Acid deposition:Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere-where they com¬bine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid-and return to Earth’s surface
Acid precipitation:Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog.
Active solar energy systems:Solar energy system that collects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovoltaic cells or flat-plate collectors.
Air pollution:Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level than occurs in average aIr.
Animate power:Power supplied by people or animals.
Biochemical Oxygen demand (BOD):Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution.
Biodiversity:The number of species within a specific habitat.
Biomass fuel:fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste.
Breeder reactor:A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium.
Chorofluorocarbon (CFC):A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers.
Conservation:The sustainable use and management of a natural resource, through consuming at a less rapid rate than it can be replaced.
Ferrous:Metals including iron ore, that are utilized in the production of iron and steel.
Fission:The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy.
Fossil fuel:Energry source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago.
Fusion:Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium.
Geothermal energy:Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks.
Greenhouse effect:Anticipated increase in Earth’s temperature, caused by carbon dioxide (emitted by burning fossil fuels) trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface.
Hydroelectric power:Power generated from moving water.
Ideograms:The system of writing used in China and other East Asian countries in which each symbol represents an idea or a concept rather than a specific sound, as is the case with letters in English.
Inanimate power:Power supplied by machines.
Nonferrous:metals utilized to make products other than iron and steel.
Nonrenewable energy:A source of energy that is a finite supply capable of being exhausted.
Ozone:gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation, found in the stratosphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers (9 to 30 miles) above Earth’s surface.
Passive solar energy systems:Solar energy system that collects energy without the use of mechanical devices.
Photochemical smog:An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions.
Photovoltaic cell:Solar energy cells, usually made from silicon, that collect solar rays to generate electricity.
Pollution:Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate.
Potential reserve:The amount of energy in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist.
Preservation:Maintenance of a resource in its present condition, with as little human impact as possible.
Proven reserve:The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits.
Radioactive waste:Particles from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation; contact with such particles may be harmful or lethal to people and must therefore be safely stored for thousands of years.
Renewable energy:A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans.
Resource:A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use
Sanitary landfill:A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires, and to discourage vermin.
Sustainable development:The level of development that can be maintained in a country without depleting resources to the extent that future generations will be unable to achieve a comparable level of development.
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