A Glossary for Agriculture,Env. Sci. & Sustainable Development

8/9/2019 A Glossary for Agriculture,Env. Sci. & Sustainable Development

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Bulletin 661Agricultural Experiment Stat ion, Kansas Stat e U niversity

Marc Johnson, D irector

A Glossary of Agriculture,Environment, andSustainable Development


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1 Contribution 96-262-B from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.2 Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Kansas State University, Manhattan,KS 66506-4003.

A GLOSSARY OF AGRICULTURE,ENVIRONMENT, ANDSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1

R. Scott Frey 2

ABSTRACT

This glossary contains general definitions of over 500 terms relatedto agricultural production, the environment, and sustainable develop-ment. Terms were chosen to increase awareness of major issues for thenonspecialist and were drawn from various social and natural sciencedisciplines, including ecology, biology, epidemiology, chemistry, sociol-ogy, economics, anthropology, philosophy, and public health.


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PREFACE

Agricultural production has increased dramatically in the United States and elsewhere in the past50 years as agricultural practices have evolved. But this success has been costly: water pollution, soildepletion, and a host of human (and nonhuman) health and safety problems have emerged as impor-tant side effects associated with modern agricultural practices. Because of increased concern with these

costs, an alternative view of agricultural production has arisen that has come to be known as sustain-able agriculture. Sustainable agriculture typically is defined as agricultural practices that ensure long-term productivity with few harmful effects. A similar concept of economic production is calledsustainable development.

Kansas State University and many other land-grant universities are increasingly committed to thegoal of sustainable agriculture. They support research on practices that reduce pressure on the naturalresource base and protect human health and animal welfare. In other words, current agriculturalresearch in the land-grant system centers not only on increasing production but also on finding waysfor improving the environmental sustainability of agriculture.

This glossary contains general definitions of over 500 terms related to agricultural production, the

environment, and sustainable development. These terms relate not only to important issues surround-ing agriculture in the United States, but to agricultural production (and associated) issues worldwide.

Agriculture is after all a global human enterprise that recognizes few spatial and temporal bound-aries. Terms were chosen to increase awareness of major issues for the nonspecialist and were drawnfrom various social and natural science disciplines, including ecology, biology, epidemiology, chemistry,sociology, economics, anthropology, philosophy, and public health. Many of the terms are complex andcannot be defined quite as simply as I have done. You may want to refer to recommended readingsidentified at the end of this bulletin for more detailed information.


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Abiota —The nonliving component of an ecosys-tem, including the soil, water, and air.

Aborigines —The original or native inhabitants of a country or region.

Absorptive capacity —The maximum amount of waste that can be absorbed by the environ-

ment.Acceptable daily intake —A daily exposurelevel that will not cause adverse health effects.

Acclimation —Adaptation to changing or newconditions.

Acid precipitation —Rain, snow, fog, or dewcontaining sulfuric and nitric acids produced byfossil fuel combustion.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS) —A disease caused by the human im-munodeficiency virus (HIV), which reduces the

body’s ability to fight other diseases.Active solar heating —The use of solar panels to

collect and concentrate the sun’s energy forheating.

Acute —A brief but high level of exposure to ahazardous substance or an adverse health effectresulting from a brief exposure to a hazardoussubstance.

Adaptation —Biological modification that allowsspecies to better exist in a specific environment.

Additives —Chemicals added to food, often con-sidered to represent a threat to human health.

Aerosol —A suspension of particles in the atmo-sphere.

Afforestation —Establishment of forest in an areanot previously forested.

Aflatoxins —Carcinogenic toxins produced bymolds in stored crops.

Age distribution or structure —The proportionsof a population falling into three distinctgroups: preproductive, reproductive, and

postproductive. If the population is dividedequally among the three groups, the populationgrowth is stable. When a large proportion of thepopulation is in the preproductive stage, thelong-term trend is population growth. If a largeproportion of the population is in the reproduc-tive stage, a baby boom is experienced.

Agency —Extent to which humans are able tocreate and change the world in which they live.

Agenda 21 —One of several documents emerg-ing from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in

June 1992. Major issues of environment anddevelopment were examined, including pov-erty, population, and human health.

Agent orange —A mixture of several herbicides

that is considered to be a carcinogen because itis contaminated with dioxin. The name comesfrom the orange-banded barrels in which it wasmarketed.

Agribusiness —Industrialized agriculture con-trolled by corporations.

Agricultural economy —An economic systembased primarily on crop production.

Agricultural revolution —A shift that took place10,000 to 12,000 years ago and was character-ized by the movement of human activity from

hunting and gathering to agriculture.Agroforestry —An agricultural system based on

the cultivation of trees with other crops.AIDS —See acquired immune deficiency.Air pollution —Contamination of the air with

solids, liquids, or gases that may be hazardousto humans or other living organisms. The fiveprimary pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydro-carbons, nitrogen compounds, particulate mat-ter, and sulfur dioxide.

Alternative agriculture —Agriculture based onreduced use of chemical fertilizers and pesti-cides, increased use of crop rotation, and re-duced tillage of the soil.

Alternative crops —Nontraditional crops thatcan be grown in an area to diversify rotationsand increase income.

Alternative energy —Energy produced fromsources other than fossil fuels (solar, wind, hy-droelectric, geothermal, and biomass).

Altruism —Seeking the good for others.

Amazonia —The Amazon Basin area of SouthAmerica, consisting of 5-7 million kilometers of grasslands, wetlands, shrublands, lakes, andtropical forests.

Ambient —Surrounding or outside.Amoebic dysentery —A human disease caused

by one-celled parasites called amoebae.Ancient forests —Forests that have never been

cut and typically consist of trees 250 years of age and older.


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Bioregion —An area defined by natural ecologicalsystems, such as a river watershed.

Bioremediation —Restoring a natural area by theaddition of living organisms (e.g., plants or bac-teria).

Biosphere —The natural system of the earth and

the atmosphere that supports life.Biota —The plant and animal life of an ecosystem;often referred to as flora and fauna.

Biotechnology —Biological manipulation of liv-ing organisms to produce foods, drugs, andother products for humans.

Birth cohort —A group of people born during aspecific time period.

Birth rate —The number of live births in a givenyear divided by the midyear population.

Bison —A large grazing animal that once reigned

over the grasslands of North America but wasslaughtered in great numbers during the 1870s.

Black Death —The name for the plague thatswept Europe and Asia during the Middle Ages.

Blocked development —Economic developmentin less developed countries that is impeded bydeveloped countries.

Brandt Commission —The Independent Com-mission on International Development held in1980, which documented the link between en-vironment and development. Members coinedthe terms North (developed countries) andSouth (less developed countries) and called forthe amortization of old debts among Southerncountries.

Breeder nuclear fission —A nuclear fission pro-cess in which new radioactive fuel is produced.It is considered dangerous because the chainreaction is difficult to control.

Brundtland Commission —The World Commis-sion on Environment and Development chaired

by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro HarlemBrundtland. The Commission’s report, Our Common Future (1987), popularized the no-tion of sustainable development.

Bubble policy —A policy that allows polluters todischarge more pollutants at one source, if anequivalent reduction occurs at other sources.

California condor —A bird once found in themountains of California but now virtually extinct.

Cancer —The breakdown of the normal processof cell growth in which cancerous cells invadeand destroy other cells and tissues. A large pro-portion of cancers is thought to be linked to en-vironmental factors, including diet, chemicals,and other substances.

Capital goods—Accumulated items used to pro-duce other goods and services.

Capitalism —An economy based on private enter-prise and the use of markets for allocating eco-nomic resources.

Capitalist economy —An economic system inwhich the means of production are owned pri-vately.

Car emissions —Chemicals produced by the in-ternal combustion engine and considered haz-ardous. These include carbon monoxide,

hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides.Carbon cycle —The process by which carbon,

the chemical foundation of living organisms,circulates throughout the natural world. This isonly one of several different biogeochemicalcycles.

Carbon dioxide —A gas that is an important partof the carbon cycle. Plants absorb CO 2 duringphotosynthesis, and plants and animals produceit as an end product of respiration. It plays animportant role in controlling the earth’s surfacetemperature.

Carbon sink —A part of the biosphere that ab-sorbs more carbon dioxide than it releases; e.g.,oceans and rain forests.

Carbon tax —A tax imposed on fossil fuels ac-cording to the amount of carbon contained inthem.

Carcinogen —An environmental agent, such as apesticide, that causes cancer.

Carnivore —An animal or plant that feeds on and

digests animals.Carrying capacity —The total population that aparticular area can support at a subsistencelevel.

Cash crop —Agricultural produce marketed forcash rather than retained for household use.

Centrally planned economy —An economywhose investment and production are coordi-nated by a central government body.

CFCs —See chlorofluorocarbons


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Chemical —An element or compound naturallyoccurring or created by humans.

Chernobyl —A nuclear power plant in theformer Soviet Union that suffered a serious ac-cident in 1986. Estimates are that 5,000 to150,000 people who lived in the area will die

prematurely.Child labor —A practice whereby children be-tween the ages of 8 and 15 are forced to workfor a living.

China Syndrome —The meltdown of a nuclearreactor.

Chipko movement —A local movement that be-gan in India in the early 1980s and is opposedto governmental and other deforestation pro-grams.

Chlorofluorocarbons —Nontoxic chemicals

used as coolants in refrigerators and air-condi-tioners, as propellants in aerosol cans, and assolvents. They are linked with ozone depletionand global warming.

Chronic —A health effect that takes a long timeto manifest itself or that persists for some time.

Circle of poison —The use of pesticides bannedin the developed countries on crops that areproduced in less developed countries for exportto developed countries.

Civil suit —A lawsuit centered on an individualseeking damages for injury or loss.

Class —A person’s ranking in a social hierachy;based on access to wealth and other scarce re-sources.

Class action suit —A lawsuit centered on agroup seeking damages for injury or loss.

Class system —A system of social inequalitybased on the unequal distribution of economicresources.

Clean Air Act —An act passed by the U.S. Con-

gress in 1963 to assure air safe enough to pro-tect the public health.Cleanup —An action taken to deal with the re-

lease of a hazardous substance that could affectthe environment or human health.

Clean Water Act —An act passed by the U.S.Congress in 1972 to protect the nation’s waterresources, including regulation of pollution andsewage treatment.

Clear-cutting —A logging practice in which a majority of the trees in an area are cut.

Climate —The long-term average of weather con-ditions in an area.

Climate change —A change in climate caused byhuman activities or natural phenomena.

Cognitive process—A mental process involvedin human learning and reasoning.

Colonialism —The practice of economic and po-litical domination of less developed countries bydeveloped countries.

Commodities —Goods and services that can bebought and sold.

Common law —Legal principles based on previ-ous legal decisions.

Community —A group interacting at a specifictime and place, as well as sharing a similar cul-

tural background.Compost —Decayed organic and animal matter

used as fertilizer.Conservationalists —Those wanting to preserve

natural resources.Conservation tillage —The practice of reducing

or eliminating tillage operations and leavingcrop residues on the soil to prevent erosion.

Contagious diseases —Diseases that are trans-mitted by physical contact, e.g., tuberculosisand measles. They are the leading causes of death in many less developed countries.

Contaminant —Any substance that has an ad-verse effect on air, water, or soil.

Contingent valuation —Valuation of commodi-ties not traded in markets, e.g., clean air, lifeexpectancy, wildlife, and severed limbs.

Contour plowing —A soil conservation tech-nique in which cultivation follows the contoursof the land.

Contraception —A birth control practice, such as

use of condoms, intrauterine devices, or thepill.Convenience food —Processed food often con-

taining high levels of fat, sugar, and/ or salt; pro-duction and marketing are controlled by largetransnational corporations.

Convention —A multilateral agreement betweencountries, usually a legal agreement on interna-tional environmental issues.


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Conventional agriculture —Agricultural prac-tices involving the use of chemical fertilizers,pesticides, and machinery.

Convergence thesis —The idea that differentcountries are becoming similar.

Core countries —Developed countries having

the most technologically advanced, capital-in-tensive, and high-wage economies, e.g., theUnited States, Japan, and the western Europeancountries.

Coronary heart disease —A disease affectingthe heart and/ or coronary vein or artery. This isa leading cause of death in the developed coun-tries and linked to overnutrition.

Cornucopian —A view that natural resources areunlimited.

Corporation —A large private organization with

multiple owners.Cost-benefit analysis —Evaluating projects, poli-

cies, and programs in terms of economic costsand benefits.

Cover crops —Plants used to hold the soil duringthe fallow season.

Cowboy economy —An economy that behavesas if natural resources are infinite in supply andnature can absorb all wastes.

Criteria pollutants —Substances that result inthe most air pollution: carbon monoxide, sulfurdioxide, particulates, hydrocarbons, nitrogenoxides, ozone, and lead.

Crop rotation —An agricultural method in whichtwo or more crops are rotated from year to yearto reduce nutrient depletion of the soil and reli-ance on pesticides.

Culture —A commonly held set of beliefs, atti-tudes, and rules for behavior in a society.

DC —See developed country.DDT —See dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.

Death rate —The number of deaths in a givenyear divided by the midyear population.Debt crisis —A financial crisis faced by a number

of less developed countries who borrowed ex-tensively in the 1970s and early 1980s. Manyof these countries have been unable to repayloans or keep up interest payments.

Debt-for-nature swap —A method begun in1987 to help deal with the debt crisis by swap-ping debt for creation of nature preserves.

Deep ecology —The environmental ethic main-taining that all species are of equal value andthat humans have no right to reduce life exceptto satisfy basic needs. This often is identified asa biocentric worldview. It maintains that theanthropocentric worldview is the key cause of

environmental problems. Proponents have beeninvolved with radical environmental organiza-tions such as Earth First!, the Sea ShepherdConservation Society, and People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals.Deforestation —Forest loss; typically defined as a

forest losing 40 percent or more of the trees.Delaney amendment (Delaney clause) —An

amendment to the Food, Drug, and CosmeticAct that bans the use of all food additives thatare carcinogenic.

Democracy —A government in which the politi-cal power of elites is minimized and the politi-cal power of nonelites is maximized.

Demographic transition —The argument that ascountries improve their standard of living, birthand death rates converge, and zero populationgrowth is achieved.

Demography —The study of the size and compo-sition of human populations, especially fertility,mortality, and migration patterns.

Dependence —The asymmetrical relations thatcharacterize interaction patterns between coun-tries occupying different positions in the worldeconomy.

Dependency theory —The theory that depen-dent relations between nations foster positivedevelopment in the developed countries butdistorted and constrained forms of developmentin the less developed countries.

Dependent development —A type of develop-ment characterized by economic growth but

high income inequality and a repressive state. Itis fostered in less developed countries bytransnational corporations.

Depletion time —The actual time taken to de-plete a nonrenewable resource.

Desalinization —The process of removing saltand related minerals from water for humanuses.


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Desert —A biome with limited precipitation (typi-cally less than 10 inches per year) but differenttemperature ranges. Tropical deserts (Sahara)are hot year round, temperate deserts (Mojave)are hot in the summer and cool in the winter,and cold deserts (Gobi) are hot or warm in the

summer and cold in the winter.Desertification —The process by which land be-comes desert through climatic change or hu-man actions.

Detritivore —An organism that feeds on dead or-ganic matter.

Developed country —A country with a techno-logically advanced, capital-intensive, and high-wage economy.

Development —A value-laden notion referring tothe extent to which a society is meeting the

needs of its people. It typically is defined in eco-nomic terms, but encompasses other dimen-sions as well.

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane —A chlori-nated, hydrocarbon-based insecticide. It origi-nally was considered safe and effective butproved to have negative human health and en-vironmental consequences. It was banned inthe U.S. in 1972.

Dieback —A sudden decline in the population of an area after the carrying capacity of the envi-ronment is reached.

Diet transition —A change in diet that isassociatated with increased affluence. It typi-cally moves from traditional grains (millet andsorghum) to rice and wheat and on to a combi-nation of meats and grains.

Dioxins —Several chemicals created in the pro-duction of pesticides that have no industrial usebut are hazardous to human health.

Direct action —A type of environmental protest

practiced by environmental groups such asGreenpeace. It is characterized as nonviolent,passive resistance that forces the opponents todefend their position.

Direct regulation —A direct intervention in themarket to regulate a hazard.

Dirty dozen —A group of 12 chemicals identifiedby the Pesticide Action Network as dangerousand posing a significant health risk.

Discount rate —A rate used in cost-benefit analy-sis for discounting future values to the present.It typically refers to the value of something inthe future when compared with current value.

Diseases of civilization —Heart disease and can-cer. Affluence increases fat consumption and

causes a more sedentary and stressful lifestyle,which put people at risk for these diseases.Diversity —The number of species in an area.Dominant social paradigm —A western

worldview maintaining that humans are supe-rior to other creatures, the world provides un-limited resources for humans, and humanhistory is characterized by substantial progress.

Dose —The level of exposure to a hazard.Dose-response assessment —The determina-

tion of the relationship between dose or expo-

sure and the intensity of the adverse effect.Doubling time —The amount of time required

for the population of a country to double.Drift net fishing —The use of huge nets that drift

on the water to catch fish.Drinking water —Water fit for human consump-

tion.Drip irrigation —Irigation using a tape or pipe

with small holes that release water near theroots of plants and eliminate runoff.

Driving forces —Social forces identified as thesources of environmental problems. Typicalforces are population expansion, economicgrowth, political and economic institutions,technology, and cultural values.

Drought —The prolonged absence of natural pre-cipitation.

DSP —See dominant social paradigm.Dual economy —An economy with a rich mod-

ern sector and a poor traditional sector; often aproblem for less developed countries.

Dust bowl —An area in the Great Plains that ex-perienced drought and soil erosion in the late1920s and 1930s.

Earth Day —An event established in 1970 byGaylord Nelson and held every year on April 22to raise environmental awareness.

Earth Summit —The United Nations’ Conferenceon Environment and Development, which tookplace at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June, 1992.

EC—See European Community.


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Eco —A prefix derived from the Greek word forhouse.

Ecocide —A planned effort to exterminate anecosytem or part of it.

Ecofeminism —An environmental position main-taining that environmental problems can be

traced to male-dominated institutions empha-sizing competition, dominance, and individual-ism. Environmental problems will be solvedonly when male-dominated institutions are re-placed with egalitarian, cooperative, andnonaggressive institutions.

Ecological economics —Nontradional econom-ics that focus attention not only on allocationand distribution of resources but also on thelarger ecosystem or environment. The economyis viewed as a subsystem of the larger and finite

ecosystem. Attention centers on the flow of matter and energy from the environment asraw materials and back to the environment aswaste.

Ecological limit —The carrying capacity of agiven area.

Ecological niche —The role of a species in anecosystem.

Ecology —The study of the relationship betweenall living organisms and the environment.

Economic depletion —The use of 80 percent of a nonrenewable resource.

Economic growth —Growth in the output of aneconomy. The gross national product (GNP) of-ten is used to measure growth in the economy.

Economics —The study of the means by whichhumans produce, distribute, and consumegoods and services.

Economic system —A system of ownership, in-stitutions, and allocative and distributivemechanisms of an economy.

Economy —A human system by which resourcesare produced, distributed, and consumed.Ecosphere —Biosphere.Ecosystem —An interacting system of a biologi-

cal community (biota) and its nonliving envi-ronment (abiota).

Ecotage and ecoterrorism —Aggressive acts un-dertaken against corporations and other partiesto protect the environment.

EEC —See European Economic Community.

Efficiency —The amount of product producedper input unit of energy, labor, or material.

Effluent —A discharge of waste or other noxiousmaterial into the environment.

Effluent fee —A fee paid by a polluter to dis-charge noxious emissions into the air and wa-

ter.Electromagnetic pollution —Electronic andmagnetic fields created by electrical circuits.

They may represent human health risks.Eleventh commandment —A commandment

put forward by the population control move-ment that “Thou shall not transgress the carry-ing capacity of the environment.”

Emigration —Population migration away from anarea.

Emission —The release or discharge of gases or

particulate matter into the air.Endangered species —Organisms that are at

risk of becoming extinct.Endangered Species Act —An act passed by the

U.S. Congress in 1973 to protect species indanger of becoming extinct.

Energy —The capacity to do work; usable power.Energy conservation —Elimination of energy

waste.Energy efficiency —The amount of fuel needed

to sustain a particular level of production orconsumption. It typically is defined as annualprimary energy consumption per dollar of grossdomestic product.

Entropy —The measure of the degree of disorderwithin a system; derived from thermodynamics.

Environment —All living and nonliving compo-nents by which an organism is surrounded andaffected.

Environmental accounting —An effort to incor-porate into measures of economic output the

environmental consequences of economic pro-duction, such as soil depletion and air pollu-tion.

Environmental change —A human-caused de-cline in the quantity or quality of a renewableresource.

Environmental currency —Monetary valuesthat adequately reflect costs to the environmentof human activities, by determining such fac-tors as energy flows.


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Environmental degradation —Depletion or de-struction of a potentially renewable resourcesuch as soil.

Environmental ethics —Moral relations thathold between humans and the natural world.

Environmental impact assessment —The pro-

cess of identifying and assessing environmentalimpacts associated with a project, policy, or pro-gram.

Environmental impact statement —A reportidentifying the likely environmental conse-quences of some project, policy, or program.

Environmental movement —A political move-ment to reduce resource depletion/ destructionand pollution.

