Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability

Question	Answer
Tropical Rainforest	Dense forest, the richest area for biodiversity.
Sustainable Development	Meeting the needs of today's population without compromising the needs of future generations.
Environmental Sustainability	Improvements in the standard of living that do not cause long-term damage to the environment.
Economic Sustainability	Development that includes everyone, where everyone has the right to economic development, which should be long-term and devoid of corruption or debt.
Social Sustainability	Inclusive development that ensures an improvement in standard of living for all, ensuring equal access to health care, education, resources, while respecting cultures.
Atmosphere	An open energy system receiving energy from the sun and the earth.
Insolation	Incoming solar radiation
Convection	The transfer of heat by movement of a gas or liquid
Conduction	The transfer of heat by contact.
Global Warming	The increase in temperatures around the world that have been noticed over the last 50 years or so, and in particular since the 1980s.
The Greenhouse Effect	The process by which certain gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons) allow short-wave radiation from the sun to pass through the atmosphere and heat up the earth but trap and increasing proportion of long-wave radiation from the earth. This leads to a warming of the atmosphere.
The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect	The increasing amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a result of human activities, and their impact on atmospheric systems, including global warming.
Planetary Albedo	Reflection from the earth's surface
Global Climate Change	The changes in the global patterns of rainfall and temperature, sea levels, habitats and the incidence of droughts, floods and storms, resulting from changes in the earth's atmosphere, believed to be mainly caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Soil Degradation	A severe reduction in quantity and quality of soil.
Acidification	Change in the chemical composition of the soil, which may trigger the circulation of toxic metals.
Humus	The fertile layer of soil normally found near the surface; made of biological matter (dead plants and animals) which have been decomposed.
Physical Water Scarcity	When demand for water exceeds 60% of the usable supply of water.
Economic Water Scarcity	When there is physically enough water available, but economically it is not possible to fully utilize the source of water. This could be due to high extraction/transportation costs, no storage/transport facilities, or pollution.
Water Stress	When the demand for water exceeds the supply during a set time period, leading to shortages; when per capita water supply is less than 1700 cubic meters per year.
Safe Drinking Water	Water that is safe for human consumption, must be free from pollutants and harmful bacteria.
Sewage Treatment	The removal of contaminants from waste water and household sewage
Virtual Water	A system in which one trades products instead of water. Countries with little water make products that don't require a lot of water, while countries with a lot of water make products with large amounts.
Desalination	Desalinating seawater for freshwater - the water is evaporated to remove salt, or reverse osmosis is used. Both are energy intensive and require high technology.
Biodiversity	The biological diversity, variety of flora and fauna. It is the variety of all forms of life on earth, referring o species (species diversity), variations within species (genetic), interdependence within species (ecosystem) and habitat diversity.
Flora	Plants, vegetation
Fauna	Animals
Deforestatino	When areas of forest cover are removed.
Reforestation	When areas that have previously been deforested are replanted.
Afforestation	When areas of land that previously had no forest cover are then planted upon with trees.

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Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability

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	Created by Patricia Rothen over 11 years ago