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Acid_value | In chemistry , acid value ( or `` neutralization number '' or `` acid number '' or `` acidity '' ) is the mass of potassium hydroxide ( KOH ) in milligrams that is required to neutralize one gram of chemical substance . The acid number is a measure of the amount of carboxylic acid groups in a chemical compound , such as a fatty acid , or in a mixture of compounds . In a typical procedure , a known amount of sample dissolved in organic solvent ( often isopropanol ) , is titrated with a solution of potassium hydroxide ( KOH ) with known concentration and with phenolphthalein as a color indicator . The acid number is used to quantify the amount of acid present , for example in a sample of biodiesel . It is the quantity of base , expressed in milligrams of potassium hydroxide , that is required to neutralize the acidic constituents in 1 g of sample . Veq is the volume of titrant ( ml ) consumed by the crude oil sample and 1 ml of spiking solution at the equivalent point , beq is the volume of titrant ( ml ) consumed by 1 ml of spiking solution at the equivalent point , and 56.1 is the molecular weight of KOH . WOil is the mass of the sample in grams . The molar concentration of titrant ( N ) is calculated as such : In which WKHP is the mass ( g ) of KHP in 50 ml of KHP standard solution , Veq is the volume of titrant ( ml ) consumed by 50 ml KHP standard solution at the equivalent point , and 204.23 is the molecular weight of KHP . There are standard methods for determining the acid number , such as ASTM D 974 and DIN 51558 ( for mineral oils , biodiesel ) , or specifically for biodiesel using the European Standard EN 14104 and ASTM D664 are both widely used worldwide . Acid number ( mg KOH/g oil ) for biodiesel should to be lower than 0.50 mg KOH/g in both EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 standard fuels . This is since the FFA produced may corrode automotive parts and these limits protect vehicle engines and fuel tanks . As oil-fats rancidify , triglycerides are converted into fatty acids and glycerol , causing an increase in acid number . A similar observation is observed with biodiesel aging through analogous oxidation processes and when subjected to prolonged high temperatures ( ester thermolysis ) or through exposure to acids or bases ( acid/base ester hydrolysis ) . |
Agricultural_policy_of_the_United_States | The agricultural policy of the United States is composed primarily of the periodically renewed federal U.S. farm bills . |
Academic_dishonesty | Academic dishonesty , academic misconduct or academic fraud is any type of cheating that occurs in relation to a formal academic exercise . It can include Plagiarism : The adoption or reproduction of original creations of another author ( person , collective , organization , community or other type of author , including anonymous authors ) without due acknowledgment . Fabrication : The falsification of data , information , or citations in any formal academic exercise . Deception : Providing false information to an instructor concerning a formal academic exercise -- e.g. , giving a false excuse for missing a deadline or falsely claiming to have submitted work . Cheating : Any attempt to obtain assistance in a formal academic exercise ( like an examination ) without due acknowledgment ( including the use of cheat sheets ) . Bribery or paid services : Giving assignment answers or test answers for money . Sabotage : Acting to prevent others from completing their work . This includes cutting pages out of library books or willfully disrupting the experiments of others . Professorial misconduct : Professorial acts that are academically fraudulent equate to academic fraud and/or grade fraud . Impersonation : assuming a student 's identity with intent to provide an advantage for the student . Academic dishonesty has been documented in every type of educational setting from elementary school to graduate school . Throughout history this type of dishonesty has been met with varying degrees of approbation . |
AccuWeather_Network | The AccuWeather Network is an American cable television network that is owned by AccuWeather . The network broadcasts pre-recorded national and regional weather forecasts , analysis of ongoing weather events , and weather-related news , along with local weather segments for mostly the Northeastern United States . The network 's studio and master control facilities are based at AccuWeather 's headquarters in State College , Pennsylvania . |
Abrupt_climate_change | An abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is forced to transition to a new climate state at a rate that is determined by the climate system energy-balance , and which is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing . Past events include the end of the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse , Younger Dryas , Dansgaard-Oeschger events , Heinrich events and possibly also the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum . The term is also used within the context of global warming to describe sudden climate change that is detectable over the time-scale of a human lifetime . One proposed reason for the observed abrupt climate change is that feedback loops within the climate system both enhance small perturbations and cause a variety of stable states . Timescales of events described as ` abrupt ' may vary dramatically . Changes recorded in the climate of Greenland at the end of the Younger Dryas , as measured by ice-cores , imply a sudden warming of + 10 C-change within a timescale of a few years . Other abrupt changes are the + 4 C-change on Greenland 11,270 years ago or the abrupt + 6 C-change warming 22,000 years ago on Antarctica . By contrast , the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum may have initiated anywhere between a few decades and several thousand years . Finally , Earth Systems models project that under ongoing greenhouse gas emissions as early as 2047 , the Earth 's near surface temperature could depart from the range of variability in the last 150 years , affecting over 3 billion people and most places of great species diversity on Earth . |
Agricultural_land | Agricultural land is typically land devoted to agriculture , the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans . It is thus generally synonymous with farmland or cropland . The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and others following its definitions , however , also use agricultural land or as a term of art , where it means the collection of : `` arable land '' ( a.k.a. cropland ) : here redefined to refer to land producing crops requiring annual replanting or fallowland or pasture used for such crops within any five-year period `` permanent cropland '' : land producing crops which do not require annual replanting permanent pastures : natural or artificial grasslands and shrublands able to be used for grazing livestock This sense of `` agricultural land '' thus includes a great deal of land not devoted to agricultural use . The land actually under annually-replanted crops in any given year is instead said to constitute or `` Permanent cropland '' includes forested plantations used to harvest coffee , rubber , or fruit but not tree farms or proper forests used for wood or timber . Land able to be used for farming is called . Farmland , meanwhile , is used variously in reference to all agricultural land , to all cultivable land , or just to the newly restricted sense of `` arable land '' . Depending upon its use of artificial irrigation , the FAO 's `` agricultural land '' may be divided into irrigated and non-irrigated land . In the context of zoning , agricultural land or agriculturally-zoned land refers to plots that are permitted to be used for agricultural activities , without regard to its present use or even suitability . In some areas , agricultural land is protected so that it can be farmed without any threat of development . The Agricultural Land Reserve in British Columbia in Canada , for instance , requires approval from its Agricultural Land Commission before its lands can be removed or subdivided . |
5160_Camoes | 5160 Camoes , provisional designation , is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt , approximately 6 kilometers in diameter . It was discovered on 23 December 1979 , by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne and Brazilian astronomer Edgar Netto at ESO 's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile . The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2 -- 2.6 AU once every 3 years and 9 months ( 1,360 days ) . Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 8 ° with respect to the ecliptic . The asteroid 's observation arc starts in 1979 , as no precoveries were taken and no identifications were made prior to its discovery . Based on an absolute magnitude of 13.3 and assuming a generic albedo over the range of 0.05 to 0.25 , the asteroid measures between 6 and 12 kilometers in diameter . According to the survey carried out by NASA 's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission , the asteroid measures 6.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.259 . As of 2016 , the asteroid 's composition , rotation period and shape remain unknown . The minor planet was named after Portugal 's and the Portuguese language 's greatest poet , Luís de Camões ( 1524 -- 1580 ) . His epic Os Lusíadas ( The Lusiads ) , a fantastical interpretation of the Portuguese voyages of discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries , shows an extraordinary knowledge of astronomy . Naming citation was published on 6 February 1993 . |
Agriculture,_forestry,_and_fishing_in_Japan | Agriculture , farming , and fishing form the primary sector of industry of the Japanese economy , together with the Japanese mining industry , but together they account for only 1.3 % of gross national product . Only 20 % of Japan 's land is suitable for cultivation , and the agricultural economy is highly subsidized . Agriculture , forestry , and fishing dominated the Japanese economy until the 1940s , but thereafter declined into relative unimportance ( see Agriculture in the Empire of Japan ) . In the late 19th century ( Meiji period ) , these sectors had accounted for more than 80 % of employment . Employment in agriculture declined in the prewar period , but the sector was still the largest employer ( about 50 % of the work force ) by the end of World War II . It was further declined to 23.5 % in 1965 , 11.9 % in 1977 , and to 7.2 % in 1988 . The importance of agriculture in the national economy later continued its rapid decline , with the share of net agricultural production in GNP finally reduced between 1975 and 1989 from 4.1 % to 3 % In the late 1980s , 85.5 % of Japan 's farmers were also engaged in occupations outside of farming , and most of these part-time farmers earned most of their income from nonfarming activities . Japan 's economic boom that began in the 1950s left farmers far behind in both income and agricultural technology . They were attracted to the government 's food control policy under which high rice prices were guaranteed and farmers were encouraged to increase the output of any crops of their own choice . Farmers became mass producers of rice , even turning their own vegetable gardens into rice fields . Their output swelled to over 14 million metric tons in the late 1960s , a direct result of greater cultivated area and increased yield per unit area , owing to improved cultivation techniques . Three types of farm households developed : those engaging exclusively in agriculture ( 14.5 % of the 4.2 million farm households in 1988 , down from 21.5 % in 1965 ) ; those deriving more than half their income from the farm ( 14.2 % down from 36.7 % in 1965 ) ; and those mainly engaged in jobs other than farming ( 71.3 % up from 41.8 % in 1965 ) . As more and more farm families turned to nonfarming activities , the farm population declined ( down from 4.9 million in 1975 to 4.8 million in 1988 ) . The rate of decrease slowed in the late 1970s and 1980s , but the average age of farmers rose to 51 years by 1980 , twelve years older than the average industrial employee . Historically and today , women farmers outnumber male farmers . Government data from 2011 showed women heading more than three-quarters of new agribusiness ventures . |
APA_Ethics_Code | The American Psychological Association ( APA ) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct ( for short , the Ethics Code , as referred to by the APA ) includes an introduction , preamble , a list of five aspirational principles and a list of ten enforceable standards that psychologists use to guide ethical decisions in practice , research , and education . The principles and standards are written , revised , and enforced by the APA . The code of conduct is applicable to psychologists in a variety of areas across a variety of contexts . In the event of a violation of the code of conduct , the APA may take action ranging from termination of the APA membership to the loss of licensure , depending on the violation . Other professional organizations and licensing boards may adopt and enforce the code . The first version was published by the APA in 1953 . The need for such a document came after psychologists were taking on more professional and public roles post-World War II . A committee was developed and reviewed situations submitted by psychologists in the field who felt they had encountered ethical dilemmas . The committee organized these situations into themes and included them in the first document which was 170 pages in length . Over the years , a distinction was made between aspirational principles and enforceable standards . Since , there have been nine revisions with the most recent published in 2002 and amended in 2010 . Despite the development and use of a complete ethical code , there have still been ethical violations and controversies . For instance , although the APA takes an explicit stance against conversion therapy , this treatment remains controversial amongst many psychologists and religious groups and is still being practiced by some . There is also some disagreement within the field about the ethical implications of using a treatment that may be less effective than another known treatment , although some psychologists argue that all therapy treatments are equally effective ( see : the Dodo bird verdict ) . The APA has also been implicated in helping the Central Intelligence Agency to continue `` enhanced interrogation techniques '' ( i.e. , torture ) of detainees under the Bush administration . This presented an obvious violation of the organization 's code of ethics and has been addressed by the APA in the form of reports , responses to media outlets , amendments to policies , and rejections of the allegations . |
Acrodermatitis | Acrodermatitis / ac · ro · der · ma · ti · tis / is a childhood form of dermatitis selectively affecting the hands and feet and may be accompanied by mild symptoms of fever and malaise . It may also be associated with hepatitis B and other viral infections . The lesions appear as small coppery-red , flat-topped firm papules that appear in crops and sometimes in long linear strings , often symmetric . It is a diffuse chronic skin disease usually confined to the limbs , seen mainly in women in Northern , Central , and Eastern Europe , and characterized initially by an erythematous , oedematous , pruritic phase followed by sclerosis and atrophy . It is caused by infection with Borrelia burgdorferi . |
Agnosticism | Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable . According to the philosopher William L. Rowe , `` agnosticism is the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist '' . Agnosticism is a doctrine or set of tenets rather than a religion . English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley coined the word `` agnostic '' in 1869 . Earlier thinkers , however , had written works that promoted agnostic points of view , such as Sanjaya Belatthaputta , a 5th-century BCE Indian philosopher who expressed agnosticism about any afterlife ; and Protagoras , a 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher who expressed agnosticism about the existence of `` the gods '' . The Nasadiya Sukta in the Rigveda is agnostic about the origin of the universe . |
Achievement_gap_in_the_United_States | The achievement gap in the United States refers to the observed , persistent disparity in measures of educational performance among subgroups of U.S. students , especially groups defined by socioeconomic status ( SES ) , race/ethnicity and gender . The achievement gap can be observed on a variety of measures , including standardized test scores , grade point average , dropout rates , and college enrollment and completion rates . While this article focuses on the achievement gap in the United States , the gap in achievement between lower income students and higher income students exists in all nations and it has been studied extensively in the U.S. and other countries , including the U.K. Various other gaps between groups exist around the globe as well . Research into the causes of the disparity in academic achievement between students from different socioeconomoic and racial backgrounds has been ongoing since the 1966 publication of the Coleman Report ( officially titled `` Equality of Educational Opportunity '' ) , commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education , which found that a combination of home , community , and in-school factors have an impact on academic performance and contribute to the achievement gap . According to American educational psychologist David Berliner , home and community environments have a stronger impact on school achievement than in-school factors , in part , because students spend more time outside of school than in school . In addition , the out-of-school factors influencing academic performance differ significantly between children living in poverty and children from middle-income households . The achievement gap , as reported in trend data collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress ( NAEP ) , has become a focal point of education reform efforts by a number of nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups . Attempts to minimize the achievement gap by improving equality of access to educational opportunities have been numerous but fragmented , such as affirmative action , multicultural education , finance equalization , and interventions to improve school testing , teacher quality and accountability . |