Environmental pathway —An environmentalpath of hazard exposure; major pathways in-

clude the air, soil, and water.Environmental Protection Agency —A U.S.

regulatory agency established in 1970 to con-trol pollution and conduct research on the envi-ronment.

Environmental refugees —Migrants from anarea devastated by natural or technological haz-ards.

Environmental services —The restorative func-tions of nature, such as conversion of carbon di-oxide to oxygen by plants.

Environmental sociology —A branch of sociol-ogy examining the interaction between humansand the natural environment.

Environmentalists —Individuals who attempt tocurb resource depletion/ destruction and pollu-tion.

EPA —See Environmental Protection Agency.Epidemiology —The study of environmental and

other factors determining disease. Epidemio-logic studies use human population data to ex-

amine the distribution and determinants of adverse health conditions.Equity —A pattern of fairness.Erosion —A process by which rock particles and

soil are deposited in a new location throughwater or wind action.

ESA —See Endangered Species Act.Ethics —A code of behavior regarding what is ap-

propriate and inappropriate.

European Community —A group of 12 coun-tries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ire-land, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, UnitedKingdom, Portugal, Spain, and Germany.

European Economic Community —An eco-nomic union established in 1958 to promote

trade in western Europe that currently includesBelgium, Denmark, France, Germany, GreatBritain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, theNetherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

Evolution —A process of biological or socialchange involving adaptation to an ecosystem.

Exponential growth —A growth pattern inwhich some entity doubles in size during agiven time period.

Export of pollution —Transporting pollutants toanother area or country.

Exposure assessment —Determination of theextent of contact between an organism and ahazard.

Extensive agriculture —Maximizing the amountof land used for agricultural production.

Externalities —Beneficial or harmful effects asso-ciated with production and consumption of agood that are not included in its market price.

Extinction —The disappearance of a species.Exxon Valdez —An oil super tanker that ran

aground and spilled 300,000 barrels of oil inPrince William Sound in Alaska in 1989. This isconsidered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. his-tory.

Factory farming —The mechanized, high-techproduction of animals for human consumption.Growth hormones and antibiotics used to en-hance growth of animals may pose health risksto humans.

Family planning —The practice of providing in-formation and contraceptives to help people

limit the number of children.Famine —Malnutrition and starvation resultingfrom a shortage of food.

FAO —See Food and Agriculture Organization.Fauna —The animal life of an area.Feedlot —An area containing a high density of

animals that are fattened by intensive feeding;high concentrations of wastes make them haz-ardous.


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Fertilizer —A substance containing chemical ele-ments needed for plant growth, mainly potas-sium, phosphorus, and nitrogen.

First law of thermodynamics —A law statingthat energy is neither created nor destroyed,but it does change form.

First World—Countries that were the first to in-dustrialize.

Fission —The process of splitting atoms to releaseenergy.

Flood plain —A low area along a river consideredto be at risk of flooding.

Flora —The plant life of an area.Fly ash —An air emission created by the incinera-

tion of solid wastes.Food and Agriculture Organization —A United

Nations Agency based in Rome and given the

charge to improve efficiency of production anddistribution of agricultural products.

Food chain —A hierachy of organisms, each feed-ing on the lower one.

Food gap —The difference between what peopleneed to subsist and what is produced by farm-ers. This occurs in some low-income countriesthat are unable to produce basic foodstuffs.

Forest —A biome with enough precipitation tosupport various tree species.

Fossil fuels —Mineral fuels that occur in rock for-mations. They include coal, oil, and natural gasand provide a majority of the energy used inthe world.

Free market —A market in which buyers andsellers are free to contract on whatever termsthey like without government interference.

Friends of the Earth —An environmental advo-cacy group founded in 1970 by David Brower.

Frugivore —An animal that lives on fruit.Frugivores are typically primates that cannot di-

gest cellulose in leaves.Fuelwood crisis —A shortage of wood for heat-ing and cooking purposes. This is a pressingproblem in many less developed countries.

Fungicide —A pesticide that kills fungi.Fungus —Parasitic or saprophytic plants lacking

the green pigment chlorophyll and thus inca-pable of photosynthesis.

Fusion —The process of combining atomic nucleiin order to release energy.

G-7 —See Group of 7.G-10 —See Group of 10.G-15 —See Group of 15.G-77 —See Group of 77.Gaia hypothesis —The hypothesis proposed by

Lovelock and Margulis that living organisms on

earth help regulate and stabilize the climate.GATT —See General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

GDP —See gross domestic product.GEMS —See Global Environmental Monitoring

System.General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade —A

multilateral trade agreement regulating theworld trade system.

Genetic diversity —The genetic variabilitywithin a group of related organisms.

Genetic engineering —The manipulation of ge-netic material for economic purposes.

Geographic Information System —A computersoftware mapping system that provides a basisfor manipulating, analyzing, and displaying spa-tial information.

Geosphere —The nonliving portion of the earth,excluding the atmosphere, hydrosphere, andbiosphere.

Geothermal energy —Steam and hot water (cre-ated by the earth’s molted core) used to pro-duce electricity and considered to be arenewable energy.

Ghost acres —The land on which cheap food-stuffs and agricultural products are produced byless developed countries for export to the in-dustrialized countries.

GIS—See Geographic Information System.Global commons —Natural systems and re-

sources that do not belong to any one country,e.g., the atmosphere and the oceans.

Global Environmental Monitoring System —A global effort to monitor the earth’s environ-ment; established in 1972 and operated by theUnited Nations Environment Programme.

Global positioning system —A U.S. Depart-ment of Defense satellite network used as a sur-veying and navigational aid and available to thepublic.


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Global 2000 —A report on global environmentaltrends that was commissioned by PresidentCarter in 1977 and was published in 1980. Thegeneral conclusion of the report was that theworld in 2000 would be more crowded, morepolluted, and more fragile if global trends con-

tinued.Global warming —An increase in the earth’s sur-face temperature caused by the heat trapped inthe earth’s atmosphere by human-created gases.

GNP —See Gross National Product.Granivore —An animal living on a diet of grain

or seeds.Grassland —A biome with a moderate level of

precipitation and vegetation dominated bygrasses.

Great Plains —A grassland area in the western

U.S., extending from North Dakota south to Texas and from the Rocky Mountains east towestern Minnesota and Missouri.

Green consumerism —Purchasing environmen-tally sound products.

Greenhouse effect — A rise in the earth’s sur-face temperature caused by heat radiated by thesun that becomes trapped by greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases —Trace gases that contributeto the greenhouse effect, mainly carbon diox-ide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluoro-carbons.

Greenpeace —An environmental organizationemphasizing sea mammal protection and elimi-nation of toxic pollution.

Green politics —Politics centering on issues sur-rounding environmental problems.

Green revolution —The effort organized by theUnited Nations in the 1960s to increase worldfood production by introducing high-yield vari-eties of rice, wheat, and maize and new tech-

niques, including irrigation and use of pesticides.Greens —Political parties with an environmental

stance.Green tax —A tax on activities that pollute, de-

plete, or degrade the environment.Gross domestic product —The value of goods

and services produced in the country.

Gross national product —The value of goodsand services produced in a country plus remit-tances received from abroad.

Gross primary production —The total energyproduced by photosynthesis and stored in agiven biotic community.

Groundwater—The water stored undergroundin rock and soil.

