Earth has often been personified as a deity, in particular a goddess (see Gaia and Mother Earth). The Chinese Earth goddess Hu-Tu is similar to Gaia, the deification of the Earth. As the patroness of fertility, her element is Earth. In Norse mythology, the Earth goddess Jord was the mother of Thor and the daughter of Annar. Since Earth is rather large, it is not immediately obvious to the naked eye viewing from the surface that it is an oblate spheroid, bulging slightly at the equator and slightly flattened at the poles. In the ...

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Earth, Earth - Physical characteristics, Earth - Earth in the solar system, Earth - The Moon, Earth - Geography, Earth - Environment and Ecosystem, Earth - Climate, Earth - Terrain, Earth - Natural resources, Earth - Land use, Earth - Natural and environmental hazards, Earth - Human geography, Earth - Descriptions of Earth

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Globally, the agriculture sector produces between 50-75% of anthropogenic methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions respectively, and about five percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Agricultural activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions directly and indirectly. Direct contributions resulting from emissions of CH4, N2O, and CO2 are due to deforestation, biomass burning, ruminant animals, decomposition of soil organic carbon from tillage practices, rice cultivation, ...

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Environmental vegetarianism, Environmental vegetarianism - Emissions, Environmental vegetarianism - Grazing and land use, Environmental vegetarianism - Water resources, Environmental vegetarianism - Aquatic ecosystems, Environmental vegetarianism - Petroleum and fossil fuels, Environmental vegetarianism - Related economic and social considerations, Environmental vegetarianism - Other criticism

Read more here: » Environmental vegetarianism: Encyclopedia II - Environmental vegetarianism - Emissions

Environmental vegetarianism can be compared with economic vegetarianism. An economic vegetarian is someone who practices vegetarianism either out of necessity or because of a conscious simple living strategy or a philosophical viewpoint such as the belief that the consumption of meat is economically unsound or that vegetarianism will help improve public health and curb starvation. According to the Worldwatch Institute, "[m]assive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease the health care burden while improving public heal ...

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Environmental vegetarianism, Environmental vegetarianism - Emissions, Environmental vegetarianism - Grazing and land use, Environmental vegetarianism - Water resources, Environmental vegetarianism - Aquatic ecosystems, Environmental vegetarianism - Petroleum and fossil fuels, Environmental vegetarianism - Related economic and social considerations, Environmental vegetarianism - Other criticism

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Effects of global warming - Weather. Increasing temperature is likely to lead to increasing precipitation [3] but the effects on storms are less clear. Extratropical storms partly depend on the temperature gradient, which is predicted to weaken in the northern hemisphere as the polar region warms more than the rest of the hemisphere [4]. Wind produced from differences in barometic pressure may increase as radiative forcing inc ...

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Effects of global warming, Effects of global warming - Effects of Global Warming, Effects of global warming - Weather, Effects of global warming - Oceans, Effects of global warming - Ecosystems, Effects of global warming - Further global warming positive feedback, Effects of global warming - Consequences, Effects of global warming - Economic, Effects of global warming - Environmental, Effects of global warming - Health

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The impact on global biodiversity of human introduction of non native species that have subsequently become invasive is subjective. Climate change and the movement of the continents through the ages have created divisions and changes to species over the long history of this planet. Limited information on the circumstances and impact at the time makes it difficult to directly compare this to the advent of international travel for people and goods which has made t ...

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Invasive species, Invasive species - Ecology of invasive species, Invasive species - Ecological circumstances of invasive species, Invasive species - Traits of invasive species, Invasive species - Traits of invaded ecosystems, Invasive species - Vectors, Invasive species - Impacts of invasive species, Invasive species - Ecological impacts, Invasive species - Economic impacts, Invasive species - The threat to global biodiversity

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Main article: Climate of Hong Kong Hong Kong's climate is subtropical but half of a year is temperate. The territory is situated on the South of the tropic of Cancer which is equal to Hawaii in latitude. In winter, strong and cold wind generates from the North to Hong Kong; in summer, the wind reverses in direction and bring the warm and humid air from the South. This climate would support tropical rainforest. ...

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Ecology of Hong Kong, Ecology of Hong Kong - Climate, Ecology of Hong Kong - Land, Ecology of Hong Kong - Examples of Ecosystem in Hong Kong, Ecology of Hong Kong - Mangroves, Ecology of Hong Kong - Rocky Shores, Ecology of Hong Kong - Streams, Ecology of Hong Kong - Sandy Shores, Ecology of Hong Kong - Pollution Problems

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In 1989, the Hong Kong government suddenly realised that Hong Kong was in danger of becoming a vast, densely populated city. Due to the uncontrollable business and economic growth, the water, waste and air pollution cause an adverse effect on the balance of ecology in Hong Kong. As the business expands, new infrastructure and construction will be established. But demolition of the old ones needs to be conducted. Enormous amount of trash and solid waste are brought to the new landfalls. ...

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Ecology of Hong Kong, Ecology of Hong Kong - Climate, Ecology of Hong Kong - Land, Ecology of Hong Kong - Examples of Ecosystem in Hong Kong, Ecology of Hong Kong - Mangroves, Ecology of Hong Kong - Rocky Shores, Ecology of Hong Kong - Streams, Ecology of Hong Kong - Sandy Shores, Ecology of Hong Kong - Pollution Problems

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). Thousands of schoolchildren were stranded due to flooding and could not reach home for up to 18 hours. The subsequent two days were declared as school and college holidays by the state government. The city region received 73.4 mm (2.89 inches) of rain in the same period, whereas the suburbs received 944 mm (37.2 inches) (the city and suburbs make up the metropolis). The rains hit the state of Goa and parts of western Maharashtra on July 25. 11 people were killed in Goa after landslides on National Highway ...

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2005 Maharashtra floods, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Overview, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Threat to public health, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Topography, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Financial effect, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Effect on Mumbai's links to the rest of the world, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Human tragedy, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Factors aggravating the disaster in Mumbai, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Antiquated drainage system, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Uncontrolled unplanned development in Northern Suburbs, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Destruction of mangrove ecosystems

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Definition and meaning of ecosystem integrity:

ecosystem integrity - the ability to support and maintain a balanced, integrated, adaptive biological community having a species composition, diversity and functional organization comparable to that of a natural habitat in the region

(Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) )

Also see these pages: Oceanography, Oceanography Sitemap, Coral Reef, Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change,

The rain water caused the sewage system to overflow and all water lines were contaminated. The Government ordered all housing societies to add chlorine to their water tanks while they decontaminate the water supply. Thousands of animal carcasses floated in the flood waters, raising concerns about the possibility of disease. Reports in the media warned of the threat of waterborne diseases, and hospitals and health ce ...

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2005 Maharashtra floods, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Overview, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Threat to public health, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Topography, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Financial effect, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Effect on Mumbai's links to the rest of the world, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Human tragedy, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Factors aggravating the disaster in Mumbai, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Antiquated drainage system, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Uncontrolled unplanned development in Northern Suburbs, 2005 Maharashtra floods - Destruction of mangrove ecosystems

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Although it has a smaller footprint, factory farming still requires large quantities of feed and large areas of land. Free-range animal production requires land for grazing, which has led to encroachment on undeveloped lands as well as clear cutting of forests. This move has increased the rate of species extinction and damaged the services offered by nature, such as the natural processing of pollutants. Over-grazed lands, especially in semi-arid regions, lose their ability to support animal production because of rapid topsoil erosion and desertification. [citation needed] ...

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Environmental vegetarianism, Environmental vegetarianism - Emissions, Environmental vegetarianism - Grazing and land use, Environmental vegetarianism - Water resources, Environmental vegetarianism - Aquatic ecosystems, Environmental vegetarianism - Petroleum and fossil fuels, Environmental vegetarianism - Related economic and social considerations, Environmental vegetarianism - Other criticism

Read more here: » Environmental vegetarianism: Encyclopedia II - Environmental vegetarianism - Grazing and land use

Water is becoming increasingly scarce or polluted in many parts of the world. [17] Scientists at the World Water Week conference held in August 2004 advised that "growth in demand for meat and dairy products is unsustainable" and that "[a]nimals need much more water than grain to produce the same amount of food, and ending malnutrition and feeding even more mouths will take still more water." [18] Critics note, meat production is not the only culprit when it comes to misuse of water resources. Crops like rice pose a significant threat ...

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Environmental vegetarianism, Environmental vegetarianism - Emissions, Environmental vegetarianism - Grazing and land use, Environmental vegetarianism - Water resources, Environmental vegetarianism - Aquatic ecosystems, Environmental vegetarianism - Petroleum and fossil fuels, Environmental vegetarianism - Related economic and social considerations, Environmental vegetarianism - Other criticism

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Petroleum and other fossil fuels are thought to be one of the resources freed up by a vegetarian diet. According to Environmental Health Perspectives: "Fossil fuel energy is also a major input to industrial agriculture. The food production system accounts for 17% of all fossil fuel use in the United States, and the average U.S. farm uses 3 kcal of fossil energy in producing 1 kcal of food energy. Meat production uses even more energy. In the typical feedlot system—where a little more than one-half of the cattle's feed is grain—th ...

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Environmental vegetarianism, Environmental vegetarianism - Emissions, Environmental vegetarianism - Grazing and land use, Environmental vegetarianism - Water resources, Environmental vegetarianism - Aquatic ecosystems, Environmental vegetarianism - Petroleum and fossil fuels, Environmental vegetarianism - Related economic and social considerations, Environmental vegetarianism - Other criticism

Read more here: » Environmental vegetarianism: Encyclopedia II - Environmental vegetarianism - Petroleum and fossil fuels

Invasive species - Ecological circumstances of invasive species. Although an invasive species is often defined as an introduced species that has spread widely and causes harm, some species native to a particular area can, under the influence of natural events such as longterm rainfall changes or human modifications to the habitat, increase in numbers and become invasive. The Pied Currawong of south-east Australia is an example: as a result of human changes to the landscape, Pied Currawongs increased greatly in range during the 20th century and have caused substantial declines in th ...

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Invasive species, Invasive species - Ecology of invasive species, Invasive species - Ecological circumstances of invasive species, Invasive species - Traits of invasive species, Invasive species - Traits of invaded ecosystems, Invasive species - Vectors, Invasive species - Impacts of invasive species, Invasive species - Ecological impacts, Invasive species - Economic impacts, Invasive species - The threat to global biodiversity

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Invasive species - Ecological impacts. Biological species invasions can negatively impact ecological systems in a multitude of ways. Worldwide an estimated 80% of endangered species could suffer losses due to competition with or predation by invasive species (Pimentel et al. 2005). As highly adaptable and generalized species are introduced to environments already impacted by human activities, native species are put at a distinct disadvantage to survive. There are many examples of decreases in biodiversity in such ...

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Invasive species, Invasive species - Ecology of invasive species, Invasive species - Ecological circumstances of invasive species, Invasive species - Traits of invasive species, Invasive species - Traits of invaded ecosystems, Invasive species - Vectors, Invasive species - Impacts of invasive species, Invasive species - Ecological impacts, Invasive species - Economic impacts, Invasive species - The threat to global biodiversity

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"Light pollution" is a term that is used to refer to light that people find annoying. Some skeptics claim that light pollution should not be compared with "real" pollution, arguing that any instance of stray light has no long term effect. This is because unlike traditional forms of pollution, light pollution is not persistent. The amount of light pollution at any given time is directly related to the amount of artificial light that is being emitted at that time, meaning that if all artificial lights were immediately switched off, the visual ...

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Light pollution, Light pollution - Light pollution as a problem, Light pollution - Types of light pollution, Light pollution - Light trespass, Light pollution - Glare, Light pollution - Clutter, Light pollution - Sky glow, Light pollution - Consequences of light pollution, Light pollution - Disruption of the ecosystem, Light pollution - Reducing light pollution, Light pollution - Improving lighting fixtures, Light pollution - Adjusting types of lighting, Light pollution - Re-designing lighting plans, Light pollution - Organisations

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Antarctic Krill are found thronging the surface waters of the Southern Ocean; they have a circumpolar distribution, with the highest concentrations located in the Atlantic sector. The northern boundary of the Southern Ocean with its Atlantic, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean sectors is defined more or less by the Antarctic convergence, a circumpolar front where the cold Antarctic surface water submerges below the warmer subantarctic waters. This front runs roughly at 55° South; from there to the continent, the Southern Ocean cover ...

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Antarctic krill, Antarctic krill - Systematics, Antarctic krill - Life cycle, Antarctic krill - Food, Antarctic krill - Filter feeding, Antarctic krill - Ice-algae raking, Antarctic krill - The biological pump and carbon sequestration, Antarctic krill - Biological peculiarities, Antarctic krill - Bioluminescence, Antarctic krill - Escape reaction, Antarctic krill - The compound eye, Antarctic krill - Geographical distribution, Antarctic krill - Position in the Antarctic ecosystem, Antarctic krill - Biomass and production, Antarctic krill - Decline with shrinking pack ice, Antarctic krill - Fisheries, Antarctic krill - Future visions and ocean engineering, Antarctic krill - Notes

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"Light pollution" is a broad term that refers to multiple problems, all of which are caused by inefficient, annoying or arguably unnecessary use of artificial light. Specific categories of light pollution include light trespass, glare, clutter, and sky glow. It is common, however, for annoying light to fit several of these categories at once. Light pollution - Light trespass. Light trespass occurs when unwanted light enters one's property, for instance, by shining over a neighbo ...