Acidulated_water | Acidulated water is water where some sort of acid is added -- often lemon juice , lime juice , or vinegar -- to prevent cut or skinned fruits or vegetables from browning so as to maintain their appearance . Some vegetables and fruits which are often placed in acidulated water are : apples , avocados , celeriac , potatoes and pears . When the fruit or vegetable is removed from the mixture , it will usually resist browning for at least an hour or two , even though it is being exposed to oxygen . An added benefit of placing items in acidulated water is that the food item acquires a taste of the acid used , which can be very pleasant on the palate . Acidulated water , most often made with the use of vinegar , can be used on an aged , hanging beef carcass ( butchered ) to help clean it . The hanging primals / sub-primals can be wiped down with a cloth that has been submerged in the acidulated solution to help remove the `` slick '' surface that can build up during the aging process . Acidulated water can also be used for hydrogen and oxygen synthesis via electrolysis 2H2O - ( electrolysis ) → 2H2 + O2 |
Acclimatization | Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation ) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment ( such as a change in altitude , temperature , humidity , photoperiod , or pH ) , allowing it to maintain performance across a range of environmental conditions . Acclimatization occurs in a short period of time ( hours to weeks ) , and within the organism 's lifetime ( compared to adaptation , which is a development that takes place over many generations ) . This may be a discrete occurrence ( for example , when mountaineers acclimate to high altitude over hours or days ) or may instead represent part of a periodic cycle , such as a mammal shedding heavy winter fur in favor of a lighter summer coat . Organisms can adjust their morphological , behavioral , physical , and/or biochemical traits in response to changes in their environment . While the capacity to acclimate to novel environments has been well documented in thousands of species , researchers still know very little about how and why organisms acclimate the way that they do . |
60th_parallel_south | The 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth 's equatorial plane . No land lies on the parallel -- it crosses nothing but ocean . The closest land is a group of rocks north of Coronation Island ( Melson Rocks or Governor Islands ) of the South Orkney Islands , which are about 54 km south of the parallel , and Thule Island and Cook Island of the South Sandwich Islands , which both are about 57 km north of the parallel ( Thule island slightly closer ) . The parallel marks the northern limit of the Southern Ocean ( though some organisations and countries , notably Australia , have other definitions ) and of the Antarctic Treaty System . It also marks the southern boundary of the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and the Latin American Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone . At this latitude the sun is visible for 18 hours , 52 minutes during the summer solstice and 5 hours , 52 minutes during the winter solstice . On December 21 , the sun is at 53.83 degrees up in the sky and 6.17 degrees on June 21 . The latitudes south of this parallel are often referred to as the Screaming 60s due to the prevailing high-speed , westerly winds which can generate large waves in excess of 15 m ( 50 ft ) and peak wind speeds over 145 km/h ( 90 mph ) . |
Acidophiles_in_acid_mine_drainage | The outflow of acidic liquids and other pollutants from mines is often catalysed by acid-loving microorganisms ; these are the acidophiles in acid mine drainage . Acidophiles are not just present in exotic environments such as Yellowstone National Park or deep-sea hydrothermal vents . Genera such as Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum bacteria , and Thermoplasmatales archaea , are present in syntrophic relationships in the more mundane environments of concrete sewer pipes and implicated in the heavy-metal-containing , sulfurous waters of rivers such as the Rheidol . Such microorganisms are responsible for the phenomenon of acid mine drainage ( AMD ) and thus are important both economically and from a conservation perspective . Control of these acidophiles and their harnessing for industrial biotechnology shows their effect need not be entirely negative . The use of acidophilic organisms in mining is a new technique for extracting trace metals through bioleaching , and offers solutions for the phenomenon of acid mine drainage in mining spoils . |
Agriculture_in_Ethiopia | Agriculture in Ethiopia is the foundation of the country 's economy , accounting for half of gross domestic product ( GDP ) , 83.9 % of exports , and 80 % of total employment . Ethiopia 's agriculture is plagued by periodic drought , soil degradation caused by overgrazing , deforestation , high levels of taxation and poor infrastructure ( making it difficult and expensive to get goods to market ) . Yet agriculture is the country 's most promising resource . A potential exists for self-sufficiency in grains and for export development in livestock , grains , vegetables , and fruits . As many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually . Agriculture accounts for 46.3 percent of the nation 's Gross domestic Product ( GDP ) , 83.9 percent of exports , and 80 % of the labour force . Many other economic activities depend on agriculture , including marketing , processing , and export of agricultural products . Production is overwhelmingly of a subsistence nature , and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector . Principal crops include coffee , pulses ( e.g. , beans ) , oilseeds , cereals , potatoes , sugarcane , and vegetables . Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities , and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner . Ethiopia is also Africa 's second biggest maize producer . Ethiopia 's livestock population is believed to be the largest in Africa , and in 2006/2007 livestock accounted for 10.6 % of Ethiopia 's export income , with leather and leather products making up 7.5 % and live animals 3.1 % . |
Agriculture | Agriculture or farming is the cultivation and breeding of animals , plants and fungi for food , fiber , biofuel , medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life . Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization . The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science . The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years , and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates , cultures , and technologies . Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology . Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation , but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects . Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat , but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics , growth hormones , and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production . Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture , although they are banned in several countries . Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts . Significant degradation of land and water resources , including the depletion of aquifers , has been observed in recent decades , and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood . The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods , fibers , fuels , and raw materials . Specific foods include cereals ( grains ) , vegetables , fruits , oils , meats and spices . Fibers include cotton , wool , hemp , silk and flax . Raw materials include lumber and bamboo . Other useful materials are also produced by plants , such as resins , dyes , drugs , perfumes , biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants . Over one third of the world 's workers are employed in agriculture , second only to the service sector , although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries . |
Agribusiness | Agribusiness is the business of agricultural production . The term was coined in 1957 by Goldberg and Davis . It includes agrichemicals , breeding , crop production ( farming and contract farming ) , distribution , farm machinery , processing , and seed supply , as well as marketing and retail sales . All agents of the food and fiber value chain and those institutions that influence it are part of the agribusiness system . Within the agriculture industry , `` agribusiness '' is used simply as a portmanteau of agriculture and business , referring to the range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food production . There are academic degrees in and departments of agribusiness , agribusiness trade associations , agribusiness publications , and so forth , worldwide . The UN 's Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) operates a section devoted to agribusiness development which seeks to promote food industry growth in developing nations . In the context of agribusiness management in academia , each individual element of agriculture production and distribution may be described as agribusinesses . However , the term `` agribusiness '' most often emphasizes the `` interdependence '' of these various sectors within the production chain . Among critics of large-scale , industrialized , vertically integrated food production , the term agribusiness is used negatively , synonymous with corporate farming . As such , it is often contrasted with smaller family-owned farms . |
Acreage_Reduction_Program | In the United States , the Acreage Reduction Program ( ARP ) is a no-longer-authorized annual cropland retirement program for wheat , feed grains , cotton , or rice in which farmers participating in the commodity programs ( in order to be eligible for nonrecourse loans and deficiency payments ) were mandated to idle a crop-specific , nationally-set portion of their base acreage during years of surplus . The idled acreage ( called the acreage conservation reserve ) was devoted to a conserving use . The goal was to reduce supplies , thereby raising market prices . Additionally , idled acres did not earn deficiency payments , thus reducing commodity program costs . ARP was criticized for diminishing the U.S. competitive position in export markets . The 1996 farm bill ( P.L. 104-127 ) did not reauthorize ARPs . ARP differed from a set-aside program in that under a set-aside program reductions were based upon current year plantings , and did not require farmers to reduce their plantings of a specific crop . |
Aether_theories | Aether theories ( also known as ether theories ) in physics propose the existence of a medium , the aether ( also spelled ether , from the Greek word , meaning `` upper air '' or `` pure , fresh air '' ) , a space-filling substance or field , thought to be necessary as a transmission medium for the propagation of electromagnetic or gravitational forces . The assorted aether theories embody the various conceptions of this `` medium '' and `` substance '' . This early modern aether has little in common with the aether of classical elements from which the name was borrowed . Since the development of special relativity , theories using a substantial aether fell out of use in modern physics , and were replaced by more abstract models . |
5692_Shirao | 5692 Shirao , provisional designation , is a stony Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt , approximately 9 kilometers in diameter . It was discovered on 23 March 1992 , by Japanese amateur astronomers Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at Kitami Observatory , Hokkaidō , Japan . The asteroid is a member of the Eunomia family , a large group of stony S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the intermediate main-belt . It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2 -- 3.1 AU once every 4 years and 4 months ( 1,580 days ) . Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 12 ° with respect to the ecliptic . The first used precovery was taken at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in 1955 , extending the asteroid 's observation arc by 37 years prior to its discovery . In June 2014 , a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by American astronomer Brian D. Warner at the U.S. Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado . It gave a well-defined rotation period of hours with a brightness variation of 0.16 in magnitude . Previous light-curves were obtained by French astronomer René Roy ( hours , Δ 0.13 mag , ) in June 2001 , by American astronomer Donald P. Pray ( hours , Δ 0.12 mag , ) in March 2005 , and by astronomers Dominique Suys , Hugo Riemis and Jan Vantomme ( hours , Δ 0.15 mag , ) in September 2006 . According to the surveys carried out by NASA 's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its subsequent NEOWISE mission , the asteroid measures between 9.5 and 9.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.22 , while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo of 0.21 -- derived from 15 Eunomia , the largest member and namesake of this asteroid family -- and calculates a diameter of 9.2 kilometers . The minor planet was named after Motomaro Shirao ( b. 1953 ) , a Japanese geologist and astrophotographer , who is known for his photographs of volcanoes and lunar geological features . Naming citation was published on 4 April 1996 . |
Advection | In physics , engineering , and earth sciences , advection is the transport of a substance by bulk motion . The properties of that substance are carried with it . Generally the majority of the advected substance is a fluid . The properties that are carried with the advected substance are conserved properties such as energy . An example of advection is the transport of pollutants or silt in a river by bulk water flow downstream . Another commonly advected quantity is energy or enthalpy . Here the fluid may be any material that contains thermal energy , such as water or air . In general , any substance or conserved , extensive quantity can be advected by a fluid that can hold or contain the quantity or substance . During advection , a fluid transports some conserved quantity or material via bulk motion . The fluid 's motion is described mathematically as a vector field , and the transported material is described by a scalar field showing its distribution over space . Advection requires currents in the fluid , and so can not happen in rigid solids . It does not include transport of substances by molecular diffusion . Advection is sometimes confused with the more encompassing process of convection which is the combination of advective transport and diffusive transport . In meteorology and physical oceanography , advection often refers to the transport of some property of the atmosphere or ocean , such as heat , humidity ( see moisture ) or salinity . Advection is important for the formation of orographic clouds and the precipitation of water from clouds , as part of the hydrological cycle . |
Absolute_risk_reduction | In epidemiology , the absolute risk reduction , risk difference or absolute effect is the change in the risk of an outcome of a given treatment or activity in relation to a comparison treatment or activity . It is the inverse of the number needed to treat . In general , absolute risk reduction is the difference between one treatment comparison group 's event rate ( EER ) and another comparison group 's event rate ( CER ) . The difference is usually calculated with respect to two treatments A and B , with A typically a drug and B a placebo . For example , A could be a 5-year treatment with a hypothetical drug , and B is treatment with placebo , i.e. no treatment . A defined endpoint has to be specified , such as a survival or a response rate . For example : the appearance of lung cancer in a 5-year period . If the probabilities pA and pB of this endpoint under treatments A and B , respectively , are known , then the absolute risk reduction is computed as ( pB − pA ) . The inverse of the absolute risk reduction , NNT , is an important measure in pharmacoeconomics . If a clinical endpoint is devastating enough ( e.g. death , heart attack ) , drugs with a low absolute risk reduction may still be indicated in particular situations . If the endpoint is minor , health insurers may decline to reimburse drugs with a low absolute risk reduction . |
Abiogenic_petroleum_origin | Abiogenic petroleum origin is a term used to describe a number of different hypotheses which propose that petroleum and natural gas are formed by inorganic means rather than by the decomposition of organisms . The two principal abiogenic petroleum hypotheses , the deep gas hypothesis of Thomas Gold and the deep abiotic petroleum hypothesis , have been scientifically reviewed without confirmation . Scientific opinion on the origin of oil and gas is that all natural oil and gas deposits on Earth are fossil fuels and are , therefore , biogenic . Abiogenesis of small quantities of oil and gas remains a minor area of ongoing research . Some abiogenic hypotheses have proposed that oil and gas did not originate from fossil deposits , but have instead originated from deep carbon deposits , present since the formation of the Earth . Additionally , it has been suggested that hydrocarbons may have arrived on Earth from solid bodies such as comets and asteroids from the late formation of the Solar System , carrying hydrocarbons with them . Some abiogenic hypotheses gained limited popularity among geologists over the past several centuries . Scientists in the former Soviet Union widely held that significant petroleum deposits could be attributed to abiogenic origin , though this view fell out of favor toward the end of the 20th century because they did not make useful predictions for the discovery of oil deposits . Previous to today , it was generally accepted that abiogenic formation of petroleum has insufficient scientific support and that oil and gas fuels on Earth are formed almost exclusively from organic material . The abiogenic hypothesis regained support in 2009 when researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology ( KTH ) in Stockholm reported they believed they had proven that fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and natural gas to be generated . |
