of chemical elements required for living things; may lead to overgrowth or algae (cultural eutrophication) |
| acid mine drainage | the acidic (hight sulfuric acid concentration) water that drains from mines, especially coal but also metals (copper, lead, zinc) |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace