-
environment
sum of all conditions surrounding us that influence life
-
environmental science
the field that looks at interactions among human systems and those found in nature
-
system
any set of interacting components that influence one another by exchanging energy or materials
-
ecosystem
particular location on Earth whose interacting components including biotic and abiotic components
-
-
-
environmentalist
a person who participates in environmentalism (a social movement that seeks to protect the environment through lobbying, activism, and education
-
environmental studies
the field of study that includes environmental policy, economics, literature, and ethics, among others
-
ecosystem services
the process by which natural environments provide life-supporting resources
-
environmental indicators
an indicator that describes the current state of an environmental system
-
sustainability
living on Earth in a way that allows us to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources
-
biodiversity
the diversity of life forms in an environment
includes genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity
-
species
a group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in its morphology (body form and structure), behavior, or biochemical properties
-
speciation
evolution of new species
-
background extinction rate
the average rate at which species go extinct over the long term
-
greenhouse gases
a gas in the Earth's atmosphere that traps heat near the surface
-
anthropogenic
derived from human activities
-
development
improvement in human well-being through economic advancement
-
sustainable development
development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations
-
-
ecological footprint
a measure of how much that person consumes, expressed in area of land
-
scientific method
an objective way to explore the natural world, draw inferences from it, and predict the outcome of certain events, processes, or changes
-
hypothesis
a testable conjecture about how something works
-
null hypothesis
statement of idea that can be falsified, or proved wrong
-
replication
the data collection procedure of taking repeated measurements
-
sample size
the number of times a measurement is replicated
-
accuracy
how close a measured value is to the actual or true value
-
precision
how close to one another the repeated measurements of the same sample are
-
uncertainty
an estimate of how much a measured or calculated value differs from a true value
-
inductive reasoning
the process of making general statements from specific facts or examples
-
deductive reasoning
the process of applying a general statement to specific facts or situations
-
critical thinking
the process of questioning the source of information, considering the methods used to obtain the information, and drawing conclusions; essential to all scientific endeavor
-
theory
a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by multiple groups of researchers and has reached wide acceptance
-
natural law
a theory to which there are no known exceptions and which has withstood rigorous testing
-
control group
a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group except for the single variable under study
-
natural experiment
a natural event that acts as an experimental treatment in an ecosystem
-
environmental justice
social movement and field of study that works toward equal enforcement of environmental laws and the elimination of disparities, whether intended or unintended, in how pollutants and other environmental harms are distributed among the various ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society
|
|
