Anthropocene
The "anthropocene" is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. The word Anthropocene is derived from the
Greek words anthropo, for “man,” and cene, for “new,” coined by biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000.
Climate Change
Weather refers to atmospheric conditions over the short term. Climate describes weather conditions over months and years. Climate change refers to the warming of the world's climate over the past century. Global temperatures have increased by almost 1 degree Celsius since 1850. Climate change is due to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily CO2, which has increased in the atmosphere by almost 200 parts per million over the last century. See the graph from NASA below:
Diet
A healthy reference diet consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and unsaturated oils. It can also include a low to moderate amount of seafood and poultry. It should not include a large quantity of red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, or starchy vegetables. The Lancet commission, Vol 393, issue 10170, Feb 2, 2019
Flexitarian: The flexitarian dietary patterns contain no processed meat, low amounts of red meat (including beef, lamb, and pork) and sugar, moderate amounts of poultry, dairy, and fish, and generous amounts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts.
Pescatarian: Pescatarians are defined as vegetarians who also consume fish and seafood products
Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair
treatment means that no population bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or from the execution of laws, regulations, and policies. Meaningful involvement requires