Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability Definitions

Created by: Alice Archaimbault
Created on: 15-04-14 03:28

ecological footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

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global climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.

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soil degradation

Soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastural, industrial or urban purposes.

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physical water scarcity

the situation where there is not enough water to meet all demands, including that needed for ecosystems to function effectively.

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economic water scarcity

a type of water scarcity caused by a lack of investment in water or insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand of water in areas where the population does not have the necessary monetary means to utilise an adequate source of water.

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energy balance

the balance between incoming energy from the sun and outgoing energy from the atmosphere.

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solar radiation

radiation from the sun

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longwave radiation

The earth releases long wave infrared energy.

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albedo

Albedo means how reflective a surface is. If a surface has a high albedo then more of the sun's energy is reflected. Fresh snow has one of the world's highest albedos, reflecting up to 95% of the sun's energy.

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biodiversity

the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.

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biome

a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.

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environmental sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time.

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tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforests are mainly located between the tropics. The Amazon rainforest in South America is the largest rainforest in the world, but there are also large areas of rainforest in the Congo Basin, SE Asia, Central America, Southern India etc.

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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

global climate change

Back

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.

Card 3

Front

soil degradation

Back

Card 4

Front

physical water scarcity

Back

Card 5

Front

economic water scarcity

Back

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Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability Definitions