Populations.
Maximum population size an environment can sustainably support.
Carrying Capacity (K)
Layer of Earth made of moving plates.
Lithosphere
Removal of forests over large areas.
Deforestation
Energy source formed from ancient organic matter.
Fossil fuels
Main greenhouse gas emitted by burning fossil fuels.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
Population growth pattern that forms a J-shaped curve.
Exponential growth.
Boundary where two tectonic plates collide.
Convergent boundary
Water stored underground in porous rock.
Aquifer
Useful energy output divided by energy input.
Efficiency
Thinning of this atmospheric layer increases UV exposure.
Ozone layer / stratospheric ozone
growth rate =
(birth rate + immigration) − ______
Death rate + emigration
The measure of how much sunlight Earth reflects.
Albedo
Irrigation method with lowest water loss to evaporation.
Drip irrigation
Most electricity in the United States is generated from this fuel source historically.
Natural gas / fossil fuels
International agreement that phased out ozone-depleting substances.
Montreal Protocol
Average number of children born per woman in a population.
Total fertility rate (TFR)
Most freshwater on Earth is stored here.
Glaciers / ice caps
U.S. law that protects endangered species and their habitats.
Endangered Species Act
Energy available after subtracting energy used to obtain it.
Net energy
When excess nutrients cause algal blooms and oxygen depletion.
Eutrophication
Model with stages from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates.
Demographic transition model
The process where water moves through soil and rock to recharge groundwater.
Infiltration / percolation
Farming practice of growing different crops in alternating years to maintain soil fertility.
Crop rotation
Law stating energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
First Law of Thermodynamics
Positive climate feedback caused by melting Arctic ice reducing Earth’s reflectivity.
Ice-albedo feedback