Acciona_Energy | Acciona Energy , a subsidiary of Acciona based in Madrid , is a Spanish company developing renewable energy projects , including small hydro , biomass , solar energy and thermal energy , and the marketing of biofuels . It also has assets in the field of co-generation and wind turbine manufacture . , it is carrying out research projects to produce hydrogen from wind power and to manufacture more efficient photovoltaic cells . , Acciona Energy has 164 wind farms in nine countries representing over 4,500 megawatts ( MW ) of wind power installed or under construction . Acciona Energy is also the developer , owner and operator of Nevada Solar One , the world 's first solar thermal plant built in more than 16 years , and the third largest facility of its kind . On September 18 , 2009 , the 100.5 MW EcoGrove Wind Farm in Lena , Illinois , U.S. became operational . The wind farm comprises 67 Acciona Windpower 1.5 MW turbines , and will produce enough to power 25,000 homes and offset 176,000 tons of carbon annually . The EcoGrove facility is spread across 7000 acre . Acciona Windpower 's main product is the AW1500 , a 1.545 MW output machine . There is a prototype AW3000 , a 3 MW model , operational in Pamplona , Spain . The company has a manufacturing facility in West Branch , Iowa which manufactures wind turbines . In June 2014 , Kohlberg Kravis Roberts announced it was taking a one-third stake in the international energy business of the company , at a cost of $ 417 million ( $ 567 million ) . The renewable energy generation business operates renewable assets , largely wind farms , across 14 countries including the United States , Italy and South Africa . |
433_Eros | 433 Eros is an S-type near-Earth asteroid approximately 34.4 * in size , the second-largest near-Earth asteroid after 1036 Ganymed . It was discovered in 1898 and was the first near-Earth asteroid discovered . It was the first asteroid orbited by an Earth probe ( in 2000 ) . It belongs to the Amor group . Eros is a Mars-crosser asteroid , the first known to come within the orbit of Mars . Objects in such an orbit can remain there for only a few hundred million years before the orbit is perturbed by gravitational interactions . Dynamical integrations suggest that Eros may evolve into an Earth-crosser within as short an interval as two million years , and has a roughly 50 % chance of doing so over a time scale of 108 -- 109 years . It is a potential Earth impactor , about five times larger than the impactor that created Chicxulub crater and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs . The NEAR Shoemaker probe visited Eros twice , first with a 1998 flyby , and then by orbiting it in 2000 when it extensively photographed its surface . On February 12 , 2001 , at the end of its mission , it landed on the asteroid 's surface using its maneuvering jets . |
Activated_carbon | Activated carbon , also called activated charcoal , is a form of carbon processed to have small , low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions . Activated is sometimes substituted with active . Due to its high degree of microporosity , just one gram of activated carbon has a surface area in excess of 3000 m2 , as determined by gas adsorption . An activation level sufficient for useful application may be attained solely from high surface area ; however , further chemical treatment often enhances adsorption properties . Activated carbon is usually derived from charcoal and is sometimes utilized as biochar . Those derived from coal and coke are referred as activated coal and activated coke respectively . |
Aggregate_demand | In macroeconomics , aggregate demand ( AD ) or domestic final demand ( DFD ) is the total demand for final goods and services in an economy at a given time . It specifies the amounts of goods and services that will be purchased at all possible price levels . This is the demand for the gross domestic product of a country . It is often called effective demand , though at other times this term is distinguished . The aggregate demand curve is plotted with real output on the horizontal axis and the price level on the vertical axis . It is downward sloping as a result of three distinct effects : Pigou 's wealth effect , Keynes ' interest rate effect and the Mundell -- Fleming exchange-rate effect . The Pigou effect states that a higher price level implies lower real wealth and therefore lower consumption spending , giving a lower quantity of goods demanded in the aggregate . The Keynes effect states that a higher price level implies a lower real money supply and therefore higher interest rates resulting from financial market equilibrium , in turn resulting in lower investment spending on new physical capital and hence a lower quantity of goods being demanded in the aggregate . The Mundell -- Fleming exchange-rate effect is an extension of the IS -- LM model . Whereas the traditional IS-LM Model deals with a closed economy , Mundell -- Fleming describes a small open economy . The Mundell -- Fleming model portrays the short-run relationship between an economy 's nominal exchange rate , interest rate , and output ( in contrast to the closed-economy IS -- LM model , which focuses only on the relationship between the interest rate and output ) The aggregate demand curve illustrates the relationship between two factors : the quantity of output that is demanded and the aggregate price level . Aggregate demand is expressed contingent upon a fixed level of the nominal money supply . There are many factors that can shift the AD curve . Rightward shifts result from increases in the money supply , in government expenditure , or in autonomous components of investment or consumption spending , or from decreases in taxes . According to the aggregate demand-aggregate supply model , when aggregate demand increases , there is movement up along the aggregate supply curve , giving a higher level of prices . |
45th_parallel_south | The 45th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees south of the Earth 's equatorial plane . It is the line that marks the theoretical halfway point between the equator and the South Pole . The true halfway point is 16.2 kilometres ( 10.1 mi ) south of this parallel because the Earth is not a perfect sphere but bulges at the equator and is flattened at the poles . Unlike its northern counterpart almost all of it ( 97 percent ) passes over open ocean . It crosses the Atlantic Ocean , the Indian Ocean , Australasia ( New Zealand while just missing Tasmania ) , the Pacific Ocean and South America . At this latitude the sun is visible for 15 hours , 37 minutes during the December solstice and 8 hours , 46 minutes during the June solstice . |
Agricultural_cooperative | An agricultural cooperative , also known as a farmers ' co-op , is a cooperative where farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity . A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperatives , which provide various services to their individually farming members , and agricultural production cooperatives , where production resources ( land , machinery ) are pooled and members farm jointly . Examples of agricultural production cooperatives include collective farms in former socialist countries , the kibbutzim in Israel , collectively governed community shared agriculture , Longo Mai co-operatives and Nicaraguan production co-operatives . The default meaning of agricultural cooperative in English is usually an agricultural service cooperative , which is the numerically dominant form in the world . There are two primary types of agricultural service cooperatives , supply cooperative and marketing cooperative . Supply cooperatives supply their members with inputs for agricultural production , including seeds , fertilizers , fuel , and machinery services . Marketing cooperatives are established by farmers to undertake transportation , packaging , distribution , and marketing of farm products ( both crop and livestock ) . Farmers also widely rely on credit cooperatives as a source of financing for both working capital and investments . |
Aerobic_methane_production | Aerobic methane production is a potential biological pathway for atmospheric methane ( CH4 ) production under oxygenated conditions . The existence of this pathway was first theorized in 2006 . While significant evidence suggests the existence of this pathway , it remains poorly understood and its existence is controversial . Naturally occurring methane is mainly produced by the process of methanogenesis , a form of anaerobic respiration used by microorganisms as an energy source . Methanogenesis usually only occurs under anoxic conditions . By contrast , aerobic methane production is thought to occur in oxygenated environments under near-ambient conditions . The process involves non-microbial methane generation from terrestrial plant-matter . Temperature and ultraviolet light are thought to be key factors in this process . Methane may also be produced under aerobic conditions in near-surface ocean water , a process which likely involves the degradation of methylphosphonate . |
Acid_rain | Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic , meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions ( low pH ) . It can have harmful effects on plants , aquatic animals and infrastructure . Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide , which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids . Some governments have made efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere with positive results . Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning strikes , and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions . Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests , freshwaters and soils , killing insect and aquatic life-forms , causing paint to peel , corrosion of steel structures such as bridges , and weathering of stone buildings and statues as well as having impacts on human health . |
Advice_(constitutional) | Advice , in constitutional law , is formal , usually binding , instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another . Especially in parliamentary systems of government , heads of state often act on the basis of advice issued by prime ministers or other government ministers . For example , in constitutional monarchies , the monarch usually appoints Ministers of the Crown on the advice of his or her prime minister . Among the most prominent forms of advice offered are : Advice to appoint and remove individual ministers . Advice to dissolve parliament . Advice to deliver formal statements , such as a speech from the throne . In some states , the duty to accept advice is legally enforceable , having been created by a constitution or statute . For example , the Basic Law of Germany requires the President to appoint federal ministers on the advice of the Chancellor . In others , especially under the Westminster system , advice may legally be rejected ; for example , in several Commonwealth realms , the Queen is not legally obliged to accept the advice of her ministers . This lack of obligation forms part of the basis for the Queen 's reserve powers . Nevertheless , the convention that the head of state accept ministerial advice is so strong that in ordinary circumstances , refusal to do so would almost certainly provoke a constitutional crisis . Although most advice is binding , in comparatively rare instances it is not . For example , many heads of state may choose not to follow advice on a dissolution of parliament where the government has lost the confidence of that body . In some cases , whether the advice is mandatory or truly just advisory depends on the context and authority of the person offering it . Hence the President of Ireland ordinarily is obliged to dissolve Dáil Éireann ( the House of Representatives ) when advised to do so by the Taoiseach ( prime minister ) . However , where a taoiseach has ( in the words of the Constitution of Ireland ) `` ceased to retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann '' ( i.e. , lost the confidence of parliament ) the President has the option of refusing to follow that advice . |
Agriculture_in_Pennsylvania | Agriculture is a major industry in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania . As of the most recent United States Census of Agriculture conducted in 2012 , there were 59,309 farms in Pennsylvania , covering an area of 7704444 acre with an average size of 130 acre per farm . Pennsylvania ranks first in the United States in Agaricus mushroom production ( 63.8 % of U.S. sales volume during 2015 -- 16 ) , fourth in apple production , fourth in Christmas tree production , fifth in dairy sales , fifth in grape production , and seventh in winemaking . Historically , different geographic locations in Pennsylvania were centers for different forms of agricultural production , with fruit production occurring in the Adams County region , fruit and vegetables in the Lake Erie region , and potatoes in the Lehigh County region . Modern agricultural production in Pennsylvania includes corn , wheat , oats , barley , sorghum , soybeans , tobacco , sunflowers , potatoes , and sweet potatoes . |
Adam_Scaife | Adam Arthur Scaife B.A. M.A. MSc PhD FRMetS ( born 18 March 1970 ) is a British physicist , and head of long range prediction at the Met Office . He is an honorary visiting Professor at Exeter University . Scaife carries out research into long range weather forecasting and computer modelling of the climate . Scaife has published over 100 peer reviewed studies on atmospheric dynamics , computer modelling and climate predictability and change and recently published popular science and academic books on meteorology . |
Acid | An acid is a molecule or ion capable of donating a hydron ( proton or hydrogen ion H + ) , or , alternatively , capable of forming a covalent bond with an electron pair ( a Lewis acid ) . The first category of acids is the proton donors or Brønsted acids . In the special case of aqueous solutions , proton donors form the hydronium ion H3O + and are known as Arrhenius acids . Brønsted and Lowry generalized the Arrhenius theory to include non-aqueous solvents . A Brønsted or Arrhenius acid usually contains a hydrogen atom bonded to a chemical structure that is still energetically favorable after loss of H + . Aqueous Arrhenius acids have characteristic properties which provide a practical description of an acid . Acids form aqueous solutions with a sour taste , can turn blue litmus red , and react with bases and certain metals ( like calcium ) to form salts . The word acid is derived from the Latin acidus/ac ēre meaning sour . An aqueous solution of an acid has a pH less than 7 and is colloquially also referred to as ` acid ' ( as in ` dissolved in acid ' ) , while the strict definition refers only to the solute . A lower pH means a higher acidity , and thus a higher concentration of positive hydrogen ions in the solution . Chemicals or substances having the property of an acid are said to be acidic . Common aqueous acids include hydrochloric acid ( a solution of hydrogen chloride which is found in gastric acid in the stomach and activates digestive enzymes ) , acetic acid ( vinegar is a dilute aqueous solution of this liquid ) , sulfuric acid ( used in car batteries ) , and citric acid ( found in citrus fruits ) . As these examples show , acids ( in the colloquial sense ) can be solutions or pure substances , and can be derived from acids ( in the strict sense ) that are solids , liquids , or gases . Strong acids and some concentrated weak acids are corrosive , but there are exceptions such as carboranes and boric acid . The second category of acids are Lewis acids , which form a covalent bond with an electron pair . An example is boron trifluoride ( BF3 ) , whose boron atom has a vacant orbital which can form a covalent bond by sharing a lone pair of electrons on an atom in a base , for example the nitrogen atom in ammonia ( NH3 ) . Lewis considered this as a generalization of the Brønsted definition , so that an acid is a chemical species that accepts electron pairs either directly or by releasing protons ( H + ) into the solution , which then accept electron pairs . However , hydrogen chloride , acetic acid , and most other Brønsted-Lowry acids can not form a covalent bond with an electron pair and are therefore not Lewis acids . Conversely , many Lewis acids are not Arrhenius or Brønsted-Lowry acids . In modern terminology , an acid is implicitly a Brønsted acid and not a Lewis acid , since chemists almost always refer to a Lewis acid explicitly as a Lewis acid . |
Acid_mine_drainage | Acid mine drainage , acid and metalliferous drainage ( AMD ) , or acid rock drainage ( ARD ) refers to the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines . Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering process but is exacerbated by large-scale earth disturbances characteristic of mining and other large construction activities , usually within rocks containing an abundance of sulfide minerals . Areas where the earth has been disturbed ( e.g. construction sites , subdivisions , and transportation corridors ) may create acid rock drainage . In many localities , the liquid that drains from coal stocks , coal handling facilities , coal washeries , and coal waste tips can be highly acidic , and in such cases it is treated as acid rock drainage . The same type of chemical reactions and processes may occur through the disturbance of acid sulfate soils formed under coastal or estuarine conditions after the last major sea level rise , and constitutes a similar environmental hazard . |
Agriculture_in_Syria | Until the mid-1970s , agriculture in Syria had been the primary economic activity . At independence in 1946 , agriculture ( including minor forestry and fishing ) was the most important sector of the economy , and in the 1940s and early 1950s , agriculture was the fastest growing sector . Wealthy merchants from such urban centers as Aleppo invested in land development and irrigation . Rapid expansion of the cultivated area and increased output stimulated the rest of the economy . However , by the late 1950s , little land that could easily be brought under cultivation remained . During the 1960s , agricultural output stagnated because of political instability and land reform . Between 1953 and 1976 , agriculture 's contribution to GDP increased ( in constant prices ) by only 3.2 percent , approximately the rate of population growth . From 1976 to 1984 growth declined to 2 percent a year . Thus , agriculture 's importance in the economy declined as other sectors grew more rapidly . In 1981 , as in the 1970s , 53 percent of the population was still classified as rural , although movement to the cities continued to accelerate . However , in contrast to the 1970s , when 50 percent of the labor force was employed in agriculture , by 1983 agriculture employed only 30 percent of the labor force . Furthermore , by the mid-1980s , unprocessed farm products accounted for only 4 percent of exports , equivalent to 7 percent of non-petroleum exports . Industry , commerce , and transportation still depended on farm produce and related agro-business , but agriculture 's preeminent position had clearly eroded . By 1985 agriculture ( including a little forestry and fishing ) contributed only 16.5 percent to GDP , down from 22.1 percent in 1976 . By the mid-1980s , the Syrian government had taken measures to revitalize agriculture . The 1985 investment budget saw a sharp rise in allocations for agriculture , including land reclamation and irrigation . The government 's renewed commitment to agricultural development in the 1980s , by expanding cultivation and extending irrigation , promised brighter prospects for Syrian agriculture in the 1990s . |
