Climate & Atmosphere
Main human activity responsible for increased greenhouse gases
What is burning fossil fuels?
The process of converting waste materials into new products, reducing the need for raw resources.
What is recycling?
The energy source that comes from moving air.
What is wind energy?
Chemical equation for water
What is H2O?
True or false: Fossil fuels are considered renewable resources because they are naturally formed.
False
The gas that plants absorb from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
What is carbon dioxide?
The type of pollution that comes from cars, factories, and wildfires, affecting air quality.
What is smog/air pollution?
Power harvested from sunlight often through photovoltaic panels and converted into electricity.
What is solar power?
The largest ocean in the world
What is the Pacific Ocean?
The U.S. government agency that was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment
What is the Environmental Protection Agency?
The global environmental issue caused by chemicals breaking down ozone in the stratosphere
What is ozone depletion?
The type of waste is made of old food scraps, yard clippings, and other organic materials.
What is organic/compostable waste?
Raw materials extracted from the earth for use in products or energy, such as metals or fossil fuels.
What are mineral resources?
The type of water found in rivers, lakes, and streams, being safe for most human uses.
What is freshwater?
Measure of an individual's impact on the environment by calculating Greenhouse gas emissions from their lifestyle (i.e. consumption and transportation)
What is carbon footprint?
This chronic lung disease affects more than 25 million Americans is the result of air pollution such as particulate matter, pollen, and ground level ozone.
What is asthma?
Although these chemicals promote plant growth on farms, gardens, and golf courses they become extremely harmful when they enter the atmosphere and waterways.
What are fertilizers or pesticides?
This power/energy source is produced by splitting uranium atoms through a process called fission that produces heat, which creates steam used to power a turbine.
What is nuclear power/energy?
The continuous circulation of water as it evaporates from the land and sea, enters the atmosphere, condenses and precipitates to the earth's surface, then moves underground by infiltration.
What is the water cycle?
Female biologist from Pittsburgh that is often credited for advancing the environmental movement through her book Silent Spring.
Who is Rachel Carson?
Organic compound responsible for ozone depletion commonly used in refrigerants, aerosols, and solvents
What are Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
A common household item that needs special disposal because it contains toxic metals.
What are batteries?
Which type of resource is essential for technology and renewable energy systems but is concentrated in only a few countries?
What are rare earth elements?
An area of land where any groundwater underneath of it or precipitation that falls on it drains into one river, basin, or sea.
What is a watershed?
Term used to describe cities that have consistently higher temperatures than surrounding areas because of a greater retention of heat from buildings, concrete, and asphalt.
What is the heat island effect?