Theme 3 - 3.7 - Environmental Risks Of Economic Development Flashcards
Define pollution.
Contamination of the environment.
What are some forms of pollution?
- Air
- Water
- Noise
- Visual
Define prevailing wind.
The major direction of winds in a region.
Define externalities.
The side effects, positive and negative, of an economic activity that are experienced beyond its site.
Define enhanced greenhouse effect.
Large-scale pollution of the atmosphere by economic activities has created an enhanced greenhouse effect.
Define deforestation.
The loss of forested lands for a number of reasons.
Define overgrazing.
The grazing of natural pastures at stocking intensities above the livestock carrying capacity.
Define desertification.
The gradual transformation of habitable land into desert.
Define dust storm.
A severe windstorm that sweeps cloud of dust across an extensive area, especially in an arid region.
Define resource management.
The control of the exploitation and use of resources in relation to environmental and economic costs.
Define sustainable development.
A carefully calculated system of resource management which ensures that the current level of exploitation does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own need.
Define environmental impact statement.
A document required by law detailing all the impacts on the environment of an energy or other project above a certain size.
Define conservation of resources.
The management of the human use of natural resources to provide the maximum benefit to current generations while maintaining capacity to meet the needs of future generations.
Define recycling.
The concentration of used or waste materials, their reprocessing, and their subsequent use in place of new materials.
Define reuse.
This involves extending the life of a product beyond what was the norm in the past, or putting a product to a new use and extending its life in this way.
Define quotas.
Involving agreement between countries to take only a predetermined amount of a resource.
Define rationing.
A last resort management strategy when demand is massively out of proportion to supply.
Define subsidies.
Financial aid supplied by the government to an industry for reasons of public welfare.
Define carbon credit.
A permit that allows an organisation to emit a specified amount of greenhouse gases.
Define carbon trading.
A company that does not use up the level of emissions it is entitled to can sell the remainder of its entitlement to another company.
Define community energy.
Energy produced close to the point of consumption.
Define microgeneration.
Generators producing energy with an output of less than 50kW.
Give some environmental threats which economic activities may pose.
- Soil erosion
- Desertification
- Enhanced global warming
- Pollution
What are some causes of global warming?
NATURAL • Plate tectonics • Solar cycles • Variations in the Earth's orbit • Volcanic eruptions • Ocean circulations HUMAN • Release of greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitrous gases) • Anthropogenic heat -> Heat released by people and man-made structures • Release of water into the atmosphere
