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More Environmental Terms

ACID RAIN
Rain polluted by sulphur and nitrogen-based acids from combustion processes which damages lakes and forests.

AEROBIC BACTERIA
Micro-organisms which live only in the presence of free oxygen.

AIR POLLUTION
This can be divide into particulated and gase;ous pollutants. Particulate pollutants consist mainly of dust and smole. Gaseous pollutants are caused by the burning of fuels (wood, oil, coal) and consist mostly of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide etc., and also from industrial processes.

AIR POLLUTION INDEX
An index based on the concentration of sulphur dioxide (S02), carbon monoxide (CO), dust particles, and hydrocarbons.

ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
Division of scarce resources between various users to attain optimum benefits for all.

ANTI-KNOCK ADDITIVES
Substances that give evenness of fuel combustion in internal combustion engines. Contain mainly organic lead compounds (tetra-ethyl lead).

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (B.O.D.)
The amount of oxygen that is needed for biochemical oxidation of organic pollutants in water.

BIODEGRADABLE
Substances that can be decomposed through biological processes.

BIOMASS
All material of vegetable and animal origin produced through biological processes.

BIO-PHYSICAL
That part of the environment of encompassing living species and their physical surroundings.

BIOSPHERE
That part of the earths surface, including the ocean, the atmosphere which supports life.

B.O.D.
See Biochemical Oxygen Demand.

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Analysis of total quantifiable costs and benefits of a project to society as a whole.

CYANIDE
Toxic compound of two radicals each consisting of one atom of nitrogen and one of carbon.

DDT
Synthetic insecticide from the chlorinated hydrocarbons group used mainly for agricultural purposes and for malaria control. It resists biodegration, and therefore can be harmful to the bio-sphere if used without due precaution.

DENITRIFYING BACTERIA
Bacteria which break up nitrogen compounds.

DE-SALINATION
Process to remove salt from sea water.

DESERTIFICATION
Transformation of productive land into desert.

DIRECT TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Conveying knowledge directly from an existing user in one part of the world to a potential user in another part.

ECOLOGY
The study of relationships between living organisms and their environment.

ECO-SYSTEM
A collection of living organisms, their neceessary resources and their habitat,and their interaction in a self-contained and sustainable manner.

ECOSYSTEMS
Organisation of relationships of living organisms within a given natural environment.

ENERGY RESOURCES
Sources of fuel (both renewable and non-renewable).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)
The assessment, before the decision to implement a project, of the impact the project would have on the environment if it were to be implemented.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGMENT
Managment of activities within tolerable constraints imposed by the environment itself, and with full consideration of ecological factors; management of the enterprise to achieve survival, prof-itability, growth and social responsibility; essentially preven-tive rather than retro-fitting.

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
Planning for the use of environmental resource on a sustainable basis.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
Resources of land, water, air, flora and fauna.

EROSION
The loss of soil by winds and water.

EUTROPHICATION
Accelerated aging of lakes through build up of organic residues caused by over fertilization.

EXTERNALITY
The cost or benefits occurring to parties other than the supplier and the purchaser of an economic transaction.

FERTILIZER
Organic or inorganic compounds used to make the land more productive.

FOSSIL FUEL
A source of non-renewable energy such as oil, gas and coal resulting from the fossilization of biomass.

GATEKEEPER
A number of a community who channels information and opinions.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Energy derived from hot zones beneath the earths surface or in geologically active areas.

GASEOUS ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
Pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, industrial emissions etc. it can cause intoxication, bronchitis, asthma, emphysema and other respiratory illnesses.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Heating of the atmosphere due to the trapped solar energy as a result of a rise in the carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere.

GREEN REVOLUTION
Increases in food outputs from high-yielding varieties of seeds which require a combination of irrigation, fertilizers and pes-ticides.

HERBICIDES
Chemicals used to kill plants.

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Cities, towns and villages.

HYDROCARBONS
Chemical compounds composed of hydrogen and carbon; the largest source of hydrocarbons is oil.

HYDROSPHERE
The water portion of the earths surface as distinguished from the solid part (lithosphere) and the gaseous layer (atmosphere).

INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Solid residues from industrial processes.

INFRASTRUCTURE
The physical basis of social services. Example - electricity, gas, water, roads and railways etc.

INSECTICIDES
Chemical agents that destroy insects.

INTEGRATED CONTROL
Ecological pest management with the combined use of all possible means.

IONIZING RADIATION
Radiations emitted by radio-active substances or apparatus, with sufficient energy to produce ionization directly on their passage through a substance. Can destroy living cells.