ASHRAE_90.1 | ASHRAE 90.1 ( Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings ) is an international standard that provides minimum requirements for energy efficient designs for buildings except for low-rise residential buildings . The original standard , ASHRAE 90 , was published in 1975 . There have been multiple editions to it since . In 1999 , the Board of Directors for ASHRAE voted to place the standard on continuous maintenance , based on rapid changes in energy technology and energy prices . This allows it to be updated multiple times in a year . The standard was renamed ASHRAE 90.1 in 2001 . It has since been updated in 2004 , 2007 , 2010 , 2013 and 2016 to reflect newer and more efficient technologies . |
Abyssal_hill | An abyssal hill is a small hill that rises from the floor of an abyssal plain . They are the most abundant geomorphic structures on the planet Earth , covering more than 30 % of the ocean floors . Abyssal hills have relatively sharply defined edges and climb to heights of no more than a few hundred meters . They can be from a few hundred meters to kilometers in width . A region of the abyssal plain that is covered in such hill structures is termed an `` abyssal-hills province '' . However , abyssal hills can also appear in small groups or in isolation . The greatest abundance of abyssal hills occurs on the floor of the Pacific Ocean . These Pacific Ocean hills are typically 50 -- 300 m in height , with a width of 2 -- 5 km and a length of 10 -- 20 km . They may be created along the flanks of the East Pacific Rise as horsts and graben features , then become stretched out with the passage of time . Abyssal hills may also be areas of thicker oceanic crust that were generated at the mid-ocean ridge during times of increased magma production . |
Agriculture_in_Brazil | The agriculture of Brazil is historically one of the principal bases of Brazil 's economy . While its initial focus was on sugarcane , Brazil eventually became the world 's largest exporter of coffee , soybeans , beef , and crop-based ethanol . The success of agriculture during the Estado Novo ( New State ) , with Getúlio Vargas , led to the expression , `` Brazil , breadbasket of the world '' . As of 2009 Brazil had about 106000000 ha of undeveloped fertile land -- a territory larger than the combined area of France and Spain . According to a 2008 IBGE study , despite the world financial crisis , Brazil had record agricultural production , with growth of 9.1 % , principally motivated by favorable weather . The production of grains in the year reached an unprecedented 145,400,000 tons . That record output employed an additional 4.8 % in planted area , totalling 65,338,000 hectares and producing $ 148 billion Reals . The principal products were corn ( 13.1 % growth ) and soy ( 2.4 % growth ) . The southern one-half to two-thirds of Brazil has a semi-temperate climate , higher rainfall , more fertile soil , more advanced technology and input use , adequate infrastructure and more experienced farmers . This region produces most of Brazil 's grains , oilseeds ( and exports ) . The drought-ridden northeast region and Amazon basin lack well-distributed rainfall , good soil , adequate infrastructure and development capital . Although mostly occupied by subsistence farmers , both regions are increasingly important as exporters of forest products , cocoa and tropical fruits . Central Brazil contains substantial areas of grassland . Brazilian grasslands are far less fertile than those of North America , and are generally suited only for grazing . Agriculture in Brazil presents challenges , including the ongoing practice of slave labour , agrarian reform , fire , production financing , and a rural exodus fueled by economic stress on family farming . Half of Brazil is covered by forests . The world 's largest rain forest is in the Amazon Basin . Migrations into the Amazon and large-scale forest burning have challenged the government 's management capabilities . The government has reduced incentives for such activity and is implementing a broader environmental plan . It also adopted an Environmental Crimes Law that established serious penalties for infractions . |
Acidophobe | The terms Acidophobe/Acidophobia / / Acidophoby/Acidophobic refer to intolerace to acidic environments . The term is variously applied to plants , bacteria , protozoa , animals , chemical compounds , etc. . The antonymous term is `` acidophile '' . Cf. `` alkaliphile '' . The name is actually a misnomer as it combines Latin and Greek roots ; the correct word would be oxyphobe/oxyphobia from Greek οξυ , acid . Plants are known to be well-defined with respect to their pH tolerance , and only a small number of species thrive well under a broad range of acidity . Therefore the categorization acidophile/acidophobe is well-defined . Sometimes a complementary classification is used ( calcicole/calcifuge , with calcicoles being `` lime-loving '' plants ) . In gardening , soil pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity of soil , with pH = 7 indicating the neutral soil . Therefore acydophobes would prefer pH above 7 . Acid intolerance of plants may be mitigated by lime addition and by calcium and nitrogen fertilizers . Acidophobic species are used as a natural instrument of monitoring the degree of acidifying contamination of soil and watercourses . For example , when monitoring vegetation , a decrease of acidophobic species would be indicative of acid rain increase in the area . A similar approach is used with aquatic species . |
6th_century | The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era . In the West this century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages . Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previous century , Europe fractured into many small Germanic Kingdoms , which competed fiercely for land and wealth . From this upheaval the Franks rose to prominence , and carved out a sizeable domain encompassing much of modern France and Germany . Meanwhile , the surviving Eastern Roman Empire began to expand under the emperor Justinian , who eventually recaptured North Africa from the Vandals , and attempted to fully recover Italy as well in the hope of re-establishing Roman control over the lands once ruled by the Western Roman Empire . During its second Golden Age , the Sassanid Empire reached the peak of its power under Khosrau I in the 6th century . The classical Gupta Empire of Northern India , largely overrun by the Huna , ended in the mid-6th century . In Japan , the Kofun period gave way to the Asuka period . After being divided for more than 150 years into the Southern and Northern Dynasties , China was reunited under the Sui Dynasty toward the end of the 6th century . The Three Kingdoms of Korea persisted throughout the 6th century . The Göktürks became a major power in Central Asia after defeating the Rouran . In the Americas , Teotihuacan began to decline in the 6th century after having reached its zenith between AD 150 and 450 . Classic Period of the Maya civilization in Central America . |
49th_parallel_north | The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth 's equatorial plane . It crosses Europe , Asia , the Pacific Ocean , North America , and the Atlantic Ocean . The city of Paris is about 15 km south of the 49th parallel and is the largest city between the 48th and 49th parallels . Its main airport , Charles de Gaulle Airport , lies on the parallel . Roughly 3500 km of the Canada -- United States border was designated to follow the 49th parallel from British Columbia to Manitoba on the Canadian side , and from Washington to Minnesota on the U.S. side , more specifically from the Strait of Georgia to the Lake of the Woods . This international border was specified in the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846 , however the border as indicated by survey markers placed in the 19th century deviates from the 49th parallel by tens of meters . From a point on the ground at this latitude , the sun is above the horizon for 16 hours , 12 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours , 14 minutes during the winter solstice This latitude also roughly corresponds to the minimum latitude in which astronomical twilight can last all night near the summer solstice . Slightly less than 1/8 of the Earth 's surface is north of the 49th parallel . |
Acre | The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems . It is defined as the area of 1 chain by 1 furlong ( 66 by 660 feet ) , which is exactly equal to of a square mile , 43,560 square feet , approximately 4,047 m2 , or about 40 % of a hectare . The acre is commonly used in Antigua and Barbuda , Australia , American Samoa , the Bahamas , Belize , the British Virgin Islands , the Cayman Islands , Canada , Dominica , the Falkland Islands , Grenada , Ghana , Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands , India , Sri Lanka , Bangladesh , Nepal , Ireland , Jamaica , Montserrat , Myanmar , Pakistan , Samoa , St. Lucia , St. Helena , St. Kitts and Nevis , St. Vincent and the Grenadines , Turks and Caicos , the United Kingdom , the United States and the US Virgin Islands . The international symbol of the acre is ac . The most commonly used acre today is the international acre . In the United States both the international acre and the US survey acre are in use , but differ by only two parts per million , see below . The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land . One international acre is defined as exactly square metres . An acre was defined in the Middle Ages , being the amount of land that could be ploughed in one day by one man and one ox . |
AccuWeather | AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide . AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers , then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a degree in meteorology . His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania . While running his company , Myers also became a member of Penn State 's meteorology faculty . The company adopted the name `` AccuWeather '' in 1971 . AccuWeather is headquartered in State College , Pennsylvania , with sales offices in Rockefeller Center in New York City and Fort Washington , Pennsylvania . In 2006 , AccuWeather acquired WeatherData , Inc. of Wichita , Kansas . As WeatherData Services , Inc. , an AccuWeather company , the Wichita facility now houses AccuWeather 's specialized severe weather forecasters . |
American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009 | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ( ARRA ) , nicknamed the Recovery Act , was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009 . Developed in response to the Great Recession , the ARRA 's primary objective was to save existing jobs and create new ones as soon as possible . Other objectives were to provide temporary relief programs for those most affected by the recession and invest in infrastructure , education , health , and renewable energy . The approximate cost of the economic stimulus package was estimated to be $ 787 billion at the time of passage , later revised to $ 831 billion between 2009 and 2019 . The ARRA 's rationale was based on the Keynesian economic theory that , during recessions , the government should offset the decrease in private spending with an increase in public spending in order to save jobs and stop further economic deterioration . Since its inception , the impact of the stimulus has been a subject of disagreement . Studies on its effects have produced a range of conclusions , from strongly positive to strongly negative and all reactions in between . In 2012 , the IGM Forum poll conducted by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found 80 % of leading economists agree unemployment was lower at the end of 2010 than it would have been without the stimulus . Regarding whether the benefits of the stimulus outweighed its costs : 46 % `` agreed '' or `` strongly agreed '' that the benefits outweighed the costs , 27 % were uncertain , and 12 % disagreed or strongly disagreed . IGM Forum asked the same question to leading economists in 2014 . This new poll found 82 % of leading economists strongly agreed or agreed that unemployment was lower in 2010 than it would have been without the stimulus . Revisiting the question about the benefits outweighing the costs , 56 % strongly agreed or agreed that it did , 23 % were uncertain , and 5 % disagreed . |
Ambivalence | Ambivalence is a state of having simultaneous conflicting reactions , beliefs , or feelings towards some object . Stated another way , ambivalence is the experience of having an attitude towards someone or something that contains both positively and negatively valenced components . The term also refers to situations where `` mixed feelings '' of a more general sort are experienced , or where a person experiences uncertainty or indecisiveness . Although attitudes tend to guide attitude-relevant behavior , those held with ambivalence tend to do so to a lesser extent . The less certain an individual is in their attitude , the more impressionable it becomes , hence making future actions less predictable and/or less decisive . Ambivalent attitudes are also more susceptible to transient information ( e.g. , mood ) , which can result in a more malleable evaluation . However , since ambivalent people think more about attitude-relevant information , they also tend to be more persuaded by ( compelling ) attitude relevant information than less ambivalent people . Explicit ambivalence may or may not be experienced as psychologically unpleasant when the positive and negative aspects of a subject are both present in a person 's mind at the same time . Psychologically uncomfortable ambivalence , also known as cognitive dissonance , can lead to avoidance , procrastination , or to deliberate attempts to resolve the ambivalence . People experience the greatest discomfort from their ambivalence at the time when the situation requires a decision to be made . People are aware of their ambivalence to varying degrees , so the effects of an ambivalent state vary across individuals and situations . For this reason , researchers have considered two forms of ambivalence , only one of which is subjectively experienced as a state of conflict . |
Algae_fuel | Algae fuel , algal biofuel , or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils . Also , algae fuels are an alternative to common known biofuel sources , such as corn and sugarcane . Several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital and operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially viable . Like fossil fuel , algae fuel releases when burnt , but unlike fossil fuel , algae fuel and other biofuels only release recently removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis as the algae or plant grew . The energy crisis and the world food crisis have ignited interest in algaculture ( farming algae ) for making biodiesel and other biofuels using land unsuitable for agriculture . Among algal fuels ' attractive characteristics are that they can be grown with minimal impact on fresh water resources , can be produced using saline and wastewater , have a high flash point , and are biodegradable and relatively harmless to the environment if spilled . Algae cost more per unit mass than other second-generation biofuel crops due to high capital and operating costs , but are claimed to yield between 10 and 100 times more fuel per unit area . The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States , it would require 15000 sqmi , which is only 0.42 % of the U.S. map , or about half of the land area of Maine . This is less than the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000 . According to the head of the Algal Biomass Organization , algae fuel can reach price parity with oil in 2018 if granted production tax credits . However , in 2013 , Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said that after committing to spend up to $ 600 million over 10 years on development in a joint venture with J. Craig Venter 's Synthetic Genomics in 2009 , Exxon pulled back after four years ( and $ 100 million ) when it realized that algae fuel is `` probably further '' than 25 years away from commercial viability . On the other hand , Solazyme , Sapphire Energy , and Algenol , among others have begun commercial sale of algal biofuel in 2012 and 2013 , and 2015 , respectively . |
Alluvial_plain | An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions , from which alluvial soil forms . A floodplain is part of the process , being the smaller area over which the rivers flood at a particular period of time , whereas the alluvial plain is the larger area representing the region over which the floodplains have shifted over geological time . As the highlands erode due to weathering and water flow , the sediment from the hills is transported to the lower plain . Various creeks will carry the water further to a river , lake , bay , or ocean . As the sediments are deposited during flood conditions in the floodplain of a creek , the elevation of the floodplain will be raised . As this reduces the channel floodwater capacity , the creek will , over time , seek new , lower paths , forming a meander ( a curving sinuous path ) . The leftover higher locations , typically natural levees at the margins of the flood channel , will themselves be eroded by lateral stream erosion and from local rainfall and possibly wind transport if the climate is arid and does not support soil-holding grasses . These processes , over geologic time , will form the plain , a region with little relief ( local changes in elevation ) , yet with a constant but small slope . The Glossary of Landform and Geologic Terms , maintained by the United States ' National Cooperative Soil Survey , defines an `` alluvial plain '' as `` a large assemblage of fluvial landforms ( braided streams , terraces , etc. , ) that form low gradient , regional ramps along the flanks of mountains and extend great distances from their sources ( e.g. , High Plains of North America ) '' Use of `` alluvial plain '' as a general , informal term for a broad flood plain or a low-gradient delta is explicitly discouraged . The NCSS glossary instead suggests `` flood plain '' . |
