环境英语证书考试(PEC)-环境经济学词汇.doc

环境英语证书考试（PEC）-环境经济学词汇

Afforestation: Planting trees where there were none before.
Agroforestry: The integration of tree growing with crop and livestock production. Agroforestry offers a way of tackling the combined problems of wood storages, poor agricultural production and environmental degradation.
Acid rain: When strong acids fall from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, fog or dry particles. The acid is the result of pollution caused mostly by sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides that are discharged into the atmosphere by industry. It also is created by burning coal and oil, from the operation of smelting industries and from transportation. In the atmosphere, these gases combine with water vapour to form acids, which then fall back to Earth. The result often kills forests and sterilizes lakes.
Anthropogenic: Human-induced or human-caused, derived from the Greek root anthropos meaning "man."
Algae blooms: The rapid growth of algae on the surface of lakes, streams, or ponds; stimulated by nutrient enrichment; an explosive increase in the density of phytoplankton within an area.
Algae: Rootless plants that grow in sunlit waters in relative proportion to the amounts of nutrients available. They can affect water quality adversely by lowering the dissolved oxygen in the water. They are food for fish and small aquatic animals. However, when algae exists in excess, it takes away oxygen from the water, thus killing all life.
Aquifer: A porous, water-saturated layer of sediment and bedrock under the Earth's surface; also described as artesian (confined) or water table (unconfined).
Arid: Regions where precipitation is insufficient in quantity for most crops and where agriculture is impractical without irrigation.
Atmosphere: The envelope of air surrounding the Earth. Most of the total mass of the atmosphere lies within the troposphere and the stratosphere. Most weather events are confined to the troposphere, the lower eight to 12 km of the atmosphere. The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere which typically extends from 10 to 40 km above the Earth.
Biodegradable: Capable of being broken down by living organisms into inorganic compounds. Ideally all waste should be biodegradable.
Biological diversity (biodiversity): The variety of different living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the variety of different ecosystems that they form. This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems, and the genetic variability of each species.
Biological resources: Includes genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations, or any other biotic component of ecosystems with actual or potential use or value for humanity.
Biomass: The total amount of living organisms in a given area.
Biosphere: The global ecosystem; that part of the earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms.
Carbon tetrachloride: A solvent which is considered toxic and can cause cancer in humans. It is used primarily as a feedstock material for the production of other chemicals, including CFCs.
Cataracts: Damage to the eye lens, which impairs vision. It is often caused by UV-B radiation, which is usually filtered out by the ozone layer.
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons): Any of the various compounds consisting of chlorine, hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon. They were first invented by DuPont Corporation in 1928 and have been widely used as refrigerants, as aerosol propellants, as cleaning solvents and in the manufacture of plastic foam. In 1972, scientists discovered that gaseous CFCs can deplete the ozone layer when they slowly rise into the stratosphere and their chlorine atoms react with ozone molecules. Efforts are now underway through the Montreal Protocol to reduce and then eliminate production of this substance worldwide.
Carbon dioxide: A colourless, odourless, non-poisonous gas, which results from fossil fuel combustion and is normally a part of the air.
Climate change: The slow variations of climatic characteristics over time at a given place. Usually refers to the change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is, in addition to natural climate variability, observed over comparable periods.
Climate system: The totality of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere and their interactions that characterize the average and extreme conditions of the atmosphere over a long period of time at any one place or region of the earth's surface.
Climate: The long term average condition of the weather in a given area.
Composting: The natural biological decomposition of organic material in the presence of aerobic bacteria to form a rich, dark soil fertilizer.
Conservation: The long-term protection and sustainable management of natural resources in accordance with principles that ensure long-term economic and social benefits.
Contaminant: Any biological, chemical, physical or radiological substance that has an negative effect on air, soil or water.
Deforestation: The felling of trees, usually for commercial purposes.
Desertification: Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
Developed World: Those countries that have industrialized through possessing the means and the technology to do so. Also referred to as the "North" or the "Industrialized World."
Developing World: Those countries that are underdeveloped and are not industrialized to the extent of the developed world. Characterized by high infant mortality rates, lack of proper sanitation, low literacy rates, poverty, etc. Most organizations, including the United Nations, estimate that 60 to 80 per cent of the world fits into this category. Also referred to as the "South", "Underdeveloped" or "Third World."
DDT: An organochloride used as an insecticide. It has been banned since 1969 in most developed countries because it is a probable cause of cancer. However, it is still widely used in developing countries.
Dioxin: Any of a family of compounds known chemically as dibenzo-p-dioxins. Concern about them arises from their potential toxicity and contamination in commercial products.
Drought: A naturally-occurring phenomenon that occurs when precipitation is significantly below normal levels, causing water levels to drop and vegetation to die. This extended period of dry weather usually lasts longer than expected and leads to measurable losses for a human community (crop damage, water supply shortage).
Ecosphere: Refers to the entire global ecosystem that comprises atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere as inseparable components.
Ecosystem: A dynamic and complex system of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-living environment all interacting as a functional unit within a defined physical location. The term may be applied to a unit as large as the entire ecosphere, but usually refers to a division thereof.
Effluent: The discharge of industrial or urban waste material into the environment; the outflow from a lake or river.
Emissions: The release of greenhouse gases and/or their precursors into the atmosphere over a specified area and period of time.
Endangered species: A species threatened with extinction.
Environment: All of the external factors, conditions, and influences which affect an organism or a community. Also, everything that surrounds an organism or organisms, including both natural and human-built elements.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): The critical appraisal, both positive and negative, of the likely effects of a proposed project, ,development, activity or policy on the environment.
