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Chapter 20 and 21 AP Environmental Vocab

Terms in this set (44)

Primary air pollutants
harmful chemicals that enter directly into the atmosphere such as soot or carbon dioxide
Secondary air pollutants
a harmful substance formed in the atmosphere when a primary air pollutant reacts with substances normally found in the atmosphere or with other air pollutants EX: Ozone and sulfur trioxide
Particulate Matter
thousands of different solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere
Lead
a soft metal that is used in industrial and chemical processes and causes a variety of health effects such as reduced cognitive ability, behavioral problems, slowed growth, etc.
Nitrogen oxide
gases produced by the chemical interactions between atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen when a source of energy, such as combustion of fuels, produces high temperatures
Sulfur oxide
gases produced by the chemical interactions between sulfur and oxygen
Hydrocarbon
a diverse group of organic compounds that contain only hydrogen and carbon; the simplest hydrocarbon is methane
Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)
air pollutants that are potentially harmful and may pose long term health risks to people who live and work around chemical factories, incinerators, or other facilities that produce or use them
Industrial smog
the traditional, London type smoke pollution which is made of sulfur oxides and particulate matter
Photochemical smog
a brownish orange haze formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight, nitrogen oxide, and hydrocarbons. Sunlight initiates the several chemical reactions that forms this smog
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Organic chemicals and petrochemicals that emit vapors while evaporating. In paints, VOC generally refers to the solvent portion of the paint which, when it evaporates, results in the formation of paint film on the substrate to which it was applied.
Temperature Inversion
also known as thermal inversion; polluting gases and particulate matter remain trapped in high concentrations close to the ground, where people live and breathe
South Coast Air Quality
a governmental organization established in 1977 to deal with the historically poor air quality in the area surrounding Los Angeles.
Management District (SCAQMD)
a governmental organization established 1977 to deal with the historically poor air quality in the area surrounding Los Angeles
Emphysema
a disease in which the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs become irreversibly distended, decreasing the efficiency of respiration and causing breathlessness and wheezy breathing which is caused by air pollution during respiratory illnesses
Chronic Bronchitis
a disease in which the air passages (bronchi) of the lungs become permanently inflamed, causing breathlessness and chronic coughing which is also caused by air pollution during respiratory illnesses
Phase 1 Vapor Recovery
involves underground storage tanks at gas stations; one hose from a delivery truck fills the underground tank, another returns the vapors in the tank to the truck. The truck returns to the gasoline depot where vapors are combusted/condensed into gasoline
Phase 2 Vapor Recovery
involves removing vapor form gas tanks in cars as the gas is pumped in. These vapors are usually returned to the underground tank for removal in the phase 1 process
Electrostatic Precipitator
the electrode imparts a negative charge to particles in the dirty gas. these particles are attracted to the positively charged precipitator wall and then fall off into the collector
Air Pollution Control Act of 1955
the first air quality legistation in the United States
Clean Air Act of 1970
set the standard for modern air quality regulation. it authorizes the EPA to set limits on the amount of specific air pollutants permitted everywhere in the US
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)
requires that the average fuel economy of all covered vehicles sold by a single company be 27.5 miles per gallon (Later increased to 35 mph) it also says that SUVs, light trucks, and passenger cars would meet the same standard as automobiles.
Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)
was adopted by California for fuel fuel. The standard is based on the concerns of global climate change and reliance on foreign oil. It would lower amount of fuel used in vehicles, so alternative fuels would have to be used.
Carbon Intensity
amount of carbon produced per unit of energy
Ultraviolet Radiation
the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wave lengths just shorter than visible light (shielded by the ozone)
Stratospheric Ozone Thinning
the accelerated destruction of ozone in the stratosphere by human produced chlorine and bromine containing chemicals (known as the ozone hole)
Circumpolar vortex
a mass of cold air that circulates around the southern polar region and isolates it from the warmer air on the rest of the planet
Montreal Protocol (1997)
an agreement that originally stipulated a 50% reduction of CFC production by 1998
Acid Deposition
sulfur dioxide emissions react with water vapor in the atmosphere to form acids that return to the surface as either dry or wet deposition
pH scale
runs form 0 to 14, expresses the relative degree of acidity or basicity of a substance
Global Distillation Effect
the process whereby volatile chemicals evaporate from land as far away as the tropics and are carried by air currents to higher latitudes, where they condense and fall to the ground; distributes air pollutants globally by atmospheric transport
Anthropogenic
Focusing primarily or exclusively on human needs and interests
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
created in 1988, provides definitive scientific statements about global climate change
Phenological Spring
is determined by when the buds of a specific plant open and in autumn when leaves of specific trees turn color and fall. The spring comes 6 days earlier now in the northern hemisphere.
Emissions Scenario
a prediction about the amounts, rates, and mix of future greenhouse gases
Greenhouse Gases
gases that absorb radiated heat from the sun, thereby increasing the temperature of the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and tropospheric ozone
Radiactive forcing
the capacity of various gases to affect the balance of energy entering and leaving the atmosphere (measured in power per unit area)
Aerosol effect
atmospheric cooling that occurs where and when aerosol pollution is the greatest
Albedo
measure of reflectivity (ice has a higher albedo); affects the complex climate system
Ocean Conveyor Belt
delivers heat from the tropics into the northern part of the North Atlantic Ocean heat travels from the atmosphere, it cools, sinks, and flows southward
Thermal Expansion
contributes to sea level rise; when water is heated it expands
Vectors
An organism that transmits a parasite from one host to the other or how in genetic engineering, an agent that transfers genetic information from cell to another
Carbon Sequestration
requires a dramatic shift in where fossil fuels are used; placing carbon that has been produced during the combustion of fossil fuels into some sort of permanent storage
Kyoto Protocol
this international treaty stipulating that highly developed countries must cut their CO2 emissions and other gases that cause climate change (provides operational rules on reducing greenhouse gas emissions)
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