Environmental Science Lecture Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering demographic phases, air and water pollution, waste management, energy sources, and climate change policy based on lecture transcripts.

Phase 1: Pre-industrial Stage

A stage characterized by high crude birth rates (CBR) and high crude death rates (CDR), resulting in a stable population.

Phase 2: Transitional Stage

A stage with high CBR but decreasing CDR, leading to a rapid rise in human population and the most rapid rate of population increase.

Phase 3: Industrial Stage

A stage with low CDR and decreasing CBR where population is still growing but growth is slower and heading toward stabilization.

Phase 4: Post-industrial Stage

A stage with low CBR and low CDR where the population has stabilized or is in a decline.

Primary pollutant

Pollutants being discharged directly into the troposphere, such as $CO_2$, $NO$, and $SO_2$.

Secondary pollutant

A pollutant formed from the reaction between a primary pollutant and other chemicals, such as $SO_3$, $H_2SO_4$, and $O_3$.

Thermal inversion

The lack of mixing or convection due to density difference, occurring when warm, lower density air is positioned on top of cooler air.

Tropospheric ozone ($O_3$)

A pollutant and irritant formed by the reaction process: $NO + O_2 \rightarrow NO_2$, then $NO_2 + UV \rightarrow O + NO$, and finally $O + O_2 \rightarrow O_3$.

Nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$)

A primary outdoor air pollutant from fossil fuels that appears as a brown fume.

Radon-222

A primary indoor air pollutant that is a decay product from uranium-238.

Electrostatic Precipitator

An industrial solution used to remove particulates from flue gas.

Wet Scrubber

A device used in coal power plants to remove $SO_2$ using a mixture of $CaO$ and $H_2O$.

Catalytic Converter

A device in car exhausts that uses a three-way catalyst to remove $CO$, hydrocarbons, and $NO_x$.

Cultural eutrophication

Excessive supply of nutrients by humans, usually from inorganic fertilizers, leading to toxic algal blooms.

Bioaccumulation

The accumulation of fat-soluble toxins in an individual's body.

Biomagnification

The amplification of toxic concentration as it moves from one trophic level to a higher trophic level.

Benthos

Aquatic bottom dwellers, such as clams.

Ogallala Aquifer

The largest aquifer in the world, categorized as group water storage.

Primary Water Treatment

A physical treatment process involving primary sedimentation where most solids are allowed to settle produced as sludge.

Secondary Water Treatment

A biological treatment process using an aeration tank to provide oxygen to bacteria that remove harmful agents.

Clean Water Act (1972)

Legislation focused on regulating discharges from traditional point source facilities like municipal sewage plants and industrial facilities.

Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)

Legislation requiring the EPA to regulate pollutants that cause negative public health effects and protect drinking water sources.

LD50 (Lethal dose-50)

The dosage of a toxin required to kill $50\%$ of a tested population.

Threshold toxin

A toxin that shows a negative effect only after a certain dosage level is reached.

Teratogens

Chemicals that cause birth defects, such as Mercury ($Hg$).

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS)

Powerful toxins known to bioaccumulate and biomagnify, including $DDT$, $DDE$, $PCBs$, dioxins, and furans.

Sanitary landfill

A modern waste disposal method where trash is covered by clay and soil daily and lined with synthetic liner to prevent leachate contamination.

Anthracite

The hardest grade of coal with the highest carbon content and lowest moisture content.

Fractional distillation

The method used to refine crude oil into different products such as gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel based on boiling points.

Albedo

The reflectivity of an object, which plays a role in how much heat the Earth's surface absorbs.

Keeling Curve

A graph showing the steady increase of atmospheric $CO_2$ concentrations measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

Montreal Protocol (1987)

An international agreement that phased out the production of $CFCs$ and $HCFCs$ to protect the ozone layer.

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

An international agreement aimed at cutting GHGs/carbon emissions, targeting $CO_2$, $CH_4$, and $N_2O$.

Paris Climate Accord (2016)

An agreement aiming to limit global temperature rise this century to well below $2^{\circ}C$ above pre-industrial levels.