AGRICULTURE |
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Agriculture (a term which encompasses farming) is the art, science or practice of producing food, feed, fiber and many other desired goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. Agri is from Latin ager ("a field"), and culture is from Latin cultura, meaning "cultivation" in the strict sense of tillage of the soil. Thus a literal reading of the English word yields tillage of the soil of a field. In actual usage, Agriculture denotes a broad array of activities essential to food and material production, including all techniques for raising and processing livestock (see Animal husbandry) no less than those essential to crop planting and harvesting.
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ASBESTOS |
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Asbestos (a misapplication of Latin: asbestos "quicklime" from Greek ἄσβεστος: a-, "not"; sbestos, "extinguishable") describes any of a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals of the hydrous magnesium silicate variety. The name is derived for its historical use in lamp wicks; the resistance of asbestos to fire has long been exploited for a variety of purposes. It was used in fabrics such as Egyptian burial cloths and Charlemagne's tablecloth, which, according to legend, he threw in a fire to clean. Asbestos occurs naturally in many forms (see below); it is mined from metamorphic deposits.
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CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS |
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Carbon monoxide, chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, flammable and highly toxic gas. It is a major product of the incomplete combustion of carbon and carbon-containing compounds. It is less dense than air under ordinary conditions, however it accumulates on the ground, meaning that if poisoning causes loss of consciousness the amount of carbon monoxide inhaled increases and so fatality is radically increased. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide; it is a component of producer gas and water gas, which are widely used artificial fuels. It is a reducing agent, removing oxygen from many compounds and is used in the reduction of metals, e.g., iron , from their ores. At high pressures and elevated temperatures it reacts with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst to form methanol. Carbon monoxide is formed by combustion of carbon in oxygen at high temperatures when there is an excess of carbon. It is also formed with a byproduct oxygen by decomposition of carbon dioxide at very high temperatures (above 2,000 °C). It is present in the exhaust of internal-combustion engines, often the exhaust of automobiles, and is generated in coal stoves, furnaces, and gas appliances that do not get enough air. This may be due to insufficient ventilation or other reasons.
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COASTAL WETLANDS |
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In physical geography, a wetland is an environment "at the interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems...and truly aquatic systems...making them different from each yet highly dependent on both" (Mitsch & Gosselink, 1986). In essence, wetlands are ecotones.
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ENVIRONMENT |
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The natural environment comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth. In its purest sense, it is thus an environment that is not the result of human activity or intervention. The natural environment may be contrasted to "the built environment."
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HYDROLOGY |
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Hydrology (from Greek: Yδρoλoγια, Yδωρ+Λoγos, Hydrologia, the "study of water") is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of either earth or environmental science, or civil and environmental engineering.
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LAND FILL - WASTE DISPOSAL - GARBAGE DUMP |
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Landfill is a waste disposal site for the deposit of the waste onto or into land (i.e., underground), including: internal waste disposal sites (i.e., landfill where a producer of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at the place of production), and a permanent site (i.e., more than one year), which is used for temporary storage of waste, but excluding: transfer facilities where waste is unloaded in order to permit its preparation for further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere, and storage of waste prior to recovery or treatment for a period less than three years as a general rule or storage of waste prior to disposal for period less than one year.
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METEOROLOGY |
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Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. Meteorological phenomena are observable weather events which illuminate and are explained by the science of meteorology. Those events are bound by the variables that exist in Earth's atmosphere. They are temperature, pressure, water vapor, and the gradients and interactions of each variable, and how they change in time. The majority of Earth's observed weather is located in the troposphere.
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POLLUTION |
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Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants. Sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons to ozone or smog. Water pollutants may consist of a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals, petrochemicals, chloroform, and bacteria. Water pollution may also occur in the form of thermal pollution and dissolved oxygen depletion. Soil contamination is an important aspect of environmental pollution; this phenomenon occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The U.S., Russia, China and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions; however, Canada is the number two country on a per capita basis.
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POWER PLANTS |
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A fossil fuel power plant is an energy conversion center that combusts fossil fuels to produce electricity, designed on a large scale for continuous operation.
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