Climate Systems & Feedbacks
This property determines how much sunlight a surface reflects, influencing temperature.
What is albedo?
This measurement represents the amount of a substance needed to kill half of a test population.
What is LD50?
When enough people are immune to a disease, protecting those who are not, this condition exists.
What is herd immunity?
Preferring to keep things the same rather than change is known as this bias.
What is status quo bias?
Charging a fee for plastic bags is an example of this type of incentive.
What is a negative incentive?
When warming leads to conditions that cause even more warming, this type of loop is occurring.
What is a positive feedback loop?
When chemicals remain in the environment for long periods without breaking down, they have this characteristic.
What is persistence?
Diseases like malaria and West Nile are spread through organisms that carry pathogens; these organisms are called this.
What are vectors?
The tendency to favor information that supports existing beliefs is called this.
What is confirmation bias?
Real-time displays showing electricity use help change behavior through this mechanism.
What is feedback?
Reducing airborne particles that reflect sunlight may unintentionally speed up this global trend.
What is global warming?
A toxin becoming more concentrated at higher levels of a food chain is known as this process.
What is biomagnification?
Warmer temperatures expanding the habitat of ticks and mosquitoes increases this type of health risk.
What is vector-borne disease spread?
Avoiding uncomfortable environmental realities by emotionally disconnecting from them is this defense mechanism.
What is emotional distancing?
A company claiming to be environmentally friendly without real action is engaging in this practice.
What is greenwashing?
Two major processes responsible for rising ocean levels worldwide.
What are thermal expansion and melting land ice?
Breathing in certain substances is often the fastest exposure route because it allows rapid entry into this body system.
What is the bloodstream, or circulatory system, or lungs?
Excessive use of antibiotics contributes to the development of these harder-to-treat organisms.
What are antibiotic-resistant pathogens?
When people act in ways that align with public promises to avoid internal discomfort, they are experiencing this.
What is cognitive dissonance?
Evaluating success based on social, environmental, and financial outcomes is known as this framework.
What is the triple bottom line?
Climate predictions are uncertain partly because this atmospheric factor interacts in complex ways with sunlight and temperature.
What are aerosols?
Using multiple chemicals that together cause greater harm than expected demonstrates this interaction.
What is a synergistic effect?
A naturally occurring gas that can accumulate indoors and increase lung cancer risk is this.
What is radon?
Subtle changes in how choices are presented—like plate size affecting food waste—are known as this behavioral strategy.
What is a nudge?
When consumers or institutions shift investments away from harmful industries to drive change, they are doing this.
What is voting with their dollars (or divestment)?