Resources
This type of resource can be replaced naturally in a relatively short time, such as sunlight or wind.
What is a renewable resource?
A species that is at serious risk of disappearing forever is called this.
What is an endangered species?
This long-term change in Earth's average temperatures and weather patterns is called this.
What is climate change?
This greenhouse gas is released when fossil fuels are burned and is also produced by respiration.
What is carbon dioxide?
Most of Earth's surface is covered by this substance.
What is water?
Coal, oil, and natural gas belong to this category of resources.
What are nonrenewable resources?
A species introduced to a new environment that causes harm to native species or ecosystems is called this.
What is an invasive species?
Burning fossil fuels releases gases that increase this warming process
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
This greenhouse gas can be released by livestock digestion, landfills, and natural gas systems.
What is methane?
This process allows plants to use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugars.
What is photosynthesis?
Unlike fossil fuels, this energy source uses moving air to generate electricity.
What is wind energy?
This type of species has an especially large effect on its ecosystem compared with its abundance.
What is a keystone species?
The large-scale increase in Earth's average surface temperature is known by this term.
What is global warming?
Greenhouse gases warm Earth by absorbing and re-emitting this form of energy.
What is infrared radiation?
This layer of the atmosphere contains the ozone layer, which absorbs much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.
What is the stratosphere?
This fossil fuel forms from ancient plant material and is commonly burned to generate electricity.
What is coal?
Sea otters help protect kelp forests by eating these animals that graze on kelp.
What are sea urchins?
Melting land ice contributes to this change that threatens coastal communities.
What is sea-level rise?
This human activity removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when forests are cleared or burned.
What is deforestation?
This natural process breaks down dead organisms and returns nutrients to the environment.
What is decomposition?
This term describes how quickly nature replaces a resource compared with how quickly people use it.
What is the resource's rate of renewal?
When wolves return to an ecosystem and influence populations of deer and other species, this ecological process may occur.
What is a trophic cascade?
This term describes actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon removal to limit climate change.
What is climate change mitigation?
This term describes how much heat a greenhouse gas traps compared with carbon dioxide over a specified time period.
What is global warming potential (GWP)?
This term describes the variety of life at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.
What is biodiversity?