Air_conditioned_clothing | Air conditioned clothing is a term for clothing that actively cools down the wearer . It has primarily been used by workers in areas where air conditioning systems can not be easily installed , such as tunnels and underground construction sites . Air-conditioned clothing on the market does not operate by actually cooling down the air , as a room AC unit does . Instead , it increases the natural body cooling of the wearer by blowing air and sometimes water vapor around the body , decreasing skin temperature by the evaporation of sweat and vapor . Patents for air conditioned clothing have been around for years , but few products have actually made it to market . The company that brought air conditioned shirts to market is Octocool , which is the largest online distributor of air conditioned clothes . Attached to the clothing are two lightweight fans that help draw in air and help vaporize sweat . The fans , attached to the back of the clothing near the waist , are about 10 cm wide and run on rechargeable lithium ion batteries that last between 8.5 and 59 hours depending on the speed of the fan . One advantage of air-conditioned clothing is that it requires much less energy to cool people down than to cool down their entire environment . For instance , an air conditioned shirt that cools the user wherever they go uses 4,400 mAh of power for 8.5 hours on the fastest fan setting , while an average central air conditioning unit uses 3000 to 5000 watts of power . In most cases , the purpose of air-conditioning is not to cool down the objects in the room , but the people . Directly cooling clothing is therefore far more efficient . A 2012 New York Times article reported that gases commonly used in air conditioning absorb some 2,100 times more infrared radiation per ton than carbon dioxide , and due partly to increasing use of air conditioning in the developing world ( particularly in tropical areas like India , Malaysia , Indonesia , Brazil , and southern China ) , air conditioning is projected to contribute to some 27 % of the overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 . Although there are some ideas for room air conditioning units that do not significantly contribute to climate change , none of those options are yet on the market . Hence , air-conditioned clothing may provide an important alternative to those who wish to keep both themselves , and the planet , cool . |
Alpha_particle | Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus . They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay , but may also be produced in other ways . Alpha particles are named after the first letter in the Greek alphabet , α . The symbol for the alpha particle is α or α2 + . Because they are identical to helium nuclei , they are also sometimes written as or indicating a helium ion with a +2 charge ( missing its two electrons ) . If the ion gains electrons from its environment , the alpha particle can be written as a normal ( electrically neutral ) helium atom . Some science authors may use doubly ionized helium nuclei and alpha particles as interchangeable terms . The nomenclature is not well defined , and thus not all high-velocity helium nuclei are considered by all authors to be alpha particles . As with beta and gamma rays/particles , the name used for the particle carries some mild connotations about its production process and energy , but these are not rigorously applied . Thus , alpha particles may be loosely used as a term when referring to stellar helium nuclei reactions ( for example the alpha processes ) , and even when they occur as components of cosmic rays . A higher energy version of alphas than produced in alpha decay is a common product of an uncommon nuclear fission result called ternary fission . However , helium nuclei produced by particle accelerators ( cyclotrons , synchrotrons , and the like ) are less likely to be referred to as `` alpha particles '' . Alpha particles , like helium nuclei , have a net spin of zero . Due to the mechanism of their production in standard alpha radioactive decay , alpha particles generally have a kinetic energy of about 5 MeV , and a velocity in the vicinity of 5 % the speed of light . ( See discussion below for the limits of these figures in alpha decay . ) They are a highly ionizing form of particle radiation , and ( when resulting from radioactive alpha decay ) have low penetration depth . They are able to be stopped by a few centimeters of air , or by the skin . However , so-called long range alpha particles from ternary fission are three times as energetic , and penetrate three times as far . As noted , the helium nuclei that form 10 -- 12 % of cosmic rays are also usually of much higher energy than those produced by nuclear decay processes , and are thus capable of being highly penetrating and able to traverse the human body and also many meters of dense solid shielding , depending on their energy . To a lesser extent , this is also true of very high-energy helium nuclei produced by particle accelerators . When alpha particle emitting isotopes are ingested , they are far more dangerous than their half-life or decay rate would suggest , due to the high relative biological effectiveness of alpha radiation to cause biological damage . Alpha radiation is an average of about 20 times more dangerous , and in experiments with inhaled alpha emitter up to 1000 times more dangerous , than an equivalent activity of beta emitting or gamma emitting radioisotopes . |
Albuquerque,_New_Mexico | Albuquerque ( -LSB- ˈælbəˌkɜɹki -RSB- ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico . The high-elevation city serves as the county seat of Bernalillo County , and it is situated in the central part of the state , straddling the Rio Grande . The city population is 557,169 as of the July 1 , 2014 population estimate from the United States Census Bureau , and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. . The Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area ( or MSA ) has a population of 907,301 according to the United States Census Bureau 's most recently available estimate for 2015 . Albuquerque is the 60th-largest United States metropolitan area . The Albuquerque MSA population includes the city of Rio Rancho , Bernalillo , Placitas , Corrales , Los Lunas , Belen , Bosque Farms , and forms part of the larger Albuquerque -- Santa Fe -- Las Vegas combined statistical area , with a total population of 1,163,964 as of the July 1 , 2013 Census Bureau estimates . Albuquerque is home to the University of New Mexico ( UNM ) , Kirtland Air Force Base , Sandia National Laboratories , the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History , Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute , Central New Mexico Community College ( CNM ) , Presbyterian Health Services , and Petroglyph National Monument . The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque , and the Rio Grande flows through the city , north to south . Albuquerque is also the home of the International Balloon Fiesta , the world 's largest such gathering of hot-air balloons from around the globe . The event takes place during the first week of October . |
Alberta | Alberta ( -LSB- ælˈbɜrtə -RSB- ) is a western province of Canada . With an estimated population of 4,067,175 as of 2016 census , it is Canada 's fourth-most populous province and the most populous of Canada 's three prairie provinces . Its area is about 660,000 km2 . Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1 , 1905 . The premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015 . Alberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east , the Northwest Territories to the north , and the U.S. state of Montana to the south . Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state and one of only two landlocked provinces . It has a predominantly humid continental climate , with stark contrasts over a year but seasonal temperature average swings are smaller than to areas further east , due to winters being warmed by occasional chinook winds bringing sudden warming . Alberta 's capital , Edmonton , is near the geographic centre of the province and is the primary supply and service hub for Canada 's crude oil , the Athabasca oil sands and other northern resource industries . About south of the capital is Calgary , the largest city in Alberta . Calgary and Edmonton centre Alberta 's two census metropolitan areas , both of which have populations exceeding one million , while the province has 16 census agglomerations . Tourist destinations in the province include Banff , Canmore , Drumheller , Jasper and Sylvan Lake . |
Air_source_heat_pumps | An air source heat pump ( ASHP ) is a system which transfers heat from outside to inside a building , or vice versa . Under the principles of vapor compression refrigeration , an ASHP uses a refrigerant system involving a compressor and a condenser to absorb heat at one place and release it at another . They can be used as a space heater or cooler , and are sometimes called `` reverse-cycle air conditioners '' . In domestic heating use , an ASHP absorbs heat from outside air and releases it inside the building , as hot air , hot water-filled radiators , underfloor heating and/or domestic hot water supply . The same system can often do the reverse in summer , cooling the inside of the house . When correctly specified , an ASHP can offer a full central heating solution and domestic hot water up to 80 ° C. |
American_Association_of_State_Climatologists | The American Association of State Climatologists ( AASC ) is a professional scientific organisation for climatologists in the United States . The organisation was founded in 1976 . The core membership in the AASC consists of the 47 State Climatologists and the official climatologist of Puerto Rico . There is one State Climatologist for each state in the United States . The individual is appointed by the state and is recognised by the National Climatic Data Center of the NOAA , with whom the AASC collaborates . The other full members of the AASC are the directors of the six Regional Climate Centers . There are also associate members of the AASC , bringing the total membership to approximately 150 . Members and associate members of the AASC perform various climatological services and research . The AASC also publishes the Journal of Service Climatology . At least three of the organization 's full members ( John Christy , Alabama , Philip Mote , Washington and David Robinson , New Jersey ) served as contributing authors for the Fourth Assessment Report : Annex of the International Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) . In 2007 two members came under scrutiny for their `` skeptical '' views toward anthropogenic climate change . |
Amos-3 | AMOS-3 , also known as AMOS-60 is an Israeli communications satellite operated by Spacecom . The satellite is powered by twin solar panels , and is based on the Israeli AMOS bus . It replaced AMOS-1 in geosynchronous orbit at 4 ° W. AMOS-3 carries fifteen Ku/Ka-band transponders , and is expected to have an on-orbit lifetime of 18 years . It was launched atop the maiden flight of the Zenit-3SLB rocket , the first launch contracted by the Land Launch organisation . The launch was originally scheduled to occur in 2007 , and later March 2008 , however this was delayed until 24 April 2008 . The launch attempt on 24 April 2008 was scrubbed for `` technical reasons '' . This was later determined to be a problem with the erector/transporter system , which had failed to retract and move away from the rocket . Amos 3 lifted-off from LC-45 / 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 08:00 UTC on 28 April 2008 . |
Aliso_Canyon_gas_leak | The Aliso Canyon gas leak ( also called Porter Ranch gas leak and Porter Ranch gas blowout ) was a massive natural gas leak that was discovered by SoCalGas employees on October 23 , 2015 . Gas was escaping from a well within the Aliso Canyon 's underground storage facility in the Santa Susana Mountains near Porter Ranch , Los Angeles . This second-largest gas storage facility of its kind in the United States belongs to the Southern California Gas Company , a subsidiary of Sempra Energy . On January 6 , 2016 , Governor Jerry Brown issued a state of emergency . The Aliso gas leak 's carbon footprint is said to be larger than the Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico . On February 11 , 2016 , the gas company reported that it had the leak under control . On February 18 , 2016 , state officials announced that the leak was permanently plugged . An estimated 97,100 tonnes ( 0.000097 Gt ) of methane and 7,300 tonnes of ethane were released into the atmosphere , The initial effect of the release was to increased the estimated 5.3 Gt of methane in the Earth 's atmosphere by about 0.002 % , diminishing to half that in 6-8 years . It was widely reported to have been the worst single natural gas leak in U.S. history in terms of its environmental impact . By comparison , the entire rest of the South Coast Air Basin combined emits approximately 413,000 tonnes of methane and 23,000 tonnes of ethane annually . |
American_Electric_Power | American Electric Power ( AEP ) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States , delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states . AEP ranks among the nation 's largest generators of electricity , owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation 's largest electricity transmission system , a nearly 39000 mi network that includes 765 kilovolt ultra-high voltage transmission lines , more than all other U.S. transmission systems combined . AEP 's transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection , the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada , and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in Electric Reliability Council of Texas , the transmission system that covers much of Texas . AEP 's utility units operate as AEP Ohio , AEP Texas , Appalachian Power ( in Virginia , West Virginia , and Tennessee ) , Indiana Michigan Power , Kentucky Power , Public Service Company of Oklahoma , and Southwestern Electric Power Company ( in Arkansas , Louisiana and east Texas ) . AEP 's headquarters are in Columbus , Ohio . American Electric Power was the first utility to utilize 345 kV transmission lines which took place in 1953 . AEP has come under criticism in many of the states they operate in for attacking rooftop solar . They have specifically attempted to halt distributed solar in Louisiana , Arkansas , Oklahoma , West Virginia , Indiana , Kentucky , and Ohio . thumb | 164px | 1 Riverside PlazaAEP headquarters in Columbus , Ohio |
Air_pollution_in_the_United_States | Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals , particulate matter , or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms , or damages the natural environment into the atmosphere . Ever since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United States , America has had much trouble with environmental issues , air pollution in particular . According to a 2009 report , around `` 60 percent of Americans live in areas where air pollution has reached unhealthy levels that can make people sick '' . Pollution in the United States has plummeted in the recent decade , with pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide decreasing despite the fact the number of vehicles on the road is n't . This is due to better regulations , economic shifts , and technological innovations . With respect to nitrogen dioxide , NASA reported a 32 % decrease in New York City and a 42 % decrease in Atlanta between the periods of 2005-2007 and 2009-2011 . Air pollution can cause a variety of health problems including , but not limited to infections , behavioral changes , cancer , organ failure , and even premature death . These health effects are not equally distributed in terms of race , ethnicity , socioeconomic status , education , and more in the United States . California has the worst air quality of any state , and in most surveys the cities in California rank in the top 5 or top 10 of most polluted air in the United States . |
An_Appeal_to_Reason | An Appeal to Reason : A Cool Look at Global Warming is a 2008 book by Nigel Lawson . In it , Lawson argues that global warming is happening , but that the science is far from settled . He opposes the scientific consensus as summarized by the IPCC . He also argues that warming will bring both benefits and negative consequences , and that the impact of these changes will be relatively moderate rather than apocalyptic . He criticizes politicians and scientists who predict catastrophe unless urgent action is taken , and he calls for gradual adaptation instead . The book has been criticized by some climatologists , including IPCC authors Jean Palutikof and Robert Watson . |
Alternative_fuel_vehicle | An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than traditional petroleum fuels ( petrol or Diesel fuel ) ; and also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum ( e.g. electric car , hybrid electric vehicles , solar powered ) . Because of a combination of factors , such as environmental concerns , high oil prices and the potential for peak oil , development of cleaner alternative fuels and advanced power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for many governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world . Hybrid electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are not actually alternative fuel vehicles , but through advanced technologies in the electric battery and motor/generator , they make a more efficient use of petroleum fuel . Other research and development efforts in alternative forms of power focus on developing all-electric and fuel cell vehicles , and even the stored energy of compressed air . An environmental analysis extends beyond just the operating efficiency and emissions . A life-cycle assessment of a vehicle involves production and post-use considerations . A cradle-to-cradle design is more important than a focus on a single factor such as the type of fuel . |
