Copy of `NYO - Glossary of environmental terms`
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NYO - Glossary of environmental terms
Category: Meteorology and astronomy > Glossary of environmental terms
Date & country: 16/11/2010, USA
Words: 147
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PesticideA substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Pesticides can accumulate in the food chain and/or contaminate the environment if they are misused.
pHAn expression of both acidity and alkalinity on a scale of zero to 14, with seven representing neutrality; numbers less than seven indicate increasing acidity and numbers greater than seven indicate increasing alkalinity. Acid rain can increase the pH level of the water in a lake, thereby killing all life.
PhotosynthesisThe manufacture by plants of carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll, using sunlight as an energy source. Plants thereby absorb carbon from the atmosphere with the process, and store it in their forms.
PhytoplanktonUsually microscopic aquatic plants, sometimes consisting of only one cell.
PlanktonThose organisms that are unable to maintain their position or distribution independent of the movement of water or air masses.
PollutionThe contamination of a natural ecosystem, especially with reference to the activity of humans.
PrecipitationAny and all forms of water, whether liquid or solid, that fall from the atmosphere and reach the Earth's surface. A day with measurable precipitation is a day when the water equivalent of the precipitation is equal to or greater than 0.2 mm.
RCURegional Co-ordinating Unit
RecyclableRefers to such products as paper, glass, plastic, oil and metals that can be reprocessed into products again instead of being disposed of as waste.
ReforestationThe process of reestablishing a forest on previously cleared land.
Renewable resourcesNatural resources that have the capacity to be naturally replenished despite being harvested (e.g., forests, fish). The supply of natural resources can, in theory, never be exhausted, usually because it is continuously produced.
ResourceA person, thing, or action that is used to produce a desired affect or product, usually for meeting human needs or improving the quality of life.
Septic TankAn tank (usually kept underground) that is used to hold domestic wastes when a sewer line is not available to carry them to a treatment plant. It stores the solid waste until bacteria breaks it down and the relatively clean water is absorbed by the ground.
SinksSinks remove gases from the atmosphere either by destroying them through chemical processes or storing them in some other form. Carbon dioxide is often stored in ocean water, plants, or soils, from where it can be released at a later time.
Smog (photochemical smog)Literally a contraction of "smoke" and "fog"; the colloquial term used for photochemical fog, which includes ozone and numerous other contaminants. Smog is usually adds a brownish haze to the atmosphere.
SouthSee "Developing World."
StratosphereThe layer of the atmosphere between about 10 and 40 km above the Earth's surface within which temperatures rise with altitude. The stratosphere contains 90 per cent of the atmosphere's ozone (O3).
Sustainable developmentDevelopment that ensures that the use of resources and the environment today does not compromise their use in the future.
TEBTerrestrial Ecosystems Branch
ToxicHarmful to living organisms.
Transnational corporationA corporation that is not based in any one country but may maintain corporate offices in several countries.
TroposphereLayer of the atmosphere that contains about 95 per cent of the Earth's air and extends about six to 17 km up from the Earth, depending upon latitude and season.
Ultraviolet Radiation (UV)Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of 200 to 400 nanometres. (Also known as ultraviolet light).
UNCEDUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Development (The Earth Summit)
UNCHEUnited Nations Conference on the Human Environment
UNCLSUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNCODUnited Nations Conference on Desertification
UNCTADUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDPUnited Nations Development Programme
UNDROUnited Nations Disaster Relief Organization
UNEPUnited Nations Environment Programme
UNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFPAUnited Nations Population Fund
UNICEFUnited Nations Children's Fund
UNIDOUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNITARUnited Nations Institute for Training and Research
UNSCEARUnited Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
UNSOUnited Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office
Urban runoffStorm water from city streets and adjacent domestic or commercial properties that may carry pollutants of various kinds into the sewer systems and from there to rivers, lakes or oceans.
VOC (volatile organic compound)The term used to describe the organic gases and vapours that are present in the air. They are believed to be involved in ground-level ozone formation. Some VOCs are toxic air pollutants.
WastewaterWater that carries wastes from homes, businesses, and industries. It is usually a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended solids.
Wastewater treatment plantA facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters, and other processes by which pollutants are removed from water.
Water QualityA term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water with respect to its suitability for a particular use.
WetlandsLands where water saturation is the dominant factor that determines the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the surrounding environment. Other common names for wetlands are bogs, ponds, estuaries and marshes.
WHO(UN) World Health Organization
WICEMWorld Industry Conference on Environmental Management
WMO(UN) World Meteorological Organization
