Introduction to Environmental Science
This is the study of how humans interact with the environment.
Environmental Science
These organisms form the base of every food chain.
Producers or Autotrophs
This gas is the main driver of climate change.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
The pollution of this vital natural resource can harm humans, animals, and crops.
Water
The average global temperature is rising due to this effect.
The Greenhouse Effect
Environmental science helps us learn about nature and how this group of living things affects it.
Humans
The movement of energy through a food chain follows this general direction.
From producers to consumers
The process by which fertile land becomes desert, often due to deforestation or drought.
Desertification
These are energy sources like coal and oil that cannot be replenished quickly.
This term describes the long-term patterns of temperature and precipitation in a region.
Climate
Environmental science mixes biology with these two subjects that study chemicals and rocks.
Chemistry and Geology
These organisms break down dead matter and recycle nutrients.
Decomposers
Using water faster than it can be replaced leads to this.
Water Depletion or Drought
The pollution on deoxygenated water causes this.
Deadzones
This gas, produced by cows and landfills, is more potent than CO2‚ in trapping heat.
Methane
This word means using natural resources in a way that doesn’t run out or hurt the planet.
Sustainability
Only this percentage of energy is passed to the next trophic level.
10%
This practice involves cutting down all trees in an area at once.
Clear Cutting or Deforestation
Burning fossil fuels primarily releases this greenhouse gas.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Melting of these natural structures contributes to sea level rise.
Glaciers or Ice Caps
This is a way to measure how much land and water a person needs to support their lifestyle.
Ecological or Carbon Footprint
This cycle describes how carbon moves between the atmosphere, organisms, and Earth.
Carbon Cycle
This type of pollution originates from a single, identifiable source.
Point Source Pollution
How many miles of the Gulf of Mexico is covered in dead zones.
Approximately 7,000 square miles
Climate change can disrupt these major air and ocean circulation patterns.
Global Climate Systems