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Glossary

Chapter 1

affluenza Unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism exhibitedin the lifestyles of affluent consumers in the United States and other developed countries.

anthropocentric Human-centered.

biocentric Life-centered. Compare anthropocentric.

common-property resource Resource that people normally are free to use; each user can deplete or degrade the available supply. Most are renewable and owned by no one.Examples are clean air, fish in parts of the ocean not under the control of a coastal country, migratory birds, gases of the lower atmosphere, andthe ozone content of the upper atmosphere (stratosphere). See tragedyof the commons.

developed country Country that is highly industrialized and has a high per capita GNP.Compare developing country.

developing country Country that has low to moderate industrialization and low to moderate

per capita GNP. Most are located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.Compare developed country.

ecological footprint Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply eachperson or population with the renewable resources they use and toabsorb or dispose of the wastes from such resource use. It measuresthe average environmental impact of individuals or populations indifferent countries and areas.

ecology Study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and withtheir nonliving environment of matter and energy; study of the structureand functions of nature.

economic development Improvement of living standards by economic growth. Compareeconomic growth, environmentally sustainable economic development.

economic growth Increase in the capacity to provide people with goods and servicesproduced by an economy; an increase in gross domestic product (GDP).Compare economic development, environmentally sustainable economicdevelopment. See gross domestic product.

environment All external conditions and factors, living and nonliving (chemicals andenergy), that affect an organism or other specified system during itslifetime.

environmental degradation Depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable resource such as soil,grassland, forest, or wildlife that is used faster than it is naturallyreplenished. If such use continues, the resource becomes nonrenewable(on a human time scale) or nonexistent (extinct). See also sustainableyield.

environmental revolution Cultural change involving halting population growth and altering

lifestyles, political and economic systems, and the way we treat theenvironment so that we can help sustain the earth for ourselves andother species. This involves working with the rest of nature by learningmore about how nature sustains itself. See environmental wisdomworldview. Compare hunter-gatherers.

environmental science An interdisciplinary study that uses information from the physicalsciences and social sciences tolerant how the earth works, how weinteract with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems.

environmental wisdomworldview

Beliefs that (1) nature exists for all the earth's species and we are not incharge of the earth; (2) resources are limited, should not be wasted, andare not all for us; (3) we should encourage earth-sustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth-degrading forms of economicgrowth; and (4) our success depends on learning how the earth sustains

itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we thinkand act. Compare frontier environmental worldview, planetarymanagement worldview, stewardship worldview.

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environmental worldview How people think the world works, what they think their role in the worldshould be, and what they believe is right and wrong environmentalbehavior (environmental ethics).

environmentalism A social movement dedicated to protecting the earths life supportsystems for us and other species.

environmentally sustainableeconomic development

Development that encourages forms of economic growth that meet thebasic needs of the current generations of humans and other specieswithout preventing future generations of humans and other species frommeeting their basic needs and discourages environmentally harmful andunsustainable forms of economic growth. It is the economic componentof an environmentally sustainable society. Compare economicdevelopment, economic growth.

environmentally sustainablesociety

Society that satisfies the basic needs of its people without depleting or degrading its natural resources and thereby preventing current andfuture generations of humans and other species from meeting their basicneeds.

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; responsible for managing federalefforts to control air and water pollution, radiation and pesticide hazards,environmental research, hazardous waste, and solid waste disposal.

exhaustible resource See nonrenewable resource.

free-access resource See common-property resource.

frontier science Preliminary scientific data, hypotheses, and models that have not beenwidely tested and accepted. Compare junk science, sound science.

GDP See gross domestic product.

gross domestic product(GDP)

Annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms andorganizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country.

hunter[[endash]]gatherers People who get their food by gathering edible wild plants and other materials and by hunting wild animals and fish. Compare agriculturalrevolution, environmental revolution.

input pollution control See pollution prevention.LDC See developing country.

less developed country (LDC) See developing country.

maximum sustainable yield See sustainable yield.

MDC See developed country.

more developed country(MDC) See developed country.

natural capital See natural resources.

nonpoint source Large or dispersed land areas such as crop fields, streets, and lawnsthat discharge pollutants into the environment over a large area.

Compare point source.nonrenewable resource Resource that exists in a fixed amount (stock) in various places in the

earth's crust and has the potential for renewal by geological, physical,and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billionsof years. Examples are copper, aluminum, coal, and oil. We classifythese resources as exhaustible because we are extracting and usingthem at a much faster rate than they were formed. Compare renewableresource.

output pollution control See pollution cleanup.

per capita ecological footprint Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply eachperson or population with the renewable resources they use and toabsorb or dispose of the wastes from such resource use. It measuresthe average environmental impact of individuals or populations indifferent countries and areas. Compare ecological footprint.

per capita GDP Annual gross domestic product (GDP) of a country divided by its total

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population at mid-year midyear. It gives the average slice of theeconomic pie per person. Used to be called per capita GNP. See grossdomestic product.

perpetual resource An essentially inexhaustible resource on a human time scale. Solar energy is an example. Compare nonrenewable resource, renewableresource.

planetary managementworldview

Beliefs that (1) as the planets most important species, we are in chargeof the earth; (2) we will not run out of resources because of our ability todevelop and find new ones; (3) the potential for economic growth isessentially unlimited; and (4) our success depends on how well wemanage the earth's life-support systems mostly for our own benefit.Compare environmental wisdom worldview, stewardship worldview.

point source Single identifiable source that discharges pollutants into theenvironment. Examples are the smokestack of a power plant or anindustrial plant, drainpipe of a meatpacking plant, chimney of a house, or exhaust pipe of an automobile. Compare nonpoint source.

pollutant A particular chemical or form of energy that can adversely affect thehealth, survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms. Seepollution.

pollution An undesirable change in the physical, chemical, or biologicalcharacteristics of air, water, soil, or food that can adversely affect thehealth, survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms.

pollution cleanup Device or process that removes or reduces the level of a pollutant after ithas been produced or has entered the environment. Examples areautomobile emission control devices and sewage treatment plants.Compare pollution prevention.

pollution prevention Device or process that prevents a potential pollutant from forming or entering the environment or sharply reduces the amount entering theenvironment. Compare pollution cleanup.

poverty Inability to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

recycling Collecting and reprocessing a resource so that it can be made into newproducts. An example is collecting aluminum cans, melting them down,and using the aluminum to make new cans or other aluminum products.Compare reuse.

renewable resource Resource that can be replenished rapidly (hours to several decades)through natural processes. Examples are trees in forests, grasses ingrasslands, wild animals, fresh surface water in lakes and streams, mostgroundwater, fresh air, and fertile soil. If such a resource is used faster than it is replenished, it can be depleted and converted into anonrenewable resource. Compare nonrenewable resource and perpetualresource. See also environmental degradation.

resource Anything obtained from the living and nonliving environment to meethuman needs and wants. It can also be applied to other species.

reuse Using a product over and over again in the same form. An example iscollecting, washing, and refilling glass beverage bottles. Comparerecycling.

solar capital Solar energy from the sun reaching the earth. Compare naturalresources.

sound science Scientific data, models, theories, and laws that are widely accepted byscientists considered experts in the area of study. These results of science are very reliable. Compare frontier science, junk science.

stewardship worldview Beliefs that (1) we are the planet's most important species but we havean ethical responsibility to care for the rest of nature; (2) we will probablynot run out of resources but they should not be wasted; (3) we shouldencourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and

discourage environmentally harmful forms of economic growth; and (4)our success depends on how well we can manage the earth's life-support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature. Compare

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environmental wisdom worldview, planetary management worldview.

sustainability Ability of a system to survive for some specified (finite) time.

sustainable development See environmentally sustainable economic development.

sustainable yield (sustainedyield)

Highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be usedwithout reducing its available supply throughout the world or in aparticular area. See also environmental degradation.

tragedy of the commons Depletion or degradation of a potentially renewable resource to whichpeople have free and unmanaged access. An example is the depletionof commercially desirable fish species in the open ocean beyond areascontrolled by coastal countries. See common-property resource.

worldview How people think the world works and what they think their role in theworld should be. See environmental wisdom worldview, planetarymanagement worldview.