Amundsen–Scott_South_Pole_Station | The Amundsen -- Scott South Pole Station is a United States scientific research station at the South Pole , the southernmost place on the Earth . The station is located on the high plateau of Antarctica at an elevation of 2,835 metres ( 9,301 feet ) above sea level and is administered by the Division of Polar Programs within the National Science Foundation under the United States Antarctic Program ( USAP ) . The original Amundsen -- Scott Station was built by Navy Seabees for the Federal government of the United States during November 1956 , as a part of its commitment to the scientific goals of the International Geophysical Year ( IGY ) , an international effort lasting from January 1957 through June 1958 , to study , among other things , the geophysics of the polar regions of Earth . Before November 1956 , there was no permanent human structure at the South Pole , and very little human presence in the interior of Antarctica at all . The few scientific stations in Antarctica were located on and near its seacoast . The station has been continuously occupied since it was built . The Amundsen -- Scott Station has been rebuilt , demolished , expanded , and upgraded several times since 1956 . Since the Amundsen -- Scott Station is located at the South Pole , it is at the only place on the land surface of the Earth where the Sun is continuously up for six months and then continuously down for six months . ( The only other such place is at the North Pole , on the sea ice in the middle of the Arctic Ocean . ) Thus , during each year , this station experiences one extremely long `` day '' and one extremely long `` night '' . During the six-month `` day '' , the angle of elevation of the Sun above the horizon varies continuously . The Sun rises on the September equinox , reaches its maximum angle above the horizon on the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere , around December 20 , and sets on the March equinox . During the six-month `` night '' , it gets extremely cold at the South Pole , with air temperatures sometimes dropping below -73 ° C . This is also the time of the year when blizzards , sometimes with gale-force winds , strike the Amundsen -- Scott Station . The continuous period of darkness and dry atmosphere make the station an excellent place from which to make astronomical observations , although the Moon is up for two weeks of every 27.3 days . The number of scientific researchers and members of the support staff housed at the Amundsen -- Scott Station has always varied seasonally , with a peak population of about 200 in the summer operational season from October to February . In recent years the winter-time population has been around 50 people . |
Amundsen's_South_Pole_expedition | The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen . He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911 , five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition . Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base , and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey . Amundsen 's initial plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship . He obtained the use of Fridtjof Nansen 's polar exploration ship Fram , and undertook extensive fundraising . Preparations for this expedition were disrupted when , in 1909 , the rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert E. Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole . Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole ; uncertain of the extent to which the public and his backers would support him , he kept this revised objective secret . When he set out in June 1910 , he led even his crew to believe they were embarking on an Arctic drift , and revealed their true Antarctic destination only when Fram was leaving their last port of call , Madeira . Amundsen made his Antarctic base , which he named `` Framheim '' , in the Bay of Whales on the Great Ice Barrier . After months of preparation , depot-laying and a false start that ended in near-disaster , he and his party set out for the pole in October 1911 . In the course of their journey they discovered the Axel Heiberg Glacier , which provided their route to the polar plateau and ultimately to the South Pole . The party 's mastery of the use of skis and their expertise with sledge dogs ensured rapid and relatively trouble-free travel . Other achievements of the expedition included the first exploration of King Edward VII Land and an extensive oceanographic cruise . The expedition 's success was widely applauded , though the story of Scott 's heroic failure overshadowed its achievement in the United Kingdom . Amundsen 's decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment was criticised by some . Recent polar historians have more fully recognised the skill and courage of Amundsen 's party ; the permanent scientific base at the pole bears his name , together with that of Scott . |
American_Jobs | American Jobs is a 2004 independent film , documentary , written , produced and directed by Greg Spotts . The film is about the loss of American jobs to low-wage foreign competition , covering the phenomenon of outsourcing in manufacturing and high-paying white-collar jobs . The filmmaker visited 19 cities and towns throughout the United States interviewing recently laid-off workers , focusing on three industries : textiles , commercial aircraft and information technology . It also contains interviews with a number of members of Congress , including : Sherrod Brown ( D-Ohio ) , Rosa DeLauro ( D-Connecticut ) , Robin Hayes ( R-North Carolina ) , Donald Manzullo ( R-Illinois ) , and Hilda Solis ( D-California ) , and includes an extended section of clips from the 1993 congressional debate on NAFTA . ( North American Free Trade Agreement ) . Spotts self-released the film on DVD via a website on Labor Day , 2004 . The CNN program Lou Dobbs Tonight featured excerpts from American Jobs on seven consecutive weeknights in September 2004 , exposure which attracted a distribution deal . The Disinformation Company , publisher of Robert Greenwald 's series of documentary DVDs , released American Jobs on DVD in February 2005 , along with a companion book penned by Spotts , CAFTA and Free Trade : What Every American Should Know . The book was used as a lobbying tool by the AFL-CIO and members of the US Congress during the summer of 2005 when Congress was debating ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement . Spotts subsequently wrote the official companion book to Robert Greenwald 's 2005 documentary Wal-Mart : The High Cost of Low Price . |
Alpujarras | The Alpujarra is a natural and historical region in Andalusia , Spain , on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley . The average elevation is 4000 feet above sea level . It extends over two provinces , Granada and Almería ; it is sometimes referred to in the plural as `` Las Alpujarras '' . There are several interpretations of this Arabic name : the most convincing is that it derives from al-basharāt , meaning something like `` sierra of pastures '' . The administrative centre is Órgiva . The Sierra Nevada runs west-to-east for about 80 km . It includes the two highest mountains in mainland Spain : the Mulhacén at 3479 m. and the Veleta , just a little lower . As the name implies , it is covered with snow in winter . The snow-melt in the spring and summer allows the southern slopes of the Sierra to remain green and fertile throughout the year , despite the heat of the summer sun . Water emerges from innumerable springs ; human intervention has channeled it to terraced plots and to the villages . Olives are grown on the lower slopes , and in the valley below which extends from Órgiva to Cadiar , through which flows the Guadalfeo river , plentiful water , a milder climate and fertile land favour the cultivation of grapes , citrus and other fruit . There is also a developing production of quality wine on the hills between this valley and the sea , and almond trees thrive on its southern slopes . The eastern end of the Alpujarra , towards Ugijar in the province of Almería , is much more arid . |
Alternative_minimum_tax | The alternative minimum tax ( AMT ) is a supplemental income tax imposed by the United States federal government required in addition to baseline income tax for certain individuals , corporations , estates , and trusts that have exemptions or special circumstances allowing for lower payments of standard income tax . AMT is imposed at a nearly flat rate on an adjusted amount of taxable income above a certain threshold ( also known as exemption ) . This exemption is substantially higher than the exemption from regular income tax . Regular taxable income is adjusted for certain items computed differently for AMT , such as depreciation and medical expenses . No deduction is allowed for state taxes or miscellaneous itemized deductions in computing AMT income . Taxpayers with incomes above the exemption whose regular Federal income tax is below the amount of AMT must pay the higher AMT amount . A predecessor `` minimum tax '' , enacted in 1969 , imposed an additional tax on certain tax benefits for certain taxpayers . The present AMT was enacted in 1982 and limits tax benefits from a variety of deductions . On January 2 , 2013 , President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 , which indexes to inflation the income thresholds for being subject to the tax . |
Alternative_cancer_treatments | Alternative cancer treatments are alternative or complementary treatments for cancer that have not been approved by the government agencies responsible for the regulation of therapeutic goods . They include diet and exercise , chemicals , herbs , devices , and manual procedures . The treatments are not supported by evidence , either because no proper testing has been conducted , or because testing did not demonstrate statistically significant efficacy . Concerns have been raised about the safety of some of them . Some treatments that have been proposed in the past have been found in clinical trials to be useless or unsafe . Some of these obsolete or disproven treatments continue to be promoted , sold , and used . Promoting or marketing such treatments is illegal in most of the developed world including the United States and European Union . A distinction is typically made between complementary treatments which do not disrupt conventional medical treatment , and alternative treatments which may replace conventional treatment . Alternative cancer treatments are typically contrasted with experimental cancer treatments -- which are treatments for which experimental testing is underway -- and with complementary treatments , which are non-invasive practices used alongside other treatment . All approved chemotherapeutic cancer treatments were considered experimental cancer treatments before their safety and efficacy testing was completed . Since the 1940s , medical science has developed chemotherapy , radiation therapy , adjuvant therapy and the newer targeted therapies , as well as refined surgical techniques for removing cancer . Before the development of these modern , evidence-based treatments , 90 % of cancer patients died within five years . With modern mainstream treatments , only 34 % of cancer patients die within five years . However , while mainstream forms of cancer treatment generally prolong life or permanently cure cancer , most treatments also have side effects ranging from unpleasant to fatal , such as pain , blood clots , fatigue , and infection . These side effects and the lack of a guarantee that treatment will be successful create appeal for alternative treatments for cancer , which purport to cause fewer side effects or to increase survival rates . Alternative cancer treatments have typically not undergone properly conducted , well-designed clinical trials , or the results have not been published due to publication bias ( a refusal to publish results of a treatment outside that journal 's focus area , guidelines or approach ) . Among those that have been published , the methodology is often poor . A 2006 systematic review of 214 articles covering 198 clinical trials of alternative cancer treatments concluded that almost none conducted dose-ranging studies , which are necessary to ensure that the patients are being given a useful amount of the treatment . These kinds of treatments appear and vanish frequently , and have throughout history . |
Air_conditioning | Air conditioning ( often referred to as AC , A.C. , or A/C ) is the process of removing heat from a confined space , thus cooling the air , and removing humidity . Air conditioning can be used in both domestic and commercial environments . This process is used to achieve a more comfortable interior environment , typically for humans or animals ; however , air conditioning is also used to cool/dehumidify rooms filled with heat-producing electronic devices , such as computer servers , power amplifiers , and even to display and store artwork . Air conditioners often use a fan to distribute the conditioned air to an occupied space such as a building or a car to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality . Electric refrigerant-based AC units range from small units that can cool a small bedroom , which can be carried by a single adult , to massive units installed on the roof of office towers that can cool an entire building . The cooling is typically achieved through a refrigeration cycle , but sometimes evaporation or free cooling is used . Air conditioning systems can also be made based on desiccants ( chemicals which remove moisture from the air ) and subterraneous pipes that can distribute the heated refrigerant to the ground for cooling . In the most general sense , air conditioning can refer to any form of technology that modifies the condition of air ( heating , cooling , ( de - ) humidification , cleaning , ventilation , or air movement ) . In common usage , though , `` air conditioning '' refers to systems which cool air . In construction , a complete system of heating , ventilation , and air conditioning is referred to as heating , ventilation , and air conditioning ( HVAC -- as opposed to AC ) . |
Air_pollution | Air pollution occurs when harmful substances including particulates and biological molecules are introduced into Earth 's atmosphere . It may cause diseases , allergies or death in humans ; it may also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops , and may damage the natural or built environment . Human activity and natural processes can both generate air pollution . Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world 's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World 's Worst Polluted Places report . According to the 2014 WHO report , air pollution in 2012 caused the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide , an estimate roughly matched by the International Energy Agency . |
Ames_Research_Center | Ames Research Center ( ARC ) , also known as NASA Ames , is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California 's Silicon Valley . It was founded as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ( NACA ) laboratory . That agency was dissolved and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) on October 1 , 1958 . NASA Ames is named in honor of Joseph Sweetman Ames , a physicist and one of the founding members of NACA . At last estimate NASA Ames has over US$ 3.0 billion in capital equipment , 2,300 research personnel and a US$ 860 million annual budget . Ames was founded to conduct wind-tunnel research on the aerodynamics of propeller-driven aircraft ; however , its role has expanded to encompass spaceflight and information technology . Ames plays a role in many NASA missions . It provides leadership in astrobiology ; small satellites ; robotic lunar exploration ; the search for habitable planets ; supercomputing ; intelligent/adaptive systems ; advanced thermal protection ; and airborne astronomy . Ames also develops tools for a safer , more efficient national airspace . The center 's current director is Eugene Tu . The site is mission center for several key current missions ( Kepler , the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ( LCROSS ) mission , Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy ( SOFIA ) , Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ) and a major contributor to the `` new exploration focus '' as a participant in the Orion crew exploration vehicle . |
Amblyomma_americanum | Amblyomma americanum , also known as the Lone Star Tick , the Northeastern Water Tick , or the Turkey Tick , is a type of tick indigenous to much of the eastern United States and Mexico , that bites painlessly and commonly goes unnoticed , remaining attached to its host for as long as seven days until it is fully engorged with blood . It is a member of the phylum Arthropoda , class Arachnida . The adult lone star tick is sexually dimorphic , named for a silvery-white , star-shaped spot or `` lone star '' present near the center of the posterior portion of the adult female shield ( scutum ) ; adult males conversely have varied white streaks or spots around the margins of their shields . A. americanum is also referred to as the turkey tick in some Midwestern U.S. states , where wild turkeys are a common host for immature ticks . It is the primary vector of Ehrlichia chaffeensis , which causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis , and Ehrlichia ewingii , which causes human and canine granulocytic ehrlichiosis . Other disease-causing bacterial agents isolated from lone star ticks include Francisella tularensis , Rickettsia amblyommii , and Coxiella burnetti . |
Amur_bitterling | Not to be confused with Rhodeus amurensis , whose scientific name literally means `` Amur bitterling '' The Amur bitterling ( Rhodeus sericeus ) is a small fish of the carp family . It is sometimes just called `` bitterling '' , which dates back to the time when the European bitterling ( Rhodeus amarus ) was still considered conspecific with R. sericeus , and `` bitterling '' properly refers to any species in entire genus Rhodeus . The Amur bitterling is found in Siberia , while the European bitterling is found from European Russia westwards . Mussels form an essential part of its reproductive system , with bitterling eggs being laid inside them . Long thought to be symbiotic with the mussels ( whose larval phase attaches to fish gills during development ) , recent research has indicated they are in fact parasitic , with co-evolution being seen in Chinese bitterling and mussel species . Bitterlings usually reside in areas with dense plant growth . They are hardy fish , and can survive in water that is not very well oxygenated . They grow to be 3-4 in long at most . The bitterling 's diet consists of plant material and small larvae of insects . |
Air_mass_(astronomy) | In astronomy , air mass ( or airmass ) is the optical path length through Earth 's atmosphere for light from a celestial source . As it passes through the atmosphere , light is attenuated by scattering and absorption ; the more atmosphere through which it passes , the greater the attenuation . Consequently , celestial bodies at the horizon appear less bright than when at the zenith . The attenuation , known as atmospheric extinction , is described quantitatively by the Beer -- Lambert -- Bouguer law . `` Air mass '' normally indicates relative air mass , the path length relative to that at the zenith at sea level so , by definition , the sea-level air mass at the zenith is 1 . Air mass increases as the angle between the source and the zenith increases , reaching a value of approximately 38 at the horizon . Air mass can be less than one at an elevation greater than sea level ; however , most closed-form expressions for air mass do not include the effects of elevation , so adjustment must usually be accomplished by other means . In some fields , such as solar energy and photovoltaics , air mass is indicated by the acronym AM ; additionally , the value of the air mass is often given by appending its value to AM , so that AM1 indicates an air mass of 1 , AM2 indicates an air mass of 2 , and so on . The region above Earth 's atmosphere , where there is no atmospheric attenuation of solar radiation , is considered to have `` air mass zero '' ( AM0 ) . Tables of air mass have been published by numerous authors , including Bemporad ( 1904 ) , Allen ( 1976 ) , and Kasten and Young ( 1989 ) . |
