| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Acid deposition | Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere-where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid-and return to Earth's surface |
| Acid precipitation | Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog. |
| Active solar energy systems | Solar energy system that collects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovoltaic cells or flat-plate collectors. |
| Air pollution | Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level than occurs in average air. |
| Animate power | Power supplied by people or animals. |
| Biochemical Oxygen demand (BOD) | Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution. |
| Biodiversity | The number of species within a specific habitat |
| Biomass fuel | fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste |
| Breeder reactor | A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium |
| Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) | A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers. |
| Conservation | The sustainable use and management of a natural resource, through consuming at a less rapid rate than it can be replaced. |
| Ferrous Metals | includes iron ore, that are utilized in the production of iron and steel |
| Fission | The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy |
| Fossil fuel Energy | source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago. |
| Fusion | Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium |
| Geothermal energy | Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks. |
| Greenhouse effect | Anticipated increase in Earth's temperature, caused by carbon dioxide (emitted by burning fossil fuels) trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface. |
| Hydroelectric power | Power generated from moving water. Ideograms The system of writing used in China and other East Asian countries in which each symbol represents an idea or a concept rather than a specific sound, as is the case with letters in English. |
| Inanimate power | Power supplied by machines |
| Nonferrous | metals utilized to make products other than iron and steel. |
| Nonrenewable energy | A source of energy that is a finite supply capable of being exhausted |
| Ozone | gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation, found in the stratosphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers (9 to 30 miles) above Earth's surface. |
| Passive solar energy systems | Solar energy system that collects energy without the use of mechanical devices. |
| Photochemical smog | An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions. |
| Photovoltaic cell | Solar energy cells, usually made from silicon, that collect solar rays to generate electricity. |
| Pollution | Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate |
| Potential reserve | The amount of energy in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist |
| Preservation | Maintenance of a resource in its present condition, with as little human impact as possible. |
| Proven reserve | The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits. |
| Radioactive waste | Particles from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation; contact with such particles may be harmful or lethal to people and must therefore be safely stored for thousands of years. |
| Renewable energy | A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans. |
| Resource | A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use |
| Sanitary landfill | A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires, and to discourage vermin. |
| Sustainable development | The level of development that can be maintained in a country without depleting resources to the extent that future generations will be unable to achieve a comparable level of development. |
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