Human Geo 11.3-11.4 Vocab Flashcards
Pollution
Concentration of waste added to air, water, or land at a greater level than occurs in average air, water, or land. Industry is a major polluter.
Air Pollution
Concentration of trace substances (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, etc) at greater level than occurs in average air. Earth’s average atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and less than 1% argon. The remaining 0.04% contains these trace gases. Most pollution is generated from factories/power plants/motor vehicles.
Photochemical Smog
An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions.
Acid Deposition
The accumulation of acids on Earth’s surface. The world’s principal industrial regions are especially affected by it.
Acid Precipitation
Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides (emitted by burning fossil fuels) to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog. It damages lakes, killing fish, plants, gets in soil and injures plants and harms worms/insects, and causes marble and limestone to corrode. Geographers are interested in its effects because the worst damage isn’t experienced at the place where it was emitted. In the US, generators are in industrial states along the Great Lakes. However, the most severe effects are felt in several areas farther east.
Ozone
A gas that absorbs UV solar radiation and is found in stratosphere (9 to 30 miles above Earth’s surface). If not for ozone, UV rays would damage plants, cause skin cancer, and disrupt food chains.
Chloroflurocarbons (CFCs)
A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams/fire extinguishers. When they leak, break down Earth’s protective ozone layer. In 2007, nearly all countries agreed to stop using CFCs by 2020 in MDCs and 2030 in LDCs.
Nonconsumptive water usage
The use of water that is returned to nature as a liquid. Ex: most industrial and municipal uses of water, because the wastewater is primarily discharged into lakes and streams.
Consumptive water usage
The use of water that evaporates rather than being returned to nature as a liquid. Ex. most agricultural uses, because water is used to supply plants that transpire it (it can’t be treated and reused).
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
The amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution. If too much waste is discharged into water, it becomes oxygen starved and fish die. This occurs when bodies of water become loaded with sewage or waste, which can consume so much oxygen that plants/animals can no longer live there (creating a “dead” stream/lake).
Point-source pollution
Pollution entering a body of water from a specific source (like pipe from wastewater treatment plant). Point-source pollutants are smaller in quantity and much easier to control. The two main point sources are manufacturers and municipal treatment plants. Fish adapted to cold water, might not be able to survive in warm water discharged back into a lake after use by factories. Major industrial water polluters: steel, chemicals, paper products, food processing.
Nonpoint-source pollution
Pollution that originates from a large, diffuse area. They’re much harder to control. The principal nonpoint source is agriculture (fertilizers/pesticides are carried into rivers/lakes by irrigation or natural runoff, destroying aquatic life through pollution). Extreme instance of nonpoint water pollution: Aral sea in former Soviet Union.
Sanitary Landfill
A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires and to discourage vermin. The most common strategy for solid waste disposal in the US (1/2 of waste). This strategy is the opposite of our disposal of gaseous and liquid wastes because we concentrate it in thousands of landfills.
Recycling
The separation, collection, processing, marketing, and reuse of unwanted material. Involves the breaking down of components used to make plastics, papers, aluminum, and glass, and preparing them for future use. Many MDCs have programs to encourage recycling, though rates vary (65% of solid waste is recycled in Germany, but 19% in Japan). The recycling % in the US has increased to 34% today. Most LDCs lack recycling programs, but informal recycling is common. Pickers comb through landfills and resell their finds.
Remanufacturing
The rebuilding of a product to specifications of the original manufactured product using a combination of reused, repaired, and new parts. The % of materials covered by recycling varies by product. Materials are made into new products that a market desires.