Definitions
Biogeochemical Cycle – This is the process by which atoms and molecules cycle in nature from the living to nonliving and back again. Examples of biogeochemical cycles include the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, phosphorous cycle and water cycle.
Biosphere – All life on earth.
Carbon Cycle – The worldwide circulation of carbon from the nonliving into organisms and back again.
Carbon Dioxide – The chemical formula for this is CO2 as it is composed of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. This is a trace gas in our atmosphere—it is presently at 0.038 percent of our atmosphere, but pre-industrial content was at about 0.028 percent. This trace gas is essential to life on Earth because it is what plants use to begin our food chain. However, as with all things in nature, too much of any molecule can cause problems, and as one might suspect, a 35 percent increase in a greenhouse gas such as carbon dioxide would cause changes in global temperatures. The 35 percent increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since pre-industrial times correlates with increases in average global temperatures, suggesting that the carbon dioxide increase is mainly responsible for increases in global temperatures.
Carbon Footprint – This refers to the amount of carbon dioxide each person releases into the atmosphere each year due to our lifestyle. The more we buy, the larger our carbon footprint, because everything we buy is manufactured using fossil fuel and shipped using fossil fuel. How we transport ourselves, heat our water, heat our home, and what foods we eat all contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide we use, because each of these processes typically use fossil fuel.
Catalysts – A substance that controls the rate of reactions without being consumed in the reaction itself. We use catalysts in our cars and in most industrial processes to speed up desired reactions. Our bodies use biological catalysts called enzymes to control the rate of chemical reactions in our bodies.
Climate Change – The change in climate that has occurred periodically throughout the history of our Earth. Presently, "climate change" is used interchangeably with "global warming," although global warming is associated with the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere due to human activities.
Compost/Composting – Organic (matter derived from once-living things) wastes that decompose in the presence of air. It is nature’s way of recycling atoms and molecules.
Conservation – Not wasting. Simple conservation actions involve turning off the lights, heaters and air conditioners when they are not in use.
Conversation – Exchange of information and thoughts. Come and share your ideas and learn from one another on how we can better share our home—the planet Earth.
Co-op – Short for "cooperatives." Food co-ops are committed to consumer education, product quality and member control, and usually support their local communities by selling produce grown by local family farms.
Environment – The combination of all things and factors external to the individual or population of organisms in question. We all live in an environment.
Environmental – Pertaining to the environment, which is often the interaction of humans with the natural environment.
Evapotranspiration - Evaporation of water from the leaves of plants and soil.
Farmers’ Market – Places where farmers from a region gather each week to sell their produce directly to the public.
Farm Subscriptions – For a price each year, buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats or other different farm products, depending upon the subscription. They provide a great way for the food-buying public to create a relationship with a local farm.
Global Warming – The increase in average global temperatures, associated with the rise in carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere from human activities. All of the western European governments have agreed that the increase in global average temperature is largely due to human activities and have taken steps to alleviate human contribution to changing climate. However, there appears to still be some debate among Americans as to whether humans have affected climate.
Gray Water - Water that has been used once for a relatively non-polluting activity, so it can be used again for another purpose. An example is to use bath water for watering plants. An easy way to use gray water is to attach rain barrels at the end of your downspouts, which can then be used to water your garden.
Greenhouse Gas – Gases in our atmosphere that absorb infrared energy and act as a blanket in our atmosphere. Examples include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons.
Habitat – The specific environment (woods, desert, swamp) in which an organism lives.
Landfill – A site where municipal, industrial or chemical wastes are disposed of by burying them in the ground or placing them on the ground and covering them with earth.
Materials - Everything we use consists of materials, which are then made up of atoms and molecules obtained from nature.
Methane – The primary constituent of natural gas. It is also a product of the anaerobic decomposition that occurs in our landfills. Methane is a greenhouse gas that has increased since the industrial revolution, mainly due to cattle farms (cattle give off a lot of methane) and landfills.
Modeling – Scientists use simpler models to try to understand more complicated subjects.
Natural Resources – Valuable features in nature that include everything from species to air to water to soil to minerals. They are at risk of being exploited.
Negative Feedback Cycle – These cycles mainly govern nature because they allow things to go back to an equilibrium point. Examples of negative feedback cycles are everywhere in a healthy human body. When you get hot, your body produces sweat until you cool down. When you get cold, your body shivers until you warm up.
Nitrogen Cycle – The process by which nitrogen, an essential element for all living things, is cycled from non-living things to living things and then back to non-living things.
Nuclear Wastes – All wastes contaminated with radionuclide (radioactive elements) from the formation of nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear power plants.
Organic – There are many definitions, but the ones that the general public use are: (1) living or once-living matter; (2) food grown without the use of certain chemicals; (3) something that is intrinsic to the development of or essential to the existence of something; and (4) resident knowledge or know-how.
Phosphorous Cycle – The process by which phosphorous, an essential element for all living things, is cycled from non-living things to living things and then back to non-living things.
Pollution Prevention – The act of preventing pollution in the first place, rather than remediating pollution after the fact. An example of this is to not use fossil fuel to prevent emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and carbon oxides, rather than finding ways to mitigate the problems such as using catalytic converters to minimize nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide emissions.
Positive Feedback Cycle – Positive feedback cycles increase the initial direction of an act in nature. One of the concerns about climate change is the positive feedback cycle melting glaciers cause. Glaciers reflect much more sunlight than anything else on Earth, so less sunlight is absorbed by surfaces that are covered by them. When increasing temperatures cause glaciers to melt, surface temperatures climb even higher, because more of the bare earth left behind will absorb the incoming light. Nature is mainly governed by negative feedback cycles, which decrease the initial direction of an act in nature, so positive feedback cycles like this one create a major concern for our environment.
Recycle – To use parts or all of a material to manufacture another product. An example is the melting of plastic containers to make new plastic containers. Remember that recycling takes energy to transport, sort and process.
Reduce – Using less of something. This eco-savvy technique can be applied to things we use every day, like electricity, paper, wood, metal, etc. The less we use, the less of a negative impact we make on the environment.
Remediation – Correcting something bad or defective. Too often, we need to remediate/correct past wrongs.
Reuse – Taking an existing item and giving it to another person to use, such as clothing. Another form of reuse is to repurpose an existing item. An example of this is to reuse empty plastic cream cheese containers to carry apple slices.
Runoff – The movement of fresh water from precipitation and snowmelt to rivers, lakes, wetlands and ultimately, the ocean. With changes to the surface of our Earth, modern-day runoff contains everything from oil residues on roads to pesticides to litter to an excess of fertilizer.
Science – Dynamic process by which the natural world is continually investigated. Hence, the knowledge gained from science is constantly changing.
Sink – Any source that takes in a particular molecule. For example, carbon dioxide sinks are those sources in nature that take in or use carbon dioxide, such as plants and oceans.
Sublimation – Conversion of water from a solid directly to a gas.
Technology – Science applied to produce the products we desire.
Water Cycle – The cycle that takes water from the non-living to the living and back to the non-living again.
Watershed – The total land area that drains directly or indirectly into a particular stream or river. The watershed is typically named from the stream or river into which it drains.