Group of 7 —Seven of the largest industrial coun-tries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy,

Japan, the United Kingdom, and the UnitedStates.

Group of 10 —The 10 most influential environ-mental organizations in the United States.

These include the Environmental DefenseFund, Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, NationalAudubon Society, National Parks and Conserva-

tion Association, Natural Resources DefenseCouncil, Defenders of Wildlife, EnvironmentalPolicy Institute, National Wildlife Federation,and Izaak Walton League of America.

Group of 15 —A group of 15 less developedcountries that meet to discuss issues of the

Third World.Group of 77 —A group of less developed coun-

tries in the Third World and Eastern Europe,originally including 77 countries but later ex-panded to include 129.

Growth mania —A belief that “bigger is alwaysbetter.”

Growth rate —The annual percentage increase inthe gross national product.

Habitat —The place where organisms live.Habitat loss —The loss of natural habitat, often

by human actions.Hamburger connection —The clearing of land

in Central and South America to produce cattlewhose meat is exported to U.S. fast-food restau-

rants.Hardwood —The wood of broad-leaved, flower-ing trees, e.g., oak, mahogany, and walnut.

Hazard —A technology, activity, or substance thathas adverse effects on the environment or hu-man health.

Hazard identification —The process of deter-mining that a technology, activity, or substancecauses adverse health, safety, or environmentalconsequences.


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Hazardous waste —Waste possessing chemical,physical, or biological characteristics that repre-sent a threat to either the environment or hu-man health.

Hegemonic power —The power exercised bystates on an international basis because of their

economic and military status.HEP —See human exemptionalism paradigm.Herbicide —A chemical used to control weeds

and unwanted plants.Herbivore —An organism that obtains energy

from plant consumption. Granivores andfrugivores are special types of herbivores.

Human ecology —An area of inquiry concernedwith the relationship of humans and their ac-tivities with the physical environment.

Human exemptionalism paradigm —A set of

assumptions underlying the belief that humanstranscend the environment in which they live.Specifically, given their unique cultural heri-tage, humans are different from all other spe-cies on earth, social and cultural factorsdetermine human society, the larger environ-ment is irrelevant, and all problems are solubleby human ingenuity and technology.

Hydrocarbons —Chemicals consisting of hydro-gen and oxygen and contributing to air pollu-tion.

Hydroelectric power —Electricity created bymovement of water.

Hydrosphere —The water portion of the planet.Approximately 75 percent of the earth’s surfaceis covered by water.

Ice Ages —Periods when ice sheets moved fromthe polar cap and covered areas of NorthAmerica, Europe, and Asia.

Immigration —Population migration into anotherarea.

Immiserization —An economic decline amongpoor people, making it difficult for them tomeet their basic needs for food, health, andshelter.

Imperialism —A system in which one countryuses the resources of a less powerful countryfor its own benefit, typically involving eco-nomic and political control.

Incineration —Burning wastes for purposes of disposal.

Income —A gain or benefit expressed in moneyor in goods and services over a specified timeperiod.

Index of sustainable economic welfare —An

alternative measure for assessing the strength of an economy and human well-being. Unlikegross national product and similar indicators, itincludes measures of environmental degrada-tion.

Indicator species —A species that can indicatewhether an ecosystem is being degraded.

Industrial economy —A production systembased on machines to produce things of value.

Industrialization —A stage in societal develop-ment when resources are shifted from agricul-

ture to manufacturing.Infant mortality rate —The number of infant

deaths (children between the ages of 0-12months) per 1,000 live births.

Infectious diseases —See contagious diseases.Informal economy —Business outside of the rec-

ognized sector of a country’s economy.Insecticide —A chemical substance used to kill

insects.Integrated pest management —A management

effort combining biological and chemical con-trols to reduce reliance on synthetic pesticides.

Intensive agriculture —A system to maximizeoutput of land through use of chemicals andmachinery.

Intergenerational equity —A norm that calls forconsidering the interests of future generationswhen dealing with natural resources and ahealthy environment.

Internal cost —The direct cost associated with aproduct or service that is paid by the producer

and/ or consumer.International regime —An international agree-ment between nations.

International Union for Conservation of Na-ture and Natural Resources —A nongovern-mental organization founded in 1948 andconcerned with threats to the quality of thenatural environment, especially wilderness ar-eas and endangered species.


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IPAT —The model holding that environmentaldegradation (I) is an interactive function of hu-man population size (P), affluence (A), andtechnology (T).

Irrigation —Artificial watering of crops.ISEW —See index of sustainable economic wel-

fare.IUCN —See International Union for Conservationof Nature and Natural Resources.

J-shaped curve —An exponential growth curve.Land ethic —A philosophy developed by Aldo

Leopold around the idea that land is more thana commodity and deserves to be treated withrespect.

Landfill —A dump site in which waste is spreadin thin layers and covered with soil.

Land scarcity —A situation in which 70 percent

or more of the arable land in a country or re-gion is under cultivation.

LD50 —See lethal dose.LDC —See less developed country.Leachate —Liquid that has percolated through

soil or solid waste and picked up potentiallyhazardous materials.

Leaking underground storage tanks —Majorcauses of groundwater pollution in the U.S.

Less developed country —A country with a lowper capita income and low to moderate indus-trialization. LDCs include nearly 150 nationsand 80 percent of the world’s population.

Lethal dose —The quantity of a chemical that islethal to 50 percent of the organisms in a spe-cific test situation.

Life expectancy —The number of years that anaverage person can expect to live.

Little Ice Age —A cold period in Asia, Europe,and North America (A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1850).Its end coincided with the beginning of the in-

dustrial revolution and an increase of green-house emissions.Locally unwanted land use —A land use with

adverse environmental consequences, e.g.,nuclear power plants, hazardous waste facili-ties, airports, and refineries.

Love Canal —The location of a landfill site nearNiagara Falls that was used by Hooker Chemi-cals and Plastics Company as a dumping site for

thousands of tons of chemical wastes duringthe 1950s.

LULU —See locally unwanted land use.LUST —See leaking underground storage tanks.Malnutrition —Insufficent nutrition.Malthusianism —The belief that population out-

strips society’s ability to provide for its mem-bers. It is based on ideas developed by ThomasMalthus (1766-1834) in An Essay on the Prin- ciples of Population .

Marxism —The theory of Karl Marx that all soci-eties go through a series of economic stages asthe production system evolves and increaseshuman control over the environment. The finalstage of all societies is socialism.

Maternal mortality —Death during childbirth.MDC —See more developed country.

Methane —A gas created as a waste product of bacteria living with little oxygen and consid-ered to be a greenhouse gas.

Migration —The movement of populations fromone area to another.

Modernization —The process accompanying in-dustrialization.

Modernization theory —A theory holding thatless developed countries will follow the courseof industrial development experienced by thedeveloped countries.

Monkey-wrenching —See ecotage.Monoculture —An agricultural practice in which

a single species of plant is cultivated in an area.It requires large amounts of fertilizers and pesti-cides.

Montreal Protocol —A treaty signed in 1987 by24 countries, which pledged to phase out useof all chlorofluorocarbons by 1999.

Morbidity —The incidence of disease in a popula-tion.

More developed country —A country with highper capita income and a high level of industrial-ization, e.g., the United States, Canada, Japan,Australia, New Zealand, and the western Euro-pean countries.