Environmentally Sound: That which does not harm the environment in any way.
Erosion: The wearing away of land surface by wind, water, glaciers, chemicals, and exposure to the atmosphere. Erosion occurs naturally but can be intensified by land-clearing practices related to farming, residential or industrial development, road building or deforestation.
Eutrophication: Over-enrichment of a water body with nutrients, resulting in excessive growth of organisms and depletion of oxygen concentration.
Extinct species: A species that no longer survives anywhere in the world.
Fossil fuels: Coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas and other hydrocarbons are called fossil fuels because they are made of fossilized, carbon-rich plant and animal remains. These remains were buried in sediments and compressed over geologic time, slowly being converted to fuel.
Global Warming: Strictly speaking, global warming and global cooling refer to the natural warming and cooling trends that the Earth has experienced all through its history. However, the term usually refers to the gradual rise in the Earth's temperatures that could result from the accumulated gases that are trapped in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse effect: A warming of the Earth's atmosphere caused by the presence in the atmosphere of certain heat-trapping gases (e.g., water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane). These gases absorb radiation emitted by the Earth, thereby retarding the loss of energy from the system to space. The greenhouse effect has been a property of Earth's atmosphere for millions of years and is responsible for maintaining the Earth's surface at a temperature that makes it habitable for human beings. An Enhanced Greenhouse Effect is when the increased concentrations of these gases are "enhancing" the natural greenhouse effect. It is the "enhanced greenhouse effect" that is expected to cause a large and rapid rise in average global temperatures.
Greenhouse gases: Those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and artificial, that absorb and reemit infrared radiation and that are responsible for global warming. The most potent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, is rapidly accumulating in the atmosphere due to human activities.
Gross National Product (GNP): The total market value of all the goods and services produced by a nation during a specific period of time.
Ground-level ozone (tropospheric ozone): Ozone (O3) that occurs near the surface of the Earth. In pollution it causes concern because of its toxic effects.
Groundwater: The supply of fresh water found beneath the earth's surface (usually in aquifers) which is often accessed through wells and springs.
Habitat: The geographical location(s) and the associated set(s) of environmental conditions that are necessary for the flourishing of a particular type of plant or animal. In other words, their home.
Halons: Chemical compounds developed from hydrocarbons by replacing atoms of hydrogen with atoms of halogens, such as fluorine, chlorine, or bromine. CFCs are halons (see above). Halons are widely used as fire extinguishing agents.
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs): Organic substances composed of hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine, and carbon atoms. These chemicals are less stable than CFCs, and are therefore less damaging to the ozone layer.Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs): Chemicals with fluorine but no chlorine, and therefore likely not damaging to the ozone layer. However, HFCs are potent greenhouse gases.
Hazardous waste: Refuse that could present dangers through the contamination and pollution of the environment. It requires special disposal techniques to make it harmless or less dangerous.
Hydroelectricity: Electric energy produced by water-powered turbine generators.
Hydrologic cycle: The cycle that water through its natural process of evaporation and precipitation: from the sea, through the atmosphere, to the land and back to the sea.
Industrial Revolution: The Industrial Revolution began in the early 1800's and heralded the birth of the "modern times." After the Industrial Revolution, work that was done by hand was accomplished through the use of machines. It brought on the advent of the steam engine, cotton gin, sewing machine, paper, telegraph, and railroad and it saw the beginnings of many of our present industries. While it occurred in the North, the effects of the Industrial Revolution have affected the entire world. Cars, planes, many objects made of metal, telephones, televisions and many other products are the result of this "revolution."
Industrial halocarbons: A group of synthetic chemical compounds containing carbon and one or more of chlorine, fluorine, or bromine. Only those industrial halocarbons containing chlorine or bromine pose a threat to the ozone layer.
Inorganic: Matter other than plant or animal, and not containing a combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which all living things contain.
Integrated resource planning: The management of two or more resources in the same general area, such as water, soil, timber, grazing land, fish, wildlife and recreation.
Land degradation: The reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity from rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands. Land degradation usually results from unsustainable land use.
Molecules: A group of atoms held together by chemical forces.
Natural resource: (e.g., tree biomass, fresh water, fish) whose supply can essentially never be exhausted, usually because it is continuously produced.
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO): An organization centred around a cause or causes that works outside the sphere of governments. NGOs often lobby governments in an attempt to influence policy.
Non-renewable resources: Natural resources that are not naturally replenished once they have been harvested. Non-renewable resources can be used up completely or else used up to such a degree that it is economically impractical to obtain any more of them. Fossil fuels and metal ores are examples of non-renewable resources.
North: See "Developed World."
Nuclear fission: The splitting of uranium isotopes to produce heat, which is then harnessed to produce electricity.
Nuclear fusion: The fusing together of elements to produce either electrically-charged particles or heat, which is then harnessed to produce electricity. This technology is currently being researched but thus far is not cost-effective. Some scientists believe that it is possible to produce non-radioactive nuclear power with this type of technology.
Official Development Assistance (ODA): That which one country, usually of the North, commits to give to another country, usually of the South, for purposes of assisting with development. The United Nations has been trying for many years to get every country in the developed world to commit to giving 0.7 per cent of its GNP to developing countries as ODA.
Organic Compounds: Compounds composed of carbon and hydrogen. Organic compounds form the basic building blocks of living tissue.
Organic: Referring to or derived from living organisms. In chemistry, organic refers to any compound containing carbon.
Organism: