biology

List of environmental issues

List of environmental issues is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of environmental issues rather than just read about it. In short: Environmental issues are harmful aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment. This alphabetical list is loosely divided into causes, effects and mitigation, noting that effects are interconnected and can cause new effects.

Key takeaways

List of environmental issues belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of environmental issues to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of environmental issues from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Environmental issues are harmful aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment. This alphabetical list is loosely divided into causes, effects and mitigation, noting that effects are interconnected and can cause new effects.

Issues Greenhouse gas emissions — Coal-fired power station • Carbon dioxide • Methane • Fluorinated gases Human population — Biocapacity • Climate change • Carrying capacity • Exploitation • Industrialisation • I = PAT • Land degradation • Land reclamation • Optimum population • Overshoot (population) • Pollution and reproduction • Population density • Population dynamics • Population growth • Projections of population growth • Total fertility rate • Urbanization • Waste • Water conflict • Water scarcity • Overdrafting Hydrology — Environmental impacts of reservoirs • Tile drainage • Hydrology (agriculture) • Flooding • Landslide Intensive farming — Agricultural subsidy • Barn fires • Environmental effects of meat production • Intensive animal farming • Intensive crop farming • Irrigation • Monoculture • Nutrient pollution • Overgrazing • Pesticide drift • Plasticulture • Slash-and-burn • Tile drainage • Zoonosis Land use — Built environment • Desertification • Habitat fragmentation • Habitat destruction • Land degradation • Land pollution • Lawn-environmental concerns • Trail ethics • Urban heat island • Urban sprawl Nanotechnology — Impact of nanotechnology Natural disasters avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides, tropical cyclones, volcanic activity Nuclear issues — Nuclear fallout • Nuclear meltdown • Nuclear power • Nuclear weapons • Nuclear and radiation accidents • Nuclear safety • High-level radioactive waste management Ocean trash — Garbage patch • Ghost net • Washed Ashore Water pollution

Effects Climate change — Global warming • Global dimming • Fossil fuels • Sea level rise • Greenhouse gas • Ocean acidification • Shutdown of thermohaline circulation • Environmental impact of the coal industry • Urban heat islands • Flooding Environmental degradation — Loss of biodiversity • Habitat destruction • Invasive species Environmental health — Air quality • Asthma • Birth defect • Developmental disability • Endocrine disruptors • Environmental impact of the coal industry • Environmental impact of nanotechnology • Electromagnetic field • Electromagnetic radiation and health • Indoor air quality • Lead poisoning • Leukemia • Nanotoxicology • Nature deficit disorder • One Health • Sick building syndrome • Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing Environmental issues with energy — Environmental impact of the coal industry • Environmental impact of the energy industry • Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing Environmental impact of transport Environmental impact of aviation Environmental impact of the petroleum industry — Exhaust gas • Waste tires • Externalities of automobiles Environmental impact of shipping (Cruise ships in Europe • Cruise ships in the United States) Environmental issues with war — Agent Orange • Depleted uranium • Military Superfund site (Category only) • Scorched earth • War and environmental law • Unexploded ordnance Overpopulation — Burial • Overpopulation in companion animals • Tragedy of the commons • Gender Imbalance in Developing Countries • Sub-replacement fertility levels in developed countries Mutation breeding — Genetic pollution Synthetic biology — Synthetic DNA • Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System • Hachimoji DNA Genetically modified food — Genetically modified crops • Genetically modified livestock • Genetically modified food controversies Pollution — Nonpoint source pollution • Point source pollution Air pollution — Atmospheric particulate matter • Biological effects of UV exposure • CFC • Environmental impact of the coal industry • Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing • Indoor air quality • Ozone depletion • Smog • Tropospheric ozone • Volatile organic compound • Ultrafine particles Light pollution Noise pollution Soil pollution — Alkali soil • Brownfield • Residual sodium carbonate index • Soil conservation • Soil erosion • Soil contamination • Soil salination • Superfund • Superfund sites Visual pollution Water pollution — Acid rain • Agricultural runoff • Algal bloom • Environmental impact of the coal industry • Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing • Eutrophication • Fish kill • Groundwater pollution • Groundwater recharge • Marine debris • Marine pollution • Mercury in fish • Microplastics • Nutrient pollution • Ocean acidification • Ocean dumping • Oil spills • Soda lake • Ship pollution • Thermal pollution • Urban runoff • Wastewater Space pollution — Space debris • Interplanetary contamination Resource depletion — Exploitation of natural resources • Overdrafting (groundwater) • Overexploitation Consumerism — Consumer capitalism • Planned obsolescence • Over-consumption Fishing — Blast fishing • Bottom trawling • Cyanide fishing • Ghost nets • Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing • Overfishing • Shark culling • Shark finning • Whaling Logging — Clearcutting • Deforestation • Illegal logging Mining — Acid mine drainage • Environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing • Mountaintop removal mining • Slurry impoundments Water (depletion) — Anoxic waters • Aral Sea • California Water Wars • Dead Sea • Lake Chad • Water scarcity Toxicants — Agent Orange • Asbestos • Beryllium • Bioaccumulation • Biomagnification • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) • Cyanide • DDT • Endocrine disruptors • Explosives • Environmental impact of the coal industry • Herbicides • Hydrocarbons • Perchlorate • Pesticides • Persistent organic pollutant • PBBs • PBDEs • Toxic heavy metals • PCB • Dioxin • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons • Radioactive contamination • Volatile organic compounds Waste — Electronic waste • Great Pacific Garbage Patch • Illegal dumping • Incineration • Litter • Waste disposal incidents • Marine debris • Medical waste • Landfill • Leachate • Toxic waste • Environmental impact of the coal industry • Exporting of hazardous waste

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of environmental issues

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of environmental issues claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of environmental issues before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of environmental issues ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of environmental issues

In research: List of environmental issues appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of environmental issues in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of environmental issues is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ecology lists, Environmental issues, Environmentalism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of environmental issues outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of environmental issues in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of environmental issues means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of environmental issues out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of environmental issues in simple terms?

Why does List of environmental issues matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of environmental issues?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of environmental issues.