Waste Management and Life Cycle Assessment

The amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface.

The difference in temperature between summer and winter is caused by the tilt of Earth's axis.

The net amount of energy entering or leaving the Earth's surface.

When a surface reflects more sunlight, less heat is absorbed, leading to lower temperatures.

The Earth's axis always points in the same direction, causing the insolation distribution to change with seasons.

The variety and variability of genetic material in life forms used for food and agriculture.

The loss of genetic diversity within a population.

Growing a single crop species in a large area.

The process of land losing more than 10% productivity due to drought, extreme erosion, and soil infertility.

The settling of land as water-filled spaces collapse under the weight of overlying rock and soil.

Intensive irrigation can cause mineral elements to move deeper into the soil, potentially beyond the reach of plant roots.

The build-up of salts in the soil, often due to excessive irrigation.

A modern-day dust bowl, caused by erosion.

Paper, food scraps, yard trimmings, and plastics are the four largest categories by weight of municipal solid waste.

The process that aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills by transforming resources into new products.

Recycling a product into the same type of item. For example, old aluminum cans becoming new aluminum cans.

Turning waste into a different kind of product. For example, plastic bottles being recycled into fleece.

The percentage of MSW that is recycled into new products.

Designing products with recycling in mind to make the process easier and more efficient.

The act of using items multiple times, instead of recycling them, to avoid creating waste.

The idea that consumption patterns should be based on reducing our waste, reusing materials, and recycling as a last resort.

A method of raising large numbers of livestock in confined spaces, where they are fed mainly grain and other commercial feed.

A type of digestion found in animals like cows, where a specialized stomach breaks down plant cellulose into usable nutrients.

A hormone used to boost muscle growth in cattle during the final weeks before slaughter, adding about 30 pounds of meat per animal.

The practice of raising seafood in controlled environments such as ponds, tanks, or pens.

The practice of catching fish at a rate that exceeds the species' ability to replenish itself.

Non-target species that are accidentally caught in fishing nets or lines.

Fine particles in the air that come from animal feed, bedding, pesticides, manure, and other sources.

The gas released from livestock digestion and manure, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.

The solid, outermost layer of Earth, overlying the mantle, less dense and more brittle.

The rigid outer portion of Earth, encompassing the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle.

A zone in Earth's mantle characterized by its flexibility and location beneath the lithosphere.

Sections of Earth's crust that move on top of the denser material below, shaping Earth's surface through their interactions.

A break in Earth's crust where rock bodies slide past each other, often causing earthquakes.

A type of plate boundary where plates move apart, creating new crust.

A type of plate boundary where plates collide, resulting in subduction or mountain formation.

A type of plate boundary where plates slide horizontally past each other.

The continuous process of Earth recycling and renewing its surface.

Rocks formed by the cooling of molten rock, either deep underground or at the surface.

The physical and chemical processes that break down minerals and rocks into smaller particles.

Eroded material transported and deposited in different places.

Rock formed from the cementation of sediment under pressure.

The process of transforming one type of rock into another under intense heat and pressure.

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not perfectly circular but slightly elliptical, with a varying distance between the Earth and the Sun. This affects the amount of solar radiation received by Earth.

The tilt of Earth's axis of rotation, known as obliquity, influences the distribution of solar energy across the globe, causing seasons and differences in day length.

The Earth's axis of rotation wobbles like a spinning top, affecting the timing of solstices and equinoxes over long periods, This can alter the amount of solar radiation received in different regions.

Surface currents are driven by wind and affect the top layers of the ocean, creating circular patterns called gyres. These currents play a significant role in heat transfer and nutrient distribution.

The Coriolis effect is caused by Earth's rotation and it deflects moving objects (including winds and currents) to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Deep currents are driven by density differences in ocean water, primarily caused by variations in temperature and salinity. The colder and saltier the water, the denser it is and sinks.

The Thermohaline Conveyor is a global circulation system driven by differences in water temperature and salinity. It plays a crucial role in transporting heat and nutrients throughout the ocean.

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a natural climate pattern that causes significant changes in weather patterns in the Pacific and Atlantic regions every 2-10 years, often associated with droughts and floods.

Upwelling brings cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface, supporting diverse marine life. It is common on the western coasts of continents where surface currents flow away from the coastline.

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas released from various sources, including coal mines, natural gas leaks, agriculture (rice farming and livestock), and decomposition of organic matter in landfills.