General Glossary

A substance that is usually highly
acidic or alkaline that corrodes
materials with which in comes in
contact.

A group of very common air
pollutants regulated by the U.S.
Environmental Protection agency on
the basis of criteria (information
on health and/or environmental
effects of pollution). Criteria
air pollutants are widely
distributed all over the country

The process by which a substance
is broekn down into component
parts of basic elements. Food and
other plant and animal matter
decompose under the proper
conditions of light, air and
moisture.

Designed to be thrown away after
one use or after a limited period
of time.

Deposits of boulders, gravel,
sand, clay or tillmoved and
deposted by a glacier or the water
from a melting glacier.

A community of interaction among
animals, plants, and
microorganisms, and the physical
and chemical environment in which
they live.

Liquid flowing out of a system,
such as a discharge of liquid
waste from a factory or water
leaving a sewage treatment plant.

Substances (usually pollutants)
discharge into the air.

U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency -- the federal agency that
administers federal environmental
regulations and programs.

Most lakes form three distinct
layers of water during summertime
weather. The epilimnion is the
upper layer and is characterized
by warmer and lighter water.