Key Terms Related to Industries and Environmental Concepts

Flashcards covering important vocabulary and definitions related to industries and environmental concepts.

Bulk-gaining industry

An industry in which the final product weighs more or comprises a greater volume than the inputs.

Bulk-reducing industry

An industry in which the final product weighs less or comprises a lower volume than the inputs.

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)

A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers.

Consumptive water usage

The use of water that evaporates rather than being returned to nature as a liquid.

Cottage industry

Manufacturing based in homes rather than in factories, most common prior to the Industrial Revolution.

Fission

The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy.

Fordist production

A form of mass production in which each worker is assigned one specific task to perform repeatedly.

Fossil fuel

An energy source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago.

Fusion

Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium.

Geothermal energy

Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks.

Greenhouse effect

The anticipated increase in Earth's temperature caused by carbon dioxide trapping radiation emitted by the surface.

Just-in-time delivery

Shipment of parts and materials to arrive at a factory moments before they are needed.

Labor-intensive industry

An industry for which labor costs comprise a high percentage of total expenses.

Maquiladora

A factory built by a U.S. company in Mexico near the U.S. border to take advantage of the lower labor costs in Mexico.

New international division of labor

Transfer of some types of jobs from more developed to less developed countries.

Nonconsumptive water usage

The use of water that is returned to nature as a liquid.

Nonpoint source pollution

Pollution that originates from a large, diffuse area.

Nonrenewable energy

A source of energy that has a finite supply capable of being exhausted.

Outsourcing

A decision by a corporation to turn over much of the responsibility for production to independent suppliers.

Ozone

A gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation and is found in the stratosphere.

Passive solar energy systems

Solar energy systems that collect energy without the use of mechanical devices.

Photochemical smog

An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution.

Point source pollution

Pollution that enters a body of water from a specific source.

Pollution

Concentration of waste added to air, water, or land at a greater level than occurs in average conditions.

Post-Fordist production

Adoption by companies of flexible work rules, such as the allocation of workers to teams for varying tasks.

Potential reserve

The amount of a resource in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist.

Proven reserve

The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits.

Recycling

The separation, collection, processing, marketing, and reuse of unwanted material.

Remanufacturing

The rebuilding of a product to specifications of the original using reused, repaired, and new parts.

Renewable energy

A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by people.

Right-to-work law

A U.S. law that prevents a union and company from requiring union membership as a condition of employment.

Sanitary landfill

A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions.

Site factors

Location factors related to the costs of factors of production inside a plant.

Situation factors

Location factors related to the transportation of materials into and from a factory.

Vertical integration

An approach typical of traditional mass production in which a company controls all phases of a production process.