Algal_bloom | An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems , and is recognized by the discoloration in the water from their pigments . Cyanobacteria were mistaken for algae in the past , so cyanobacterial blooms are sometimes also called algal blooms . Blooms which can injure animals or the ecology are called `` harmful algal blooms '' ( HAB ) , and can lead to fish die-offs , cities cutting off water to residents , or states having to close fisheries . |
Amundsen_Basin | The Amundsen Basin , with depths up to 4.4 km , is the deepest abyssal plain in the Arctic Ocean . The Amundsen Basin is embraced by the Lomonosov Ridge ( from to ) and the Gakkel Ridge ( from to ) . It is named after the polar researcher Roald Amundsen . Together with the Nansen Basin , the Amundsen Basin is often summarized as Eurasian Basin . The Russian-American cooperation Nansen and Amundsen Basin Observational System ( NABOS ) aims `` to provide a quantitative observationally based assessment of circulation , water mass transformations , and transformation mechanisms in the Eurasian and Canadian Basins of the Arctic Ocean '' . |
Alkalinity | Alkalinity is the name given to the quantitative capacity of an aqueous solution to neutralize an acid . Measuring alkalinity is important in determining a stream 's ability to neutralize acidic pollution from rainfall or wastewater . It is one of the best measures of the sensitivity of the stream to acid inputs . There can be long-term changes in the alkalinity of streams and rivers in response to human disturbances . Alkalinity is related to the pH of a solution ( its basicity ) , but measures a different property . Roughly , the alkalinity of a solution is a measure of how `` strong '' the bases are in a solution , whereas the pH measures the `` amount '' of chemical bases . A good example is a buffer solution , which can have many available bases ( high alkalinity ) despite having only a moderate pH level . |
Alaska_Department_of_Environmental_Conservation_v._EPA | Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation v. EPA , , is a U.S. Supreme Court case clarifying the scope of state environmental regulators as well as the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) . In a 5-4 decision , the Supreme Court found the EPA has authority to overrule state agency decisions under the Clean Air Act that a company is using the `` best available controlling technology '' to prevent pollution . |
Alexandre_Trudeau | Alexandre Emmanuel `` Sacha '' Trudeau ( born December 25 , 1973 ) is a Canadian filmmaker , journalist and author of Barbarian Lost . He is the second son of Canada 's former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , and Margaret Trudeau , and the younger brother of Canada 's current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau . |
Americas | The Americas ( also collectively called America ) encompass the totality of the continents of North and South America . Together , they make up most of the land in Earth 's western hemisphere and comprise the New World . Along with their associated islands , they cover 8 % of Earth 's total surface area and 28.4 % of its land area . The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera , a long chain of mountains that runs the length of the west coast . The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by large river basins , such as the Amazon , St. Lawrence River / Great Lakes basin , Mississippi , and La Plata . Since the Americas extend 14000 km from north to south , the climate and ecology vary widely , from the arctic tundra of Northern Canada , Greenland , and Alaska , to the tropical rain forests in Central America and South America . Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago . A second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later from Asia . The subsequent migration of the Inuit into the neoarctic around 3500 BCE completed what is generally regarded as the settlement by the indigenous peoples of the Americas . The first known European settlement in the Americas was by the Norse explorer Leif Ericson . However , the colonization never became permanent and was later abandoned . The voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492 to 1502 resulted in permanent contact with European ( and subsequently , other Old World ) powers , which led to the Columbian exchange . Diseases introduced from Europe and West Africa devastated the indigenous peoples , and the European powers colonized the Americas . Mass emigration from Europe , including large numbers of indentured servants , and importation of African slaves largely replaced the indigenous peoples . Decolonization of the Americas began with the American Revolution in 1776 and Haitian Revolution in 1791 . Currently , almost all of the population of the Americas resides in independent countries ; however , the legacy of the colonization and settlement by Europeans is that the Americas share many common cultural traits , most notably Christianity and the use of Indo-European languages ; primarily Spanish , English , Portuguese , French , and to a lesser extent , Dutch . The population is over 1 billion , with over 65 % of them living in one of the three most populous countries ( the United States , Brazil , and Mexico ) . As of the beginning of the 2010s , the most populous urban agglomerations are Mexico City ( Mexico ) , New York ( U.S. ) , Sao Paulo ( Brazil ) , Los Angeles ( U.S. ) , Buenos Aires ( Argentina ) and Rio de Janeiro ( Brazil ) , all of them megacities ( metropolitan areas with ten million inhabitants or more ) . |
Alternatives_assessment | Alternatives assessment or alternatives analysis is a problem-solving approach used in environmental design , technology , and policy . It aims to minimize environmental harm by comparing multiple potential solutions in the context of a specific problem , design goal , or policy objective . It is intended to inform decision-making in situations with many possible courses of action , a wide range of variables to consider , and significant degrees of uncertainty . Alternatives assessment was originally developed as a robust way to guide precautionary action and avoid paralysis by analysis ; authors such as O'Brien have presented alternatives assessment as an approach that is complementary to risk assessment , the dominant decision-making approach in environmental policy . Likewise , Ashford has described the similar concept of technology options analysis as a way to generate innovative solutions to the problems of industrial pollution more effectively than through risk-based regulation . Alternatives assessment is practiced in a variety of settings , including but not limited to green chemistry , sustainable design , supply-chain chemicals management , and chemicals policy . One prominent application area for alternatives assessment is the substitution of hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives , also known as chemical alternatives assessment . |
Alternative_energy | Alternative energy is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel . These alternatives are intended to address concerns about such fossil fuels , such as its high carbon dioxide emissions , an important factor in global warming . Marine energy , hydroelectric , wind , geothermal and solar power are all alternative sources of energy . The nature of what constitutes an alternative energy source has changed considerably over time , as have controversies regarding energy use . Because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates , defining some energy types as `` alternative '' is considered very controversial . |
Al_Gore | Albert Arnold Gore Jr. ( born March 31 , 1948 ) is an American politician and environmentalist who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton . He was Clinton 's running mate in their successful campaign in 1992 , and was re-elected in 1996 . At the end of Clinton 's second term , Gore was picked as the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election . After leaving office , Gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist , whose work in climate change activism earned him ( jointly with the IPCC ) the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 . Gore was an elected official for 24 years . He was a Congressman from Tennessee ( 1977 -- 85 ) and from 1985 to 1993 served as one of the state 's Senators . He served as Vice President during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001 . In the 2000 presidential election , in what was one of the closest presidential races in history , Gore won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush . A controversial election dispute over a vote recount in Florida was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court , which ruled 5 -- 4 in favor of Bush . Gore is the founder and current chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection , the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management and the now-defunct Current TV network , a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. , and a senior adviser to Google . Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers , heading its climate change solutions group . He has served as a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University , Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism , Fisk University , and the University of California , Los Angeles . He served on the Board of Directors of World Resources Institute . Gore has received a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize ( joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2007 ) , a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album ( 2009 ) for his book An Inconvenient Truth , a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV ( 2007 ) , and a Webby Award ( 2005 ) . Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award-winning ( 2007 ) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 . In 2007 , he was named a runner-up for Time 2007 Person of the Year . |
Air_quality_index | An air quality index ( AQI ) is a number used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become . As the AQI increases , an increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience increasingly severe adverse health effects . Different countries have their own air quality indices , corresponding to different national air quality standards . Some of these are the Air Quality Health Index ( Canada ) , the Air Pollution Index ( Malaysia ) , and the Pollutant Standards Index ( Singapore ) . |
Alaska-St._Elias_Range_tundra | The Alaska-St . Elias Range tundra is an ecoregion of northwestern North America . |
Allergy | Allergies , also known as allergic diseases , are a number of conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to something in the environment that usually causes little or no problem in most people . These diseases include hay fever , food allergies , atopic dermatitis , allergic asthma , and anaphylaxis . Symptoms may include red eyes , an itchy rash , runny nose , shortness of breath , or swelling . Food intolerances and food poisoning are separate conditions . Common allergens include pollen and certain food . Metals and other substances may also cause problems . Food , insect stings , and medications are common causes of severe reactions . Their development is due to both genetic and environmental factors . The underlying mechanism involves immunoglobulin E antibodies ( IgE ) , part of the body 's immune system , binding to an allergen and then to a receptor on mast cells or basophils where it triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals such as histamine . Diagnosis is typically based on a person 's medical history . Further testing of the skin or blood may be useful in certain cases . Positive tests , however , may not mean there is a significant allergy to the substance in question . Early exposure to potential allergens may be protective . Treatments for allergies include avoiding known allergens and the use of medications such as steroids and antihistamines . In severe reactions injectable adrenaline ( epinephrine ) is recommended . Allergen immunotherapy , which gradually exposes people to larger and larger amounts of allergen , is useful for some types of allergies such as hay fever and reactions to insect bites . Its use in food allergies is unclear . Allergies are common . In the developed world , about 20 % of people are affected by allergic rhinitis , about 6 % of people have at least one food allergy , and about 20 % have atopic dermatitis at some point in time . Depending on the country about 1 -- 18 % of people have asthma . Anaphylaxis occurs in between 0.05 -- 2 % of people . Rates of many allergic diseases appear to be increasing . The word `` allergy '' was first used by Clemens von Pirquet in 1906 . |
Alkaline_tide | Alkaline tide refers to a condition , normally encountered after eating a meal , where during the production of hydrochloric acid by parietal cells in the stomach , the parietal cells secrete bicarbonate ions across their basolateral membranes and into the blood , causing a temporary increase in pH. During hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach , the gastric parietal cells extract chloride anions , carbon dioxide , water and sodium cations from the blood plasma and in turn release bicarbonate back into the plasma after forming it from carbon dioxide and water constituents . This is to maintain the plasma 's electrical balance , as the chloride anions have been extracted . The bicarbonate content causes the venous blood leaving the stomach to be more alkaline than the arterial blood delivered to it . The alkaline tide is neutralised by a secretion of H + into the blood during HCO3 − secretion in the pancreas . Post-prandial ( i.e. , after a meal ) alkaline tide lasts until the acids in food absorbed in the small intestine reunite with the bicarbonate that was produced when the food was in the stomach . Thus , alkaline tide is self-limited and normally lasts less than two hours . Post-prandial alkaline tide has also been shown to be a causative agent of calcium oxalate urinary stones in cats , and potentially in other species . A more pronounced alkaline tide results from vomiting , which stimulates hyperactivity of gastric parietal cells to replace lost stomach acid . Thus , protracted vomiting can result in metabolic alkalosis . |
An_Inconvenient_Truth | An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore 's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that , by his own estimate made in the film , he has given more than a thousand times . The idea to document his efforts came from producer Laurie David , who saw his presentation at a town-hall meeting on global warming , which coincided with the opening of The Day After Tomorrow . Laurie David was so inspired by Gore 's slide show that she , with producer Lawrence Bender , met with Guggenheim to adapt the presentation into a film . Premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opening in New York City and Los Angeles on May 24 , 2006 , the documentary was a critical and box office success , winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song . The film grossed $ 24 million in the U.S. and $ 26 million at the international box office , becoming the tenth highest grossing documentary film to date in the United States . Since the film 's release , An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising international public awareness of global warming and reenergizing the environmental movement . The documentary has also been included in science curricula in schools around the world , which has spurred some controversy . A sequel to the film , titled An Inconvenient Sequel : Truth to Power , will be released on July 28 , 2017 . |
An_Act_to_amend_the_Criminal_Code_(minimum_sentence_for_offences_involving_trafficking_of_persons_under_the_age_of_eighteen_years) | An Act to amend the Criminal Code ( minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years ) was a private member 's bill that was enacted on June 29 , 2010 by the 40th Canadian Parliament . Until that time , no other private member 's bill had passed since the 2008 Canadian federal election . The bill that led to the act , Bill C-268 , was sponsored by Joy Smith , Member of Parliament for Kildonan -- St. Paul . The act established a mandatory sentencing of five years ' imprisonment for those charged with the trafficking of children within Canada . Tara Teng , who was Miss B.C. World at the time , spoke positively about the passing of the bill , but believed that more needed to be done politically on this matter , so she began to meet with MPs in the Metro Vancouver area . Before the bill was passed , there was already a maximum sentence for trafficking children in the country , but there was no minimum sentence . A previous attempt to have the bill passed had failed because of prorogation . At the first and second readings , the Bloc Québécois was the only political party that opposed the bill . Anti-pornography activist Judy Nuttall had tried to get the bill passed before the 2010 Winter Olympics ; she said that poor children commonly become sexual slaves at internationally attended events such as the Olympic Games . Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Ron Evans also supported the bill before it was passed , saying that `` Bill C-268 is one step forward for the First Nations women and children of Canada . '' |