Mortality —Deaths in a population.Multinational corporation —A large corporation

that owns property and produces and sellsproducts in a large number of countries.


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Mutagen —An environmental agent that causesgenetic mutations or defects.

NAAQS —See National Ambient Air QualityStandards.

NAFTA —See North Atlantic Free Trade Agree-ment.

Natality—The birth rate of a population.National Ambient Air Quality Standards —

Regulations established by the Clean Air Actprescribing levels of pollution that may not beexceeded during a specified time in a definedarea.

National Audubon Society —An organizationfounded in 1905 to protect bird populations butnow concerned with broader environmentalissues.

National Environmental Policy Act —A federal

environmental law (1969) that requires all fed-eral agencies to file environmental impact state-ments, sometimes referred to as “the environ-mental Magna Carta.”

National Institute of Occupational Safety andHealth —A U.S. federal agency that conductshealth and safety research.

National Wildlife Federation —An organizationfounded in 1936 as an environmental advocacyand educational group.

Natural hazard —A natural event that damagesthe environment and humans, e.g., floods, vol-canoes, and earthquakes.

Natural pollutants —Pollutants created throughnatural processes, e.g., ozone, dust, and gas of volcanic origin.

Natural resources —Substances and processesused by people that they cannot create.

Natural Resources Defense Council —An or-ganization founded in 1970 to protect naturalresources.

Natural sciences —Sciences that examine thephysical environment, e.g., astronomy, biology,chemistry, geology, physics, oceanography, andmeteorology.

Neo-Malthusian —The idea that human popula-tions grow until they reach the carrying capac-ity of the environment.

NEP —See new environmental paradigm.NEPA —See National Environmental Policy Act.

Net economic welfare —The gross nationalproduct adjusted by subtracting the “bads”such as pollution and by adding the value of beneficial, nonmarket activities such as leisure.

Net primary production —The total energy pro-duced by photosynthesis and stored in a biotic

community (gross primary production) minusenergy consumed by photosynthetic organisms.New environmental paradigm —A new set of

assumptions about the nature of the relation-ship between humans and the larger environ-ment. This paradigm holds that humans,despite their exceptional characteristics, repre-sent one among many species on earth; humanactivities are determined not only by social andcultural factors but by the environment; andhumans are dependent on a finite environment.

New international economic order —A list of demands made by the Group of 77 nations inthe 1970s regarding changes in the structure of North-South economic relations.

New social movements —Recent social move-ments whose origins, political tactics, and goalsdiffer substantially from those of the traditionalclass and economic-based, social movements,e.g., the environmental movement, thewomen’s movement, and the gay rights move-ment.

Newly industrializing countries —Countriesthat have been industrialized only recently, e.g.,South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.

NGO —See nongovernmental organization.NIABY —See not in anybody’s backyard.NIMBY —See not in my backyard.NIMTOF —See not in my term of office.NIOSH —See National Institute of Occupational

Safety and Health.Nongovernmental organization —An interna-

tional nonprofit organization that is not affili-ated with any government but is concernedwith problems of global and local environmentand development.

Nonpoint source pollution —Pollution frommany different sources.

Nonrenewable resource —A resource that can-not be replenished.


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Ozone —The gaseous form of oxygen.Ozone depletion —Depletion of the ozone layer

in the earth’s upper atmosphere primarily by ac-cumulation of human-produced gases such aschlorofluorocarbons. This allows increasedamounts of ultraviolet light to reach the earth

and damage both plants and animals.Ozone layer —A layer of ozone in the earth’s up-per atmosphere that acts as a protective shieldby filtering out ultraviolet light.

Pacific Rim —The 34 countries and 23 islands inand around the Pacific Ocean with an area of 70 million square miles and a population of 2.4billion people.

Paradigm —A set of assumptions about the na-ture of reality. Such assumptions limit what isseen.

Parasite —An organism living in or on another or-ganism.

Particulate matter —Tiny solid particles, such asdust or soot, suspended in the air and repre-senting a human health risk.

Passive solar heating —Heating a buildingthrough the direct absorbtion of the sun’s en-ergy.

Pathogen —A causal agent of a disease.Periphery —The lowest position in the three-

strata hiearchy (periphery, semiperiphery, andcore) characterizing the world economic sys-tem. The vast majority of less developed coun-tries fall into this category.

Perpetual resource —A resource that is inex-haustible, e.g., solar energy.

Pest —An organism that is detrimental to agricul-tural production.

Pesticide —A chemical that destroys or sup-presses pests. Pesticides are classified by thetype of pest against which they are active: in-

secticides (ants, termites, etc.); herbicides(broadleaved weeds, grasses, algae); fungicides(mildew, molds, plant diseases, etc.); acaricides(mites, ticks); rodenticides (rats, gophers,ground squirrels); avicides (birds); pisicides(fish); molluscicides (snails, slugs); and nemati-cides (nematodes or nonsegmented soil worms).

Pesticide resistance —A situation in which pestsare not affected by a particular pesticide.

Pesticide treadmill —A situation in which morepesticides are applied to maintain previous lev-els of production because their effectiveness hasbeen decreased by development of resistance inpests.

Petrochemicals —Substances created during the

refinement of oil and used in the production of plastics, paints, and other products.Photosynthesis —A process whereby radiant en-

ergy of the sun is taken in by green plants andconverted into chemical energy.

Photovoltaic cell —A cell that converts sunlightinto electricity.

Physical quality of life —A measure of eco-nomic welfare that is more sophisticated thanthe gross national product. It is based on threevariables: percent of population literate, infant

mortality rate, and average life expectancy afterage 1.

PIBBY —See place in blacks’ backyard.PITBY —See put in their backyardPlace in black’s backyard —The idea that haz-

ardous activities and substances should be lo-cated in areas inhabited by blacks.

Point source pollution —Pollution that can belinked to a single source.

Politics —An activity by which people try to con-trol decisions about the distribution of re-sources and other matters affecting theirwelfare.

Pollutant —Any substance that contaminates theenvironment.

Pollution —A negative change in the quality of some part of the biosphere. Pollution is a prob-lem when pollutants are emitted at ratesgreater than the rate at which they can be re-cycled, absorbed, or otherwise rendered harm-less. The consequences often include threats to

humans and other organisms.Pollution prevention —A measure to reduceemissions of noxious wastes into the air andwater.

Population density —The number of persons perunit of land area.

Population explosion —Acceleration of the rateof population growth, especially after 1800 inindustrialized countries and in the 20th centuryin less developed countries.


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Postconsumer recycling —The reuse of materi-als from residential or commercial waste.

Postindustrial society —A modern economydominated by services and information, ratherthan industry.

Poverty —A low standard of living in terms of

other people (relative poverty) or in terms of ba-sic needs (absolute poverty).Power dependency relations —Relations be-

tween individuals, groups, or countries charac-terized by dominant/ subordinate positions.

PQLI —See physical quality of life.Private good —A good that, when consumed by

one person, cannot be consumed by anotherand whose supply can be restricted to one con-sumer.

Productivity —The amount of real output pro-

duced by input units of labor and capital.Proximate causes —Those human activities that

directly cause some environmental problem.For instance, fossil fuel consumption causes in-creased levels of carbon dioxide, which, inturn, contribute to global warming.

