| A | B |
|---|
| acid rain | Rain that contains pollutants due to the burning of fossil fuels. It is damaging to the environment. |
| adaptation | A change made to survive an environment or to overcome a disadvantage. |
| arable | Land that is able to support the growing of crops. |
| archipelago | A group or chain of islands |
| Aswan High Dam | Dam across the Nile River in Egypt. Created Lake Nassar and helps to create more farmland. Built between 1960 and 1970. |
| Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Accident | (1986) This accident release large amounts of radiation that not only affected the immediate area, (Ukraine,) but also was carried on strong winds across many countries in Europe. The effects of this accident have to date been an increase in cancer victims, numerous birth defects, and the destruction of many acres of good land. |
| chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) | A gas containing carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine. It is used in refrigerators and aerosol sprays. CFCs are reputed to be damaging to the Earth’s protective ozone layer. |
| circumnavigate | To travel around something, like an island or the world. |
| climate | The average weather in a region. |
| dam | A structure built to hold water in place. |
| deforestation | The widespread destruction of the world's forests. One of the largest areas of destruction are the tropical rainforests. These forest are cut down for the hardwood lumber, to clear space for farming, for building settlements, and for grazing animals. land bridge |
| desertification | The process in which land slowly dries out until little or no vegetation exists becoming a desert. |
| environment | Everything in nature including people, plants, and animals that affects development in life. |
| ethnocentric | A belief in the superiority of a certain ethnic group or race. |
| extinction | The death of all members of a species. |
| Ganges River | Located in India, this river is considered sacred to Hindus and is used for spiritual cleansing, funeral rites, and other Hindu rituals. |
| greenhouse gas | A gas such as carbon dioxide, ozone, or water vapor that are a factoring the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere. |
| human and physical geography | The study of the environment, people, and the resources they use to live. |
| hydroelectric power | Power that is derived from a moving body of water, such as a river or waterfall. |
| latitude | Lines of equal distance measured north and south of the equator. |
