Unit 6
Using solar power without having to work for it. This includes south-facing windows because they get more heat in the winter, Double paned windows keeping things from getting too hot in the summer, and others.
What is passive solar design?
Dust and soot are examples of this type of pollutant.
What is particulate matter?
A process that allows the organic material in solid waste to be decomposed and reintroduced into the soil, often as fertilizer.
What is composting?
Is important to the evolution of life on Earth and the continued health and survival of life on Earth.
What is stratospheric ozone layer?
Decaying plant and animal tissue that has accumulated.
What is biomass?
The layer of the atmosphere that contains this helpful ozone.
What is the stratosphere?
An immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers that results from a large input of a limiting nutrient.
What is algal bloom?
can lead to skin cancer and cataracts (eye damage) in humans
What is UV radiation?
Energy return over energy investment. The ratio of how much energy is needed to create a new form of energy.
What is EROEI?
The greenhouse gas that is a product of anaerobic respiration, livestock gas, and landfills.
The increase in chemical concentration in animal tissues as the chemical moves up the food chain. the higher the trophic level, the higher the concentration.
What is biomagnification?
A family of organic compounds whose properties make them ideal for use in refrigeration, air-conditioning, and aerosols; cause ozone depletion
What are Chlorofluorocarbons?
Made from fossilized biomass from 50-350 million years ago which has been exposed to heat and pressure until only carbon remains. Coal comes from plants, petroleum comes from phytoplankton
What is fossil fuels?
These two pollutants contribute the most to acid deposition.
What is nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide?
the selective absorption and concentration of elements or compounds by cells in a living organism, most commonly fat-soluble compounds.
What is Bioaccumulation?
Rising sea levels, melting ice sheets, increased ocean temperatures and acidity, spreading of disease from the tropics toward the poles, melting permafrost, increased atmospheric temperatures
What are the impacts of global climate change?
A bell-shaped curve that predicts that we will reach peak oil when half of the reserve is used up. There is a lower and upper estimate to round things out.
What is Hubbert curve?
Furniture stuffing, paneling, and foam insulation are all sources of this pollutant.
What is Formaldehyde?
chemicals that interfere with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal's body.
What are Endocrine Disruptors?
the ability of a surface to reflect away solar radiation; measured from 0 to 1 with 0 being a pitch black surface and 1 being a completely white surface.
What is the albedo effect?