Public good —A commodity or service that isavailable to everyone in an area, that cannot bewithheld from nonpayers, and whose consump-tion by one person does not diminish that byothers.

Push-pull hypothesis —The argument that cer-tain conditions (such as poverty) push peopleout (emigration), whereas other conditions inthe area pull or attract people (immigration).

Put in their backyard —The idea that hazardousactivities and substances should be located inothers’ areas.

Quality of life —The extent to which basic hu-man needs (including health, education, shel-ter, and food) are being met.

Radical ecology —A variety of philosophic posi-tions that deny the possibility of slowing envi-ronmental problems through economic andpolitical reforms, e.g., deep ecology,ecofeminism, and social ecology.

Radon —A naturally occurring radioactive gasthat is linked to lung cancer.

Rain forest —A dense forest located in areas re-ceiving 80 inches or more of rain each year.

Rangeland —An area that provides vegetation forgrazing animals.

Real gross national product —The gross na-tional product adjusted for inflation.

Reclamation —The process of restoring naturalareas damaged by human activities, e.g., strip-

mining.Recyclable —Still retaining useful properties afterserving a primary function and, thus, capable of being used again.

Recycling —The reuse of scarce raw materials,especially paper, glass, and metals.

Recycling in your backyard —Engaging in recy-cling.

Red tides —Sudden increases in red algae in ar-eas along seacoasts. They usually are attributedto human activities that create imbalances in

nutrient cycles.Reforestation —Replacing forests.Regime —A set of principles, norms, rules, and

procedures governing negotiations and other in-teractions between international participants.

Renewable resource —A resource considered tobe inexhaustible.

Replacement fertility rate —The rate at whichthe number of people born equals the numberof people dying, resulting in a constant popula-tion size.

Resistance —The ability of an organism to live inthe presence of environmental stress, patho-gens, or pests. Natural resistance of crops canbe increased through breeding to reduce use of pesticides and irrigation. However, resistanceacquired by weeds and insects can be a prob-lem—see pesticide resistance and pesticidetreadmill.

Resource depletion —Using a resource at anonreplacement rate.

Resource mobilization theory —A theory argu-ing that social movements arise and act whenresources are available.

Resources —Things obtained from the biosphereby humans to meet their basic needs andwants.

Rest of the world —The belief that hazardousactivities and substance should be locatedsomewhere else.


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Rio Conference —The United Nations Confer-ence on Environment and Development, whichtook place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June,1992.

Riparian rights —A legal principle holding thatusers of land adjoining a river have the rights to

the water, as long as plenty of water is left forthose downstream.Risk —The expected frequency and magnitude of

undesirable effects (death, disease, and injury tohumans and threats to the environment) result-ing from exposure to hazards.

Risk assessment —An estimation of the prob-ability and magnitude of adverse health and en-vironmental effects of hazards.

Risk-benefit analysis —A comparison of therisks and benefits associated with a particular

hazard to determine its acceptability.Risk characterization —An overall summary of

what is known about the likelihood and magni-tude of adverse health, safety, and environmen-tal consequences.

Risk communication —A process of providingthe public with information about the risks as-sociated with particular products, substances,activities, and technologies.

Risk evaluation —A determination of the accept-ability of an identified health, safety, or environ-mental risk.

Risk management —A process of reducing orcontrolling unacceptable risks.

Risk perception —Human perception of health,safety, or environmental risks.

RIYBY —See recycling in your backyard.ROW —See rest of the world.Runoff —The part of irrigation or precipitation

that runs off of land and into surface water andoften carries pollutants.

S-curve —A curve describing population growth.Population increases until it reaches the carry-ing capacity of the ecosystem and then levelsoff.

Safe —Having acceptable risk.Sahel —The arid region south of the Sahara

Desert in West Africa in which food shortagesoften occur because of infrequent seasonalrains.

Salinization —A process by which the salt con-tent of the soil is increased. It typically is attrib-uted to irrigation practices and often makesland useless for crop production.

Saprophyte —An organism (especially a plant)that lives on dead or decaying organic matter.

Savanna—A biome similar to grasslands, but re-ceiving more precipitation and containing more

trees.Science —An effort to understand physical or so-

cial phenomena through replicable procedureand observation.

Scrubber —An antipollution device that removesacid gasses and particulates from exhausted air.

Second law of thermodynamics —A law hold-ing that, when energy is converted from oneform to another, some of the energy is degraded

or lost.Second World —Centrally planned economies,

i.e., those of Eastern Europe from 1948 to1990.

Secondary air pollutants —Substances createdwhen primary pollutants combine with one an-other and other substances. For instance, theprimary pollutant sulfur dioxide reacts withoxygen and moisture to form sulfuric acid.

Secondary forest —A forest that has resultedfrom replacement of original trees by new spe-cies.

Semiperiphery —The middle position in thethree-strata world economic system; partiallyindustrialized countries such as Brazil, Taiwan,the former Eastern Bloc nations, and relatedcountries fall in this category.

Sex ratio —The number of males relative to fe-males.

Sierra Club —An environmental organizationfounded by John Muir in 1892 that promotes

public education, litigation, and outings andconferences.Sink —A part of an environmental system that ab-

sorbs substances generated. The ocean acts as asink for atmospheric carbon dioxide.

SLAPP —See strategic lawsuit against public par-ticipation.

SLAPP BACK —See strategic lawsuit against pub-lic participation.


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Slash-and-burn cultivation —A form of agricul-ture in which land is cleared and farmed for ashort time; then the process is repeated on anew piece of land when the original land is de-pleted.

Smog —Hazy, unhealthy air polluted by smoke,

chemical fumes, or dust.Social construction of reality —A process inwhich people’s experience of reality is deter-mined by the meaning they attach to that real-ity.

Social ecology —A radical ecological positionchampioned by Murray Bookchin and maintain-ing that environmental problems can be tracedto a hierarchical political/ economic system thatdominates humans and nature. It calls for a de-centralized, democratic, and agricultural-based

society.Social evolution —A process of increasing soci-

etal complexity that results from industrializa-tion.

Social movement —A large number of peopleacting together to pursue some shared objec-tive.

Social sciences —Sciences concerned with thestudy of human behavior, including anthropol-ogy, economics, psychology, geography, politicalscience, and sociology.

Social structure —Patterned social regularitiesthat emerge over time and typically representthe interests of those controlling available re-sources.

Socialist economy —An economic system inwhich the means of production are owned pub-licly.

Soft energy paths —Alternative energy sources.Soil erosion —The process by which productive

topsoil is eroded by wind or water action.

Solar pond —A group of black plastic bags filledwith water and laid out in large areas. Heattrapped in the bags produces steam that turnsturbines and produces electricity.

Solar power —The use of solar energy for heat-ing purposes or for generating electricity.

Solid waste disposal —The final placement of waste that cannot be recycled or salvaged.

Source reduction —Controlling waste by chang-

ing use at the level of production, for instance,reducing the waste stream by stopping use of unnecessary packaging.

South or Southern —Less developed countrieslocated in the Southern Hemisphere and oftenreferred to as the Third World.

Special risk group—A group that is at high riskbecause of sensitivity or exposure to hazards.

Children often are identified as a special riskgroup because of their high sensitivity to pesti-cides and other hazardous substances.

Species —A group of similar organisms that arecapable of reproducing with one another.

