Week 4 Vocabulary

Clean Water Act: make all waters fishable and swimmable and, ultimately, to
eliminate discharge of pollutants into surface waters
Dams: a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, the resulting
reservoir being used in the generation of electricity or as a water supply
Pollution: the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance
or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects
Endangered Species Act: an Act to provide for the conservation of
endangered and threatened species of fish, wildlife, and plants, and for other
purposes
Habitat Destruction: the process in which natural habitat is rendered
functionally unable to support the species present
Depletion: reduction in the number or quantity of something
Extinction: the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or
becoming extinct
esources: natural systems that produce services of potential benefit to people
such as clean air, clean water, attractive scenery, and so forth
!n"asi"e Species: an organism that causes ecological or economic harm in a new
environment where it is not native
De#orestation: the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is
thereafter converted to a non-forest use.
$rbani%ation: the increasing number of people that live in urban areas.
Agriculture: the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi, and other life forms for
food, fiber, biofuel, medicinals and other products used to sustain and enhance
human life.