Algae | Algae ( -LSB- ˈældʒi , _ ˈælɡi -RSB- singular alga -LSB- ˈælɡə -RSB- ) is an informal term for a large , diverse group of photosynthetic organisms which are not necessarily closely related , and is thus polyphyletic . Included organisms range from unicellular genera , such as Chlorella and the diatoms , to multicellular forms , such as the giant kelp , a large brown alga which may grow up to 50 m in length . Most are aquatic and autotrophic and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types , such as stomata , xylem , and phloem , which are found in land plants . The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds , while the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta , a division of green algae which includes , for example , Spirogyra and the stoneworts . No definition of algae is generally accepted . One definition is that algae `` have chlorophyll as their primary photosynthetic pigment and lack a sterile covering of cells around their reproductive cells '' . Some authors exclude all prokaryotes thus do not consider cyanobacteria ( blue-green algae ) as algae . Algae constitute a polyphyletic group since they do not include a common ancestor , and although their plastids seem to have a single origin , from cyanobacteria , they were acquired in different ways . Green algae are examples of algae that have primary chloroplasts derived from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria . Diatoms and brown algae are examples of algae with secondary chloroplasts derived from an endosymbiotic red alga . Algae exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies , from simple asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproduction . Algae lack the various structures that characterize land plants , such as the phyllids ( leaf-like structures ) of bryophytes , rhizoids in nonvascular plants , and the roots , leaves , and other organs found in tracheophytes ( vascular plants ) . Most are phototrophic , although some are mixotrophic , deriving energy both from photosynthesis and uptake of organic carbon either by osmotrophy , myzotrophy , or phagotrophy . Some unicellular species of green algae , many golden algae , euglenids , dinoflagellates , and other algae have become heterotrophs ( also called colorless or apochlorotic algae ) , sometimes parasitic , relying entirely on external energy sources and have limited or no photosynthetic apparatus . Some other heterotrophic organisms , such as the apicomplexans , are also derived from cells whose ancestors possessed plastids , but are not traditionally considered as algae . Algae have photosynthetic machinery ultimately derived from cyanobacteria that produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis , unlike other photosynthetic bacteria such as purple and green sulfur bacteria . Fossilized filamentous algae from the Vindhya basin have been dated back to 1.6 to 1.7 billion years ago . |
Alternative_fuel | Alternative fuels , known as non-conventional and advanced fuels , are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels , other than conventional fuels like ; fossil fuels ( petroleum ( oil ) , coal , and natural gas ) , as well as nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium , as well as artificial radioisotope fuels that are made in nuclear reactors . Some well-known alternative fuels include biodiesel , bioalcohol ( methanol , ethanol , butanol ) , refuse-derived fuel , chemically stored electricity ( batteries and fuel cells ) , hydrogen , non-fossil methane , non-fossil natural gas , vegetable oil , propane and other biomass sources . |
Amery_Ice_Shelf | The Amery Ice Shelf is a broad ice shelf in Antarctica at the head of Prydz Bay between the Lars Christensen Coast and Ingrid Christensen Coast . It is part of Mac . Robertson Land . The name `` Cape Amery '' was applied to a coastal angle mapped on February 11 , 1931 by the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition ( BANZARE ) under Douglas Mawson . He named it for William Bankes Amery , a civil servant who represented the United Kingdom government in Australia ( 1925 -- 28 ) . The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names interpreted this feature to be a portion of an ice shelf and , in 1947 , applied the name Amery to the whole shelf . In 2001 two holes were drilled through the ice shelf by scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division and specially designed seabed sampling and photographic equipment was lowered to the underlying seabed . By studying the fossil composition of sediment samples recovered , scientists have inferred that a major retreat of the Amery Ice Shelf to at least 80 km landward of its present location may have occurred during the mid-Holocene climatic optimum ( about 5,700 years ago ) . In December 2006 , it was reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Australian scientists were heading to the Amery Ice Shelf to investigate enormous cracks that had been forming for over a decade at a rate of three to five metres a day . These fractures threaten to break off a 1000 square kilometre piece of the Amery Ice Shelf . Scientists want to discover what is causing the cracks , as there has not been similar activity since the 1960s . However , the head of research believes that it is too early to attribute the cause to Global Warming as there is the possibility of a natural 50-60 year cycle being responsible . Lambert Glacier flows from Lambert Graben into the Amery Ice Shelf on the southwest side of Prydz Bay . The Amery Basin is an undersea basin north of the Amery Ice Shelf . The Chinese Antarctic Zhongshan Station and Russian Progress Station are located near this ice shelf . The Amery Ice Shelf is small compared to the Ross Ice Shelf and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf . |
Air_Pollution_Control_Act | The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 ( , ch . 360 , ) was the first Clean Air Act ( United States ) enacted by Congress to address the national environmental problem of air pollution on July 14 , 1955 . This was `` an act to provide research and technical assistance relating to air pollution control '' . The act `` left states principally in charge of prevention and control of air pollution at the source '' . The act declared that air pollution was a danger to public health and welfare , but preserved the `` primary responsibilities and rights of the states and local government in controlling air pollution '' . The act put the federal government in a purely informational role , authorizing the United States Surgeon General to conduct research , investigate , and pass out information `` relating to air pollution and the prevention and abatement thereof '' . Therefore , The Air Pollution Control Act contained no provisions for the federal government to actively combat air pollution by punishing polluters . The next Congressional statement on air pollution would come with the Clean Air Act of 1963 . The Air Pollution Control Act was the culmination of much research done on fuel emissions by the federal government in the 1930s and 1940s . Additional legislation was passed in 1963 to better fully define air quality criteria and give more power in defining what air quality was to the secretary of Health , Education , and Labor . This additional legislation would provide grants to both local and state agencies . A replacement , the United States Clean Air Act ( CAA ) , was enacted to substitute the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 . A decade later the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act was enacted to focus more specifically on automotive emission standards . A mere two years later , the Federal Air Quality Act was established to define `` air quality control regions '' scientifically based on topographical and meteorological facets of air pollution . California was the first state to act against air pollution when the metropolis of Los Angeles began to notice deteriorating air quality . The location of Los Angeles furthered the problem as several geographical and meteorological problems unique to the area exacerbated the air pollution problem . |
Alps | The Alps ( -LSB- ælps -RSB- Alpes -LSB- alp -RSB- Alpen -LSB- ˈalpən -RSB- Alpi -LSB- ˈalpi -RSB- Alps Alpe -LSB- ˈáːlpɛ -RSB- ) are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe , The Caucasus Mountains are higher , and the Urals longer , but both lie partly in Asia . stretching approximately 1,200 km across eight Alpine countries : Austria , France , Germany , Italy , Liechtenstein , Monaco , Slovenia , and Switzerland . The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided . Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn . Mont Blanc spans the French -- Italian border , and at 4810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps . The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres ( just over 13,000 feet ) . The altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe ; in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones . Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3400 m , and plants such as Edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations . Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era . A mummified man , determined to be 5,000 years old , was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian -- Italian border in 1991 . By the 6th century BC , the Celtic La Tène culture was well established . Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants , and the Romans had settlements in the region . In 1800 , Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000 . The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists , writers , and artists , in particular the Romantics , followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks . In World War II , Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war . The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity . The traditional culture of farming , cheesemaking , and woodworking still exists in Alpine villages , although the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded greatly after World War II to become the dominant industry by the end of the century . The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss , French , Italian , Austrian and German Alps . At present , the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors . |
Airborne_fraction | The airborne fraction is a scaling factor defined as the ratio of the annual increase in atmospheric to the emissions from anthropogenic sources . It represents the proportion of human emitted that remains in the atmosphere . The fraction averages about 45 % , meaning that approximately half the human-emitted is absorbed by ocean and land surfaces . There is some evidence for a recent increase in airborne fraction , which would imply a faster increase in atmospheric for a given rate of human fossil-fuel burning . However , other sources suggest that the `` fraction of carbon dioxide has not increased either during the past 150 years or during the most recent five decades '' . Changes in carbon sinks can affect the airborne fraction . |
Alta_Wind_Energy_Center | Alta Wind Energy Center ( AWEC ) , also known as Mojave Wind Farm , is the third largest onshore wind energy project in the world . The Alta Wind Energy Center is a wind farm located in Tehachapi Pass of the Tehachapi Mountains , in Kern County , California . As of 2013 , it is the largest wind farm in the United States , with a combined installed capacity of 1547 MW . The project , being developed near Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm -- site of the first large-scale wind farms installed in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s -- is `` a powerful illustration of the growing size and scope of modern wind projects '' . Southern California Edison has agreed to a 25-year power purchase agreement for the power produced as part of the power purchase agreements for up to 1500 MW or more of power generated from new projects to be built in the Tehachapi area . The project will `` reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5.2 million metric tons , which is equivalent to taking 446,000 cars off the road '' . A total of 3000 MW is planned . The wind farm is being developed by Terra-Gen Power which closed a US$ 1.2 billion financing deal in July 2010 with partners that included Citibank , Barclays Capital , and Credit Suisse . After many delays , the first phase began construction in 2010 . Financing for additional phases of $ 650 million was secured in April 2012 . Construction of the Alta Wind Energy Center is expected to create more than 3,000 domestic manufacturing , construction , and maintenance jobs , and contribute more than one billion dollars to the local economy . |
Alkane | In organic chemistry , an alkane , or paraffin ( a historical name that also has other meanings ) , is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon . In other words , an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which all the carbon-carbon bonds are single . Alkanes have the general chemical formula n2n +2 . The alkanes range in complexity from the simplest case of methane , CH4 where n = 1 ( sometimes called the parent molecule ) , to arbitrarily large molecules . Besides this standard definition by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry , in some authors ' usage the term alkane is applied to any saturated hydrocarbon , including those that are either monocyclic ( i.e. the cycloalkanes ) or polycyclic . In an alkane , each carbon atom has 4 bonds ( either C-C or C-H ) , and each hydrogen atom is joined to one of the carbon atoms ( so in a C-H bond ) . The longest series of linked carbon atoms in a molecule is known as its carbon skeleton or carbon backbone . The number of carbon atoms may be thought of as the size of the alkane . One group of the higher alkanes are waxes , solids at standard ambient temperature and pressure ( SATP ) , for which the number of carbons in the carbon backbone is greater than about 17 . With their repeated - CH2 - units , the alkanes constitute a homologous series of organic compounds in which the members differ in molecular mass by multiples of 14.03 u ( the total mass of each such methylene-bridge unit , which comprises a single carbon atom of mass 12.01 u and two hydrogen atoms of mass ~ 1.01 u each ) . Alkanes are not very reactive and have little biological activity . They can be viewed as molecular trees upon which can be hung the more active/reactive functional groups of biological molecules . The alkanes have two main commercial sources : petroleum ( crude oil ) and natural gas . An alkyl group , generally abbreviated with the symbol R , is a functional group that , like an alkane , consists solely of single-bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms connected acyclically -- for example , a methyl or ethyl group . |
Alternative_medicine | Alternative medicine -- or fringe medicine -- includes practices claimed to have the healing effects of medicine but which are disproven , unproven , impossible to prove , or are excessively harmful in relation to their effect ; and where the scientific consensus is that the therapy does not , or can not , work because the known laws of nature are violated by its basic claims ; or where it is considered so much worse than conventional treatment that it would be unethical to offer as treatment . Alternative therapies or diagnoses are not part of medicine or science-based healthcare systems . Alternative medicine consists of a wide variety of practices , products , and therapies -- ranging from those that are biologically plausible but not well tested , to those with known harmful and toxic effects . Contrary to popular belief , significant expense is paid to test alternative medicine , including over $ 2.5 billion spent by the United States government . Almost none show any effect beyond that of false treatment . Perceived effects of alternative medicine may be caused by placebo ; decreased effect of functional treatment ( and therefore potentially decreased side effects ) ; and regression toward the mean where improvement that would have occurred anyway is credited to alternative therapies ; or any combination of the above . Alternative treatments are neither the same as experimental medicine , nor traditional medicine -- although the latter , when used today may be considered alternative . Alternative medicine has grown in popularity and is used by a significant percentage of the population in many countries . While it has extensively rebranded itself : from quackery to complementary or integrative medicine -- it promotes essentially the same practices . Newer proponents often suggest alternative medicine be used together with functional medical treatment , in a belief that it `` complements '' ( improves the effect of , or mitigates the side effects of ) the treatment . There is no evidence showing they do so , and significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatments , making them less effective , notably cancer therapy . Despite being illegal to market alternative therapies for cancer treatment in most of the developed world , many cancer patients use them . Alternative medical diagnoses and treatments are not taught as part of science-based curricula in medical schools , and are not used in any practice where treatment is based on scientific knowledge or proven experience . Alternative therapies are often based on religion , tradition , superstition , belief in supernatural energies , pseudoscience , errors in reasoning , propaganda , fraud , or lies . Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine and health care providers varies between and within countries . Alternative medicine is criticized for being based on misleading statements , quackery , pseudoscience , antiscience , fraud , or poor scientific methodology . Promoting alternative medicine has been called dangerous and unethical . Testing alternative medicine that has no scientific basis has been called a waste of scarce research resources . Critics state `` there is really no such thing as alternative medicine , just medicine that works and medicine that does n't '' , and the problem with the idea of `` alternative '' treatments in this sense is that the `` underlying logic is magical , childish or downright absurd '' . It has been strongly suggested that the very idea of any alternative treatment that works is paradoxical , as any treatment proven to work is by definition `` medicine '' . |
Anticyclogenesis | Anticyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of anticyclonic circulation in the atmosphere . It is the opposite of anticyclolysis , and has a cyclonic equivalent -- cyclogenesis . Anticyclones are alternatively referred to as high pressure systems . High pressure areas form due to downward motion through the troposphere , the atmospheric layer where weather occurs . Preferred areas within a synoptic flow pattern in higher levels of the troposphere are beneath the western side of troughs . On weather maps , these areas show converging winds ( isotachs ) , also known as confluence , or converging height lines near or above the level of non-divergence , which is near the 500 hPa pressure surface about midway up through the troposphere . On weather maps , high pressure centers are associated with the letter H. On constant pressure upper level charts , it is located within the highest height line contour . |