Standard of living —The quality of life or the ex-tent to which basic human needs are met. Vari-ous indicators have been used to determine it,including infant mortality, life expectancy, lit-

eracy, and economic output measures such asgross national product.

Steady state economy —An economy with aconstant population size and stock of capitalgoods.

Stockholm Conference —The 1972 United Na-tions Conference on the Human Environment.Many scholars assert that this conference wasthe springboard for the modern environmentalmovement.

Strategic lawsuit against public participa-tion —A lawsuit used increasingly by corpora-tions to stifle environmentalists. SLAPP BACK refers to environmental organizations filing law-suits against those who filed the originalSLAPPs.

Stratification —A hierarchical system based onunequal distribution of resources or otherthings that humans value.

Stratosphere —The upper atmosphere.Subsistence economy —An economy in which

production meets a population’s minimumneeds but produces no surplus.Succession —A sequential change in vegetation

often in response to environmental change.Superfund —An economic fund of the Environ-

mental Protection Agency earmarked for clean-ing up major hazardous waste sites.

Surplus —Production of goods and services be-yond the minimum needed to sustain life.


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Sustainable agriculture —Agricultural practicesthat ensure long-term productivity with fewharmful effects.

Sustainable development —The perspectiveemphasizing the need to reconcile present andfuture economic needs through environmental

management.Swidden agriculture —Another term for slash-and-burn agriculture.

Technology —A set of standardized operationsthat yields predetermined results.

Teratogen —A substance that causes birth de-fects.

Tertiary sector —The part of the economy thatproduces services and information.

Third World —Less developed countries thathave low per capita incomes, large agricultural

sectors, and a shortage of most kinds of capital.Third World debt —See debt crisis.Three Mile Island —A nuclear power accident

that occurred at the Three Mile Island plant inPennsylvania on March 29, 1979.

Three R’s —Reduce, reuse, and recycle.Tillage —The use of mechanized means to loosen

soil and improve growing conditions for crops.TNC —See transnational corporation.Topsoil —The top layer of the soil that contains

large amounts of organic matter. It often isviewed as a transitional region between the liv-ing and nonliving segments of the larger bio-sphere.

Toxic chemicals —Chemicals that can causeharm to humans and the environment.

Toxic wastes —Wastes that can cause harm tohumans and the environment and can be foundin the air, water, or soil.

Toxicology —The study of the harmful effects of hazardous substances on humans and other or-

ganisms.Toxin —A hazardous substance produced by a liv-ing organism.

Trace gases —Gases that occur in only smallamounts.

Traditional agriculture —Farming based onpractices such as crop rotation, use of animalmanures instead of chemical fertilizers, and useof animal power.

Tragedy of the commons —The tendency forpeople to overuse and degrade resources towhich they have free access, because it is intheir individual short-term interest to use themin an unconstrained fashion.

Transfrontier pollution —Pollution that moves

across national boundaries through naturalforces such as rivers and air currents.Transmissible disease —A disease caused by a

living organism transferred from one person toanother through physical contact.

Transnational corporation —A firm with sub-stantial operations in many countries but con-trolled from its home country.

True costs —Market and nonmarket costs associ-ated with the production and use of goods andservices. Market costs fail to account for envi-

ronmental degradation and related externali-ties.

2,4-D —An herbicide used to kill weeds and con-sidered to be a carcinogen and a mutagen.

UNCED —See United Nations Conference on En-vironment and Development.

UNDP —See United Nations DevelopmentProgramme.

UNEP —See United Nations EnvironmentProgramme.

Unequal exchange —A pattern describing traderelations between two or more countries whenone country benefits more than another.

Uneven development —The tendency for someareas of a country or region to prosper, whileother areas stagnate.

United Nations Conference on Environmentand Development —The Earth Summit heldin Rio in 1992.

United Nations Development Programme —Aprogram with the stated purpose of enhancing

development worldwide.United Nations Environment Programme —Aprogram conceived at the 1972 StockholmConference with the purpose of raising environ-mental consciousness on a global level.

Urbanization —The process by which an increas-ing share of the population of a country lives incities.


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Value added —A means of increasing the valueof agricultural commodities by improvements(e.g., breeding wheat with high protein con-tent) or processing (e.g., grinding wheat intoflour).

Vegetarian —A person who does not eat meat.Water pollution

—Degradation of the naturalquality of water.Water table —The level below the surface at

which the ground is saturated with water.WCED —See World Commission on Environment

and Development.Wetlands —Several different types of habitats

containing water, e.g., marshes, swamps, andbogs. They act as filters for rivers and steamsand minimize the effects of flooding by storingwater.

WHO —See World Health Organization.Why in my backyard —The question of why

hazardous activities and substances are placedin a particular location.

Wilderness —An area uninhabited by humans.Wildlife —All undomesticated organisms in an

area, especially animals.WIMBY —See why in my back yard.Wind power —The generation of electricity

through wind, a renewable source.World Bank —The popular name for the Interna-

tional Bank for Reconstruction and Develop-ment, which was established in 1947. Itencourages private (rather than public) invest-ment.

World Commission on Environment and De-velopment —Committee chaired by Norwe-gian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtlandand also known as the Brundtland Commis-sion. The Commission’s report, Our Common Future (1987), popularized the notion of sus-

tainable development.World economic system —A capitalist worldeconomy consisting of a three-tiered hierachy of countries, including a periphery, semiperiphery,and a core. Centrality in the economic systemis determined by control of economic and politi-cal resources.

World Environment Day —June 5 of each year;designated by the 1972 UN Conference on theHuman Environment as a day to focus on envi-ronmental problems.

World Health Organization —A United Nationsagency established in 1948 to promote coopera-

tion among nations in controlling disease.World Resources Institute —Policy researchcenter set up in 1982 to address environmentalissues on a global level.

World-systems theory —A theory that views thecountries of the world as arranged in a hierar-chical system and linked through a capitalisteconomy characterized by patterns of depen-dence. This hierarchy consists of core, semipe-ripheral, and peripheral positions.

Worldview —A set of beliefs and perceptions re-

garding the manner in which the world oper-ates.

Worldwatch Institute —A research organizationfounded in 1974 to track global problems.

World Wildlife Fund —An organization foundedin the U.S. in 1961 and working globally toprotect endangered wildlife and wetlands.

WRI —See World Resources Institute.WWF —See Worldwide Wildlife Fund.WWI —See Worldwatch Institute.

Yes, in my background-for a price —Accep-tance of the location of hazardous activities andsubstances in an area for a price.

YIMBY-FAP —See yes, in my backyard-for a price.Zero discharge —The complete prevention of

pollutants from entering ecosystems.Zero population growth —A lack of population

growth caused by a balance among births,deaths, and migration.

Zero Population Growth —An organizationfounded in 1968 to inform people about prob-

lems associated with global population growth.ZPG —See zero population growth.


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RECOMMENDED READING

Franck, Irene and David Brownstone. 1992. The Green Encylopedia: An A-to-Z Sourcebook of Environmental Concerns and Solutions . New

York: Prentice-Hall.

Ghai, Dharam, editor. 1994. Development and Environment: Sustaining People and N ature .Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

Gilpin, Alan. 1976. Dictionary of Environmental Terms . London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Goldsmith, E. and N. Hildyard. 1990. Earth Report 2 . London: Mitchell Beazley.

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