AP Environmental Science - Unit 9

Anthropogenic greenhouse gases — greenhouse gases caused by humans

Background extinction rate — normal natural extinction rate

Biodiversity hot spot — diverse area with many threatened species

Cap-and-trade policy — companies can buy/sell pollution permits

Carbon sequestration — capturing and storing carbon dioxide

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — chemicals that damage the ozone layer

CITES — treaty protecting endangered species from trade

Climate change — long-term shift in Earth’s climate

Coral bleaching — corals lose algae and turn white

Critically endangered — species at extremely high risk of extinction

Endangered — species likely to become extinct

Endangered Species Act — U.S. law protecting endangered species

Extinction — complete loss of a species

Global warming potential (GWP) — how strongly a gas traps heat compared to CO₂

Globalization — increasing worldwide connections and trade

Golden Age of Conservation — Theodore Roosevelt era of major conservation efforts

Green taxes — taxes meant to reduce pollution and environmental harm

Greenhouse effect — gases trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere

Habitat corridors — pathways connecting separated habitats

Habitat fragmentation — habitats split into smaller isolated pieces

Invasive species — harmful non-native species

Kyoto Protocol — treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Market permits — pollution permits companies can trade

Montreal Protocol — agreement banning ozone-damaging chemicals

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — independent citizen groups helping causes

Ocean acidification — oceans become more acidic from CO₂

Ocean warming — oceans heat up from greenhouse gases

Ozone loss — thinning of the ozone layer

Policy — official plan or course of action

Sustainability — using resources without harming future generations

Taxon substitution — replacing extinct native species with non-native ones

Threatened species — species likely to become endangered

Vulnerable — species at risk if no action is taken

Water rights — legal rights to use water resources