Vocabulary
The long-term shift in average weather patterns of a region, including temperature, rainfall, and wind, over several decades or longer
What is climate change?
The clearing or cutting down of forests to make way for other land uses, like agriculture, development, or mining
What is deforestation?
Divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes
What is political polarization?
This form of energy is derived from sources that are naturally replenished, such as solar, wind, and hydropower.
What is renewable energy?
Swedish climate activist who has raised awareness of the issue, particularly among young people
What is Greta Thunberg?
How people and societies make decisions about using scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants and needs
What is economics?
Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature
What is global warming?
Laws and rules designed to protect the environment and natural resources by limiting or controlling activities that could cause harm
What are Environmental regulations?
This economic indicator measures a nation's total output of goods and services, but often fails to account for environmental degradation
What is Gross Domestic Product?
Which global industry uses up 70% of our freshwater sources
What is agriculture?
The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history
What is Etymology?
Primarily caused by the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and the thermal expansion of seawater as it warms
What are rising sea levels?
An estimate of the total economic damages caused by emitting an additional ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
What is the social cost of carbon?
$130 Billion Annually
What is the cost of deforestation?
Which greenhouse gas contributes most to climate change
What is Carbon Dioxide?
Compares the costs and effectiveness of different interventions to determine which offers the best value for the resources expended
What is Cost-Effective Analysis?
The release of gases into the atmosphere that trap heat and contribute to the greenhouse effect, leading to global warming
What are greenhouse gas emissions?
One of the first intellectual property committees that protects intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and designs.
The total amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event, or product
What is carbon footprint?
Blue Ridge Parkway
What is the most visited national park?
Explores the role of language in the interactions of humans, other species, and the physical environment
What is Ecolinguistics?
Farming practices that deplete natural resources, damage the environment, or harm the long-term viability of agriculture
What is unsustainable agriculture?
A landmark international environmental agreement adopted in 1987 to phase out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) like CFCs and HCFCs.
What is the Montreal Protocol?
This alternative to traditional GDP attempts to incorporate the value of natural capital and ecosystem services into a country's economic accounting.
What is Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)?
April 22, 1970
When was Earth Day first celebrated?