Environmental Science Resource Guide

Contamination of the air by noxious gases and minute particles of solid and liquid matter (particulates) in concentrations that endanger health....

Contamination of water resources by harmful wastes; see also sewerage, water supply, pollution, and environmentalism. Industrial...

Human-created noise harmful to health or welfare. Transportation vehicles are the worst offenders, with aircraft, railroad stock, trucks, buses...

The radioactive and toxic by-products of the nuclear energy and nuclear weapons industries. Nuclear waste may have an active life of...

Oil discharged from an ocean-going tanker, pipeline, or oil installation, often as a result of damage. An oil spill kills shore life...

Acidic precipitation thought to be caused mainly by the release into the atmosphere of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen...

Destruction of forest for timber, fuel, charcoal burning, and clearing for agriculture and extractive industries, such as mining...

the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. Global warming and its effects, such as more intense summer and winter storms, are also referred to as climate change.

Act of seeking, following, and killing wild animals for consumption or display. It differs from fishing in that it involves only land animals....

Contamination of the environment as a result of human activities. The term pollution refers primarily to the fouling of air, water, and land...

Wearing away and redistribution of the Earth's soil layer. It is caused by the action of water, wind, and ice, and also by improper...