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Light pollution, Light pollution - Light pollution as a problem, Light pollution - Types of light pollution, Light pollution - Light trespass, Light pollution - Glare, Light pollution - Clutter, Light pollution - Sky glow, Light pollution - Consequences of light pollution, Light pollution - Disruption of the ecosystem, Light pollution - Reducing light pollution, Light pollution - Improving lighting fixtures, Light pollution - Adjusting types of lighting, Light pollution - Re-designing lighting plans, Light pollution - Organisations

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Light pollution wastes energy, can reduce security, obscures the night sky, and may hurt human and animal health. Energy is wasted when light does not fall on its intended target, as when lighting fixtures allow light to go up instead of (as is generally preferred) downward. Waste also occurs when more light is generated than needed. Some governments are looking for ways to reduce energy use after signing the Kyoto Protocol, and individuals, organisations and local authorities sometimes look to imp ...

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Light pollution, Light pollution - Light pollution as a problem, Light pollution - Types of light pollution, Light pollution - Light trespass, Light pollution - Glare, Light pollution - Clutter, Light pollution - Sky glow, Light pollution - Consequences of light pollution, Light pollution - Disruption of the ecosystem, Light pollution - Reducing light pollution, Light pollution - Improving lighting fixtures, Light pollution - Adjusting types of lighting, Light pollution - Re-designing lighting plans, Light pollution - Organisations

Read more here: » Light pollution: Encyclopedia II - Light pollution - Consequences of light pollution

Reducing light pollution implies many things, such as reducing sky glow, reducing glare, reducing light trespass, and reducing clutter. The method for best reducing light pollution, therefore, depends on exactly what the problem is in any given instance. Possible solutions include: Improving lighting fixtures, so that they direct their light more accurately towards where it is needed, and with less side effects. Adjusting the type of lights used, so that the light waves emitted are those that are less likely to c ...

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Light pollution, Light pollution - Light pollution as a problem, Light pollution - Types of light pollution, Light pollution - Light trespass, Light pollution - Glare, Light pollution - Clutter, Light pollution - Sky glow, Light pollution - Consequences of light pollution, Light pollution - Disruption of the ecosystem, Light pollution - Reducing light pollution, Light pollution - Improving lighting fixtures, Light pollution - Adjusting types of lighting, Light pollution - Re-designing lighting plans, Light pollution - Organisations

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Terminology 'Global warming' is a specific case of the more general term 'climate change' (which can also refer to cooling, such as in Ice ages). Furthermore, the term is in principle neutral as to the causes, but in common usage, 'global warming' generally implies a human influence. Note, however, that the UNFCCC uses 'climate change' for human caused change and 'climate variability' for non-human caused change [3]. Some organizations use the term 'anthropogenic climate change' for human induced changes.< ...

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Global warming, Global warming - Overview, Global warming - Warming of the Earth, Global warming - Causes of global warming, Global warming - Greenhouse gas emissions, Global warming - Alternative theories, Global warming - Climate models, Global warming - Issues, Global warming - Public controversy, Global warming - Effects, Global warming - Effects on ecosystems, Global warming - Destabilisation of ocean currents, Global warming - Environmental refugees, Global warming - Spread of disease, Global warming - Financial effects, Global warming - Possible beneficial effects, Global warming - Mitigating and adapting to global warming

Read more here: » Global warming: Encyclopedia II - Global warming - Overview

The climate system varies both through natural, "internal" processes as well as in response to variations in external "forcing" from both human and non-human causes, including changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun (Milankovitch cycles), solar activity, and volcanic emissions as well as greenhouse gases. (See Climate change for further discussion of these forcing processes.) Climatologists accept that the earth has warmed recently. The cause or cause ...

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Global warming, Global warming - Overview, Global warming - Warming of the Earth, Global warming - Causes of global warming, Global warming - Greenhouse gas emissions, Global warming - Alternative theories, Global warming - Climate models, Global warming - Issues, Global warming - Public controversy, Global warming - Effects, Global warming - Effects on ecosystems, Global warming - Destabilisation of ocean currents, Global warming - Environmental refugees, Global warming - Spread of disease, Global warming - Financial effects, Global warming - Possible beneficial effects, Global warming - Mitigating and adapting to global warming

Read more here: » Global warming: Encyclopedia II - Global warming - Causes of global warming