LAND USE
Allocation of sectors of land that are restricted from certain activities. Thus certain areas would be reserved for industries while other areas would be reserved for habitation.

LITHOSPHERE
The solid part of the earths surface.

LOW-SULPHUR FUEL
Fossil fuels from which sulphur has been removed.

MANURE
Animal excreta after aerobic fermentation, used as fertilizer.

MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE DOSE
The dose of a toxic agent that a person may receive over ecific time without appreciable bodily injury.

MEGALOPOLIS
Very large metropolitan urbanized zone. Also termed as "Mega-cities"

METABOLIC CHAIN (ALSO FOOD CHAIN)
The sequence of consumption of lower organisms by higher organisms.

METEOROLOGY
The science of the atmosphere and its phenomena.

METHANE
A colourless, odourless, inflammable gaseous hydrocarbon, chief component of natural gas.

MINERAL RESOURCES
Mineral deposits of an area that are potentially recoverable.

MITIGATE
Reduce severity (of impacts) by modifying a project or its location.

NATURAL GAS
A combustible, gaseous mixture of hydrocarbons found in association with crude oil or in separate deposits.

NATURAL SYSTEMS
Stable interacting collection of non-man-made physical and jor biological entities.

NITRITE
a salt or easter of nitric acid.

NITROGEN OXIDES
Laughing gas.

NITRTROUS OXIDE
Oxide or nitrogen used as a propellant.

NURTRIENT
Substance which provide nourishment for plants.

ORGANIC SUBSTANCE
Substances based on molecules having a carbon skeleton, usulally originating from biomass.

OUTFALL
Point of discharge of waste water.

OZONE
Gas containing three molecules of oxygen, a powerful oxidant. An ozone layer above the earth absorbs dangerous ultra violet radia-tion. In the lower atmoshpere, it is involved in producing photo-chemical smog.

PARASTATAL
An institution or body which takes on some of the roles of civil government or political authority; an agency through which the state works indirectly.

PARTICULATES
Fine solid particles which remain suspended in gases, particularly air.

PERSISTENT INSECTICIDES
Non-degradable insecticides, such as DDT.

PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG
Chemical pollutants in the atmosphere resulting from chemical reactions involving hydrocarbons and oxidants in the presence of sunlight.

PHYSICAL PLANNING
Land use and infrastructure planing emphasising the need for providing a balancaed economic development and conserving re-sources.

PNEUMOCONIOSIS
Debilitating or fatal lung disease caused by the inhalation of mineral dust.

POLLUTANT
Substances that damage the quality of the environment.

PRODUCIVITY
a measure of the physical output resulting from the use of human or natural resources.

RAW SEWAGE
Untreated municipal waste waters containing human excreta, etc.

RECYCLING
The recovery and reuse jof materials from scrap or other waste materials.

RESOURCE-INTENSIVE
Activity (usually human) requiring large input of natural resources.

RETRO-FITTING
Environmental management of the enterprise which fails to prevent environmental damage; must expend resurces later for corrective measures.

RESOURCE- INVENTORIES
Exhaustive listing of resources.

SCHISTOSOMIASIS
Disease caused by parasitic fulke trnsmitted by a water snail.

SECONDARY SEWAGE TREANTMENT
Process whereby sewage, after being screened, is subjeacted to aerobic treatment methods to dissolve organic pollutants.

SEMI-ARID REGION
Region with very low rainfall.

SMOG
Air pollution consiting of smoke and fog.

SOCIAL COSTS
The quantative and qualitative burden imposed on society by a given activity.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Income and social position considered as a single faction to measure a family or an individuals status in a community.

SULPHUR DIOXIDE
Air pollutant arises from the combustion of sulphur in fuels. Above certain concentrations it is a respiratory irritant; during airborn transportation it can convert into an acid precipitated as acid rain, damages crops, forsts, lakes and structures.

SYNERGISTIC
Co-operative action of various forces such that the total effect is greater than the sum of the two or more effects if the action was taken independently.

TERTIARY SEWAGE TREATMENT
Third stage of sewage treatment, where chemical compounds are removed.

TETRAETHYL LEAD
A highly toxic lead compound that, when added in small proportions to gasoline, increases the fuel anti-knock quality.

THERMAL POLLUTION
Entrapment of cold air and pollutants below a stable layer of warm air.

VECTOR HABITAT
The place where an organism, which transmits a disease, normally lives.

VULNERABILITY OF ECOSYSTEMS
Fragility of the ecosystem to mismanagement.

ZONING REGULATIONS
Regulations designed to control land use for specific activities (industrial, residential, nature reserves etc.).

Manu and Anshu, UEMRI-India

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