chapter 13 - a clean environment, chapter 14 - climate change

Environmental Protection Agency

the federal agency responsible for prevention and cleanup of water pollution and air pollution, control of toxic substances, and other issues of environmental contamination

Greenhouse gases

gases that absorb the radiation of specific wavelengths with the infrared spectrum of radiation emitted by the earth’s surface and clouds. Effect is a warming of the earth’s surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere

Clean Air Act

The primary federal law in the United States governing air pollution

Safe Drinking Water Act

principal federal law in the US intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public

Superfund

the US federal program that addresses the nation’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980

Pesticides

substances or mixtures used to kill, control, or repel pests like insects, weeds, rodents, and fungi

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

A group of chemicals that are common environmental pollutants

• they frequently enter the environment through discharge of industrial waste

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Federal agency within the Department of Labor that ensures safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education, and assistance to workers and employers

Water contaminants

substances that pollute drinking or surface water, including microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites), chemicals (pesticides, industrial compounds, heavy metals, and other materials that make water unsafe or undesirable for consumption or use

Industrial chemicals

synthetic compounds used in manufacturing, production, and industrial processes. these include solvents, plastics, metals, and countless other substances that may enter the environment through production, use, or disposal

Pollutants (indoor, outdoor)

Substances in air, water, or soil that can harm human health or ecosystems.

• Indoor. pollutants include radon, carbon monoxide, mold, volatile organic compounds, and tobacco smoke

• Outdoor pollutants include vehicle emissions, industrial discharge, and particulate matter

Occupational exposures

Contact with hazardous substances, physical agents, or dangerous conditions encountered in the workplace, such as chemical fumes, asbestos, noise, radiation, or ergonomic hazards that can cause acute or chronic health effects.

Standard setting

the process by which regulatory agencies establish legally enforceable limits on pollutant concentrations or exposures based on scientific evidence about health effects and technical feasibility of control measures

risk-benefit analysis

an evaluation method that weighs the potential health or environmental risks of a substance, activity, or policy against its economic, social, or health benefits to inform regulatory decisions and resource allocation

Emissions standards

legally mandated limits on the amount or concentration of pollutants that can be released into the air from specific sources like vehicles, power plants, or industrial facilities

Criteria air pollutants

six common air pollutants regulated by the EPA under the Clean Air Act based on health and environmental criteria

• particulate matter, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead

Particulate matter

mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air

Ozone, ozone layer, ozone hole

ozone is a molecular composed of three oxygen atoms. The stratospheric ozone layer shields Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation

• the ozone hole refers to seasonal depletion of this protective layer caused by chlorofluorocarbons and other chemicals

• ground level ozone is a harmful pollutant formed by chemical reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in sunlight

Acid rain

precipitation with elevated acidity (low PH) caused by atmospheric pollutants, primarily sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel combustion. These can damage forests, lakes, buildings, and aquatic ecosystems

Point source pollution

contamination entering water from a single, identifiable source such as a discharge pipe from a factory, sewage treatment plant, or oil spill. These sources are easier to regulate and control

Non-point source pollution

Contamination from diffuse sources without a single point of origin, such as agricultural runoff, urban stormwater, atmospheric deposition, or runoff from roads and parking lots. This is harder to regulate and control than point source pollution

Clean Water Act

Federal law that regulates pollutant discharges into US waters and establishes quality standards for surface waters. it made it unlawful to discharge pollutationts without a permit

Safe Drinking Water Act

federal law that protects public drinking water supplies by authorizing the EPA to set standard for drinking water quality and oversee states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards

Water treatment methods

processes used to make water safe for drinking or other uses including coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, and sometimes additional treatments for specific contaminants

Waterborne disease outbreaks

Illness episodes affecting two or more people linked to consumption of or exposure to contaminated water. Common pathogens include bacteria, viruses, and parasites

Flint, MI water crisis/lead poisoning of water

Public health disaster (2014-2019) that occurred when Flint switched its water source to the Flint River without proper corrosion control. The acidic water leached lead from aging pipes into drinking water, exposing thousands of residents, especially children, to dangerous lead levels causing neurological damage and other health problems

Municipal solid waste

everyday trash or garbage generated by households, businesses, and institutions, including packaging, food scraps, yard waste, furniture appliances, and other discarded materials, but excluding industrial and hazardous wastes

Sanitary landfill

engineered waste disposal site designed to minimize environmental and health impacts through careful site selection, liner systems to prevent groundwater contamination, leachate collection, daily soil cover, and monitoring systems

Recycling

The process of collecting processing, and manufacturing products from used materials, reducing the need for raw material extraction and decreasing waste sent to landfills and incinerators

Not in My Backyard

Social phenomenon where people oppose the placement of undesirable facilities (landfills, treatment plants, industrial sites) in their community while recognizing the need for such facilities. This can create challenges in siting necessary but unpopular infrastructure

Three R’s of waste disposal

Reduce - minimize waste generation

Reuse - use items multiple times

Recycle - process materials into new products

Hazardous wastes

Discarded materials that pose substantial threats to human health or the environment due to their ignitability, corrosively, reactivity, or toxicity. These include industrial byproducts, batteries, pesticides, solvents, and many other dangerous substances

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Federal law that gives the EPA authority to control hazardous waste from cradle to grave - from generation, transportation, treatment, storage, to disposal. It also addresses non-hazardous solid waste management

climate change

the long-term change in the climate of the planet, also called global warming due to historical increases in the average temperature of the planet

climate change mitigation

the process of reducing and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions into the air in order to prevent global warming to reach extreme temperatures

climate change adaptation

the process of adjusting to current and anticipated effects of climate change in order to reduce vulnerability and risk and to make resilience greater

climate denial

denial that contradicts the consensus of the scientific community on climate change. this includes how far the actions of humans have gone to affect nature and society as well as potentially adapting to global warming as a result of human actions

• the rejection, dismissal, or unwarranted doubt of the scientific consensus on climate change.

climate drivers

the conditions of the physical climate system that affect ecosystems and/or an element of society and which has an effect on human or ecological systems

climate resilience

the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate-related hazardous events, trends, and disturbances

global warming

historical increases in the average temperature of the planet