Chapter 13 Key Terms Quiz 1

Rainfall made acidic by atmospheric pollution, typically caused by the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels. Such rainfall causes significant environmental harm to forests and bodies of water.

A biological system consisting of all the living organisms in a particular area and the nonliving components with which the organisms interact, such as air, minerals, soil, water, and sunlight.

The process by which the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere causes an increase in temperature by creating a thermal blanket.

Earth’s ecological system (ecosystem) that supports life—its land, water, air, and upper atmosphere—and the living organisms, including humans, that inhabit it.

The average number of children who would be born to a woman over her lifetime.

The significant and lasting change in the distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. Both anthropogenic (human induced) and natural causes have been identified by climate scientists.

The largest number of organisms that an ecosystem can sustain indefinitely at current per capita rates of consumption of natural resources and discharges of pollution and other waste.

A tool used to assess and measure human impact on nature—meaning the quantity of nature it takes to support a person, community, nation, or economy, both in terms of consumption of natural resources and pollution and other negative outputs.

A multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals, originally drafted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in the 1960s and entering into force in 1975.

A multilateral treaty introduced at the Earth Summit I in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which entered into force in 1993. The three main goals of the Convention are the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of it, and the fair distribution of benefits accruing from that use. The treaty calls upon states to develop strategies to pursue and achieve these three goals.

The process or outcome of a process to adjust to and cope with climate impacts.

The many and varied benefits that humans gain from the natural environment and from properly functioning ecosystems. These can be grouped into four broad categories: provisioning (production of food and water), regulating (control of climate and disease), supporting (through nutrient cycles and oxygen production), and cultural (spiritual and recreational benefits).