Page 718 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

capitalist market economy An economy in carcinogen A chemical or type of radiation that that better adapt them to specialize on the por-
which buyers and sellers interact to determine causes cancer. tion of the resource they use. The species es-
which goods and services to produce, how carnivore An organism that consumes animals. sentially become more different from one
much of them to produce, and how to distrib- Compare herbivore; omnivore. another, reducing their competition.
ute them. Compare centrally planned economy. chemical hazard Chemicals that pose human
carrying capacity The maximum population
captive breeding The practice of capturing size that a given environment can sustain. health hazards. These include toxins produced
members of threatened and endangered spe- naturally, as well as many of the disinfectants,
cies so that their young can be bred and raised case history Medical approach involving the pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals that
in controlled environments and subsequently observation and analysis of individual patients. our society produces. Compare biological haz-
reintroduced into the wild. case law A body of law made up of cumulative ard; cultural hazard; physical hazard.
canopy The upper level of tree leaves and decisions rendered by courts. chemistry The study of the different types of
branches in a forest. Cassandra A worldview (or a person holding matter and how they interact.
carbohydrate An organic compound consisting the worldview) that predicts doom and disas- chemosynthesis The process by which bac-
of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. ter as a result of our environmental impacts. In teria in hydrothermal vents use the chemical
Greek mythology, Cassandra was the princess energy of hydrogen sulfide (H S) to transform
carbon The chemical element with six protons of Troy with the gift of prophecy, whose dire 2
and six neutrons. A key element in organic predictions were not believed. Compare Cor- inorganic carbon into organic compounds.
compounds. Compare photosynthesis.
nucopian.
carbon capture Technologies or approaches categorical imperative An ethical standard Chernobyl Site of a nuclear power plant in
that remove carbon dioxide from power plant Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union),
or other emissions, in an effort to mitigate described by Immanuel Kant, which roughly where in 1986 an explosion caused the most
approximates Christianity’s “golden rule”: to
global climate change. severe nuclear reactor accident the world
treat others as you would prefer to be treated has yet seen. As with Three Mile Island and
carbon cycle A major nutrient cycle consisting yourself. Fukushima, people often use the term to de-
of the routes that carbon atoms take through note the accident itself. Compare Fukushima
the nested networks of environmental systems. cation exchange Process by which plants’ Daiichi, Three Mile Island.
roots donate hydrogen ions to the soil in ex-
carbon dioxide (CO ) A colorless gas used by
2 change for cations (positively charged ions) chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) A type of halo-
plants for photosynthesis, given off by respi- such as those of calcium, magnesium, and carbon consisting of only chlorine, fluorine,
ration, and released by burning fossil fuels. A potassium, which plants use as nutrients. The carbon, and hydrogen. CFCs were used as
primary greenhouse gas whose buildup con- soil particles then replenish these cations by refrigerants, fire extinguishers, propellants for
tributes to global climate change. exchange with soil water. aerosol spray cans, cleaners for electronics,
carbon footprint The cumulative amount of cation exchange capacity A soil’s ability to and for making polystyrene foam. They were
carbon, or carbon dioxide, that a person or hold cations, preventing them from leaching, phased out under the Montreal Protocol be-
institution emits, and is indirectly responsible and thus making them available to plants. A cause they are ozone-depleting substances that
for emitting, into the atmosphere, contributing useful measure of soil fertility. destroy stratospheric ozone.
to global climate change. Compare ecological chronic exposure Exposure for long periods of
footprint. cellular respiration The process by which a time to a toxicant occurring in low amounts.
cell uses the chemical reactivity of oxygen to
carbon monoxide (CO) A colorless, odorless split glucose into its constituent parts, water Compare acute exposure.
gas produced primarily by the incomplete com- and carbon dioxide, and thereby release chemi- city planning The professional pursuit that
bustion of fuel. An EPA criteria pollutant. cal energy that can be used to form chemical attempts to design cities in such a way as to
carbon-neutrality The state in which an indi- bonds or to perform other tasks within the cell. maximize their efficiency, functionality, and
vidual, business, or institution emits no net car- Compare photosynthesis. beauty. Also known as urban planning.
bon to the atmosphere. This may be achieved cellulosic ethanol Ethanol produced from the classical economics Founded by Adam Smith,
by reducing carbon emissions and/or employ- cellulose in plant tissues by treating it with the study of the behavior of buyers and sellers
ing carbon offsets to offset emissions. enzymes. Techniques for producing cellulosic in a capitalist market economy. Holds that in-
carbon offset A voluntary payment to another ethanol are under development because of the dividuals acting in their own self-interest may
entity intended to enable that entity to reduce desire to make ethanol from low-value crop benefit society, provided that their behavior is
the greenhouse gas emissions that one is un- waste (residues such as corn stalks and husks), constrained by the rule of law and by private
able or unwilling to reduce oneself. The pay- rather than from the sugars of high-value crops. property rights and operates within competitive
ment thus offsets one’s own emissions. centrally planned economy An economy in markets. See also neoclassical economics.
carbon sequestration Technologies or ap- which a nation’s government determines how clay Sediment consisting of particles less than
proaches to sequester, or store, carbon dioxide to allocate resources in a top-down manner. 0.002 mm in diameter. Compare sand; silt.
from industrial emissions (e.g., underground Also called a “state socialist economy.” Com- Clean Air Act of 1970 Revision of prior U.S.
under pressure in locations where it will not pare capitalist market economy. legislation to control air pollution that set
seep out) in an effort to mitigate global climate chaparral A biome consisting mostly of densely stricter standards for air quality, imposed limits
change. We are still a long way from develop- thicketed evergreen shrubs occurring in limited on emissions from new stationary and mobile
ing adequate technology and secure storage small patches. Its “Mediterranean” climate of sources, provided new funds for pollution con-
space to accomplish this. mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers is trol research, and enabled citizens to sue parties
carbon storage See carbon sequestration. induced by oceanic influences. In addition to violating the standards.
ringing the Mediterranean Sea, chaparral oc- GLOSS ARY
carbon tax A fee charged to entities that pol- Clean Air Act of 1990 U.S. legislation that
lute by emitting carbon dioxide. A carbon tax curs along the coasts of California, Chile, and strengthened regulations pertaining to air qual-
gives polluters a financial incentive to reduce southern Australia. ity standards, auto emissions, toxic air pol-
pollution and is thus foreseen as a way to ad- character displacement A phenomenon re- lution, acid deposition, and depletion of the
dress global climate change. Compare fee-and- sulting from competition among species in ozone layer, while also introducing market-
dividend. which competing species evolve characteristics based incentives to reduce pollution. G-3

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