Climate Change
This natural “blanket” of gases traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere.
What is the greenhouse effect?
This "R" comes before "Reuse" and "Recycle."
What is Reduce?
This rainforest is home to over 10% of known species on Earth.
What is the Amazon Rainforest?
The vast body of saltwater that covers most of the Earth.
What is the ocean?
This type of pollution affects rivers and oceans from industrial waste and plastic.
What is water pollution?
This global temperature rise threshold is considered the critical limit to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.
What is 1.5 degrees Celsius?
Solar and wind energy are examples of this type of resource.
What are renewable resources?
This major threat to wildlife involves illegal killing or capturing of animals.
What is poaching?
These tiny plastic particles are polluting oceans and harming marine life.
What are microplastics?
This dangerous heavy metal can contaminate drinking water and harm the brain, especially in children.
What is lead?
The international agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, signed in 2015.
What is the Paris Agreement?
This sustainability certification label is often found on coffee and chocolate.
What is Fair Trade?
This term describes species that are found only in one specific geographic location.
What is endemic?
This phenomenon is caused by excess nutrients leading to low oxygen and dead zones.
What is eutrophication?
The main gas responsible for acid rain.
What is sulfur dioxide?
The process where melting ice reduces the Earth's reflectivity, causing more warming.
What is the albedo effect?
The practice of growing food without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
What is organic farming?
This is the term for a species that has a disproportionately large impact on its environment.
What is a keystone species?
This oceanic phenomenon involves the warming of surface waters in the Pacific Ocean and can disrupt global weather.
What is El Niño?
These pollutants remain in the environment for long periods and accumulate in food chains.
What are persistent organic pollutants (POPs)?
This phenomenon involves the release of methane gas from thawing Arctic permafrost.
What is permafrost feedback or methane release from permafrost?
This index measures human demand on nature compared to Earth’s capacity to regenerate.
What is the ecological footprint?
The international treaty created to protect endangered species through regulation of trade.
What is CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)?
This process involves removing salt from seawater to make it drinkable.
What is desalination?
These chemical pesticides, once used widely in farming, were banned in many countries for harming birds like eagles.
What are DDT (or organochlorines)?