Glossary of Environmental Terms
The Words We Use EarthTalk Today TV
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O PQ R S T U V W XYZ
asthma n.
A chronic inflammatory disorder of the lungs that is characterized by reversible obstruction of the airways. That a typical medical definition, found in many textbooks. Practically speaking the disease is debilitating and life-threatening. And its on the rise. And its costing billions annually in the US alone.
But go beyond the definition.
- Children living in communities with more air pollution had lungs that developed and grew more slowly and were less able to move air through them.
- Air pollution harms children's lungs for life youngsters exposed to higher levels of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, acid vapor and elemental carbon (among eh many components of most air pollution) have significantly lower lung function at age 18.
- Days with higher ozone concentrations result in significantly higher school absences due to respiratory illness.
- The prevalence of asthma has increased by more than 75% since 1980.
- Last year 23% of children with asthma have visited the emergency room for treatment of their asthma attack.
a logging technique in which all trees are removed from an area, typically twenty acres or larger, with little regard for long-term forest health. NRDC [www.nrdc.org/reference/glossary/c.asp]
the removal of all the trees on a site for the purpose of utilization and to provide for regeneration of an even-aged stand of trees, usually of a species requiring full sunlight for proper development and growth.
Forest Service [www.srs.fs.usda.gov/sustain/report/appendix/glossary.shtml]
Classical silvicultural system for replacing mature stands by new seedlings - either by natural regeneration, planting, or sowing seeds. It mimics the natural cycle, where trees are eventually removed by either fire or disease. The new trees are even-aged, as compared with uneven-aged trees by selective cutting. Not to be confused with clearing land for purposes other than continued forestry. Due to popular anxiety, clear cutting is now more sensitive to local needs, and individual clear-cut areas are smaller.
DU n. see uranium
ecosystem n.(1) The complex system of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit. Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; instead their parameters are set to the scientific, management, or policy question being examined. Depending upon the purpose of analysis, a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem.
(2) All the organisms in a particular region and the environment in which they live. The elements of an ecosystem interact with each other in some way, and so depend on each other either directly or indirectly.
greenwash n.
Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that environmentalists and other critics give to the activity of giving a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices. The term arose in the aftermath of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. Corporate lobby groups saw the Earth Summit as a prominent platform from which to redefine their role and to shape the emerging debate on environment and sustainable development.
indigenous peoples n.Have you had difficulty coming up with a satisfactory meaning for the concept of "indigenous Peoples"? Well, you're not alone according to the United Nations Development Programme.
They note that:
Despite common characteristics, there does not exist any single accepted definition of indigenous peoples that captures their diversity as peoples. Self-identification as indigenous or tribal is usually regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining whether groups are indigenous or tribal, sometimes in combination with other variables such as "language spoken," and "geographic location or concentration."
The terms "indigenous peoples," "indigenous ethnic minorities," and "tribal groups" are used to describe social groups that share similar characteristics, namely a social and cultural identity that is distinct from dominant groups in society. United Nations human rights bodies, ILO, the World Bank and international law apply four criteria to distinguish indigenous peoples:
(a) indigenous peoples usually live within (or maintain attachments to) geographically distinct ancestral territories;
(b) they tend to maintain distinct social, economic, and political institutions within their territories;
(c) they typically aspire to remain distinct culturally, geographically and institutionally rather than assimilate fully into national society; and
(d) they self-identify as indigenous or tribal.
peak oil n.
Peak Oil, derived from the Hubbert peak theory, addresses the rate of oil production and oil depletion. Peak oil refers to the point of maximum output.
The concept is drawn from geophysicist M. King Hubberts mathematical model for predicting the rate of oil production and depletion from an oil field. Based on the work of Hubbert and others, global peak oil production was predicted to occur between 1995 and 2000.
Subsequently, based primarily on the work of geologist Colin Campbell, peak oil is expected to occur by 2010. Both this and the former prediction are hotly contested by many. The counter-argument, held by the United States Department of Energy for instance, is that oil production rates will continue to increase because of technological advances and changes in access to the worlds oil reserves due to rising prices.
Sustainability ~ Sustainable Development n.Meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development developed a definition of sustainability that was included in its findings, now known as the Brundtland Report.
Sustainability has been a key concept since broader public emphasis at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and subsequently at G7/G8 conferences and in governments at all levels.
In the view of some, sustainable development also denotes social justice, more equitable societies, and recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples.
uranium, depleted (DU) n.It is what is left over when most of the highly radioactive types (isotopes) of uranium are removed for use as nuclear fuel or nuclear weapons. The depleted uranium used in armor-piercing munitions and in enhanced armor protection for some Abrams tanks is also used in civilian industry, primarily for stabilizers in airplanes and boats. http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/medsearch/glossary/glossary_d.shtml from the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs
depleted uranium: A by-product of uranium enrichment, the most common chemical form of which is depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6). Natural uranium is composed of three isotopes: uranium-238 (99.284 percent); uranium-235 (0.711 percent); and uranium-234 (0.005 percent), all of which are radioactive. The purpose of uranium enrichment is to concentrate uranium-235, the fissile isotope, in one stream. The other stream which is low in uranium-235, is called "depleted uranium," which contains about 0.2 to 0.3 percent uranium-235.
http://www.ieer.org/clssroom/glossary.shtmll#D from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research