Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

ecosystem Community of differentspecies interacting with one another andwith the chemical and physical factors makingup its nonliving environment.ecosystem services Natural services ornatural capital that support life on the earthand are essential to the quality of humanlife and the functioning of the world’seconomies. See natural resources.ecotone Transitional zone in which onetype of ecosystem tends to merge withanother ecosystem. See edge effect.edge effect The existence of a greaternumber of species and a higher populationdensity in a transition zone (ecotone)between two ecosystems than in either adjacentecosystem. See ecotone.electromagnetic radiation Forms ofkinetic energy traveling as electromagneticwaves. Examples are radio waves, TVwaves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visiblelight, ultraviolet radiation, X rays, andgamma rays. Compare ionizing radiation,nonionizing radiation.electron (e) Tiny particle moving aroundoutside the nucleus of an atom. Each electronhas one unit of negative charge andalmost no mass. Compare neutron, proton.element Chemical, such as hydrogen (H),iron (Fe), sodium (Na), carbon (C), nitrogen(N), or oxygen (O), whose distinctly differentatoms serve as the basic building blocksof all matter. Two or more elements combineto form compounds that make up mostof the world’s matter. Compare compound.endangered species A wild species withso few individual survivors that the speciescould soon become extinct in all or most ofits natural range. Compare threatened species.endemic species Species that is found inonly one area. Such species are especiallyvulnerable to extinction.energy Capacity to do work by performingmechanical, physical, chemical,or electrical tasks or to cause a heattransfer between two objects at differenttemperatures.energy efficiency Percentage of the totalenergy input that does useful work and isnot converted into low-quality, usually uselessheat in an energy conversion system orprocess. See energy quality, net energy. Comparematerial efficiency.energy productivity See energy efficiency.energy quality Ability of a form of energyto do useful work. High-temperature heatand the chemical energy in fossil fuels andnuclear fuels are concentrated high-qualityenergy. Low-quality energy such as lowtemperatureheat is dispersed or dilutedand cannot do much useful work. See highqualityenergy, low-quality energy.environment All external conditions andfactors, living and nonliving (chemicals andenergy), that affect an organism or otherspecified system during its lifetime.environmental degradation Depletion ordestruction of a potentially renewableresource such as soil, grassland, forest, orwildlife that is used faster than it is naturallyreplenished. If such use continues, theresource becomes nonrenewable (on ahuman time scale) or nonexistent (extinct).See also sustainable yield.environmental ethics Human beliefsabout what is right or wrong environmentalbehavior.environmentalism A social movementdedicated to protecting the earth’s lifesupport systems for us and other species.environmentalist Person who is concernedabout the impact of people onenvironmental quality and believe thatsome human actions are degrading parts ofthe earth’s life-support systems for humansand many other forms of life. Compare conservationbiologist, conservationist, ecologist,environmental scientist, preservationist,restorationist.environmental justice Fair treatmentand meaningful involvement of all peopleregardless of race, color, sex, national origin,or income with respect to the development,implementation, and enforcement of environmentallaws, regulations, and policies.environmentally sustainable economicdevelopment Development that encouragesforms of economic growth that meetthe basic needs of the current generations ofhumans and other species without preventingfuture generations of humans and otherspecies from meeting their basic needs anddiscourages environmentally harmful andunsustainable forms of economic growth. Itis the economic component of an environmentallysustainable society. Compare economicdevelopment, economic growth.environmentally sustainable societySociety that satisfies the basic needs of itspeople without depleting or degrading itsnatural resources and thereby preventingcurrent and future generations of humansand other species from meeting their basicneeds.environmental movement Efforts by citizensat the grassroots level to demand thatpolitical leaders enact laws and developpolicies to curtail pollution, clean up pollutedenvironments, and protect pristineareas and species from environmentaldegradation.environmental policy Laws, rules, andregulations related to an environmentalproblem that are developed, implemented,and enforced by a particular governmentagency.environmental resistance All the limitingfactors that act together to limit the growthof a population. See biotic potential, limitingfactor.environmental revolution Culturalchange involving halting populationgrowth and altering lifestyles, political andeconomic systems, and the way we treat theenvironment so that we can help sustain theearth for ourselves and other species. Thisinvolves working with the rest of nature bylearning more about how nature sustainsitself. See environmental wisdom worldview.Compare agricultural revolution, huntergatherers,industrial-medical hunter–gatherers,industrial–medical revolution, information andglobalization revolution.environmental science An interdisciplinarystudy that uses information from thephysical sciences and social sciences tolerantof how the earth works, how we interactwith the earth, and how to deal with environmentalproblems.environmental scientist Scientist whouses information from the physical sciencesand social sciences to understand how theearth works, learn how humans interactwith the earth, and develop solutions toenvironmental problems. Compare conservationbiologist, conservationist, ecologist,preservationist, restorationist.environmental wisdom worldviewBeliefs that (1) nature exists for all theearth’s species, not just for us, and we arenot in charge of the rest of nature;(2) resources are limited, should not bewasted, and are not all for us; (3) we shouldencourage earth-sustaining forms of economicgrowth and discourage earthdegradingforms of economic growth; and(4) our success depends on learning tocooperate with one another and with therest of nature instead of trying to dominateand manage earth’s life-support systemsprimarily for our own use. Compare frontierenvironmental worldview, planetary managementworldview, spaceship-earth worldview,stewardship worldview.environmental worldview How peoplethink the world works, what they thinktheir role in the world should be, and whatthey believe is right and wrong environmentalbehavior (environmental ethics).EPA U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency; responsible for managing federalefforts to control air and water pollution,radiation and pesticide hazards, environmentalresearch, hazardous waste, and solidwaste disposal.epidemiology Study of the patterns ofdisease or other harmful effects from toxicexposure within defined groups of peopleto find out why some people get sick andsome do not.epiphyte Plant that uses its roots to attachitself to branches high in trees, especially intropical forests.erosion Process or group of processes bywhich loose or consolidated earth materialsare dissolved, loosened, or worn away andremoved from one place and deposited inanother. See weathering.estuary Partially enclosed coastal area atthe mouth of a river where its freshwater,carrying fertile silt and runoff from theland, mixes with salty seawater.eukaryotic cell Cell containing a nucleus, aregion of genetic material surrounded by amembrane. Membranes also enclose severalof the other internal parts found in aeukaryotic cell. Compare prokaryotic cell.euphotic zone Upper layer of a body ofwater through which sunlight can penetrateand support photosynthesis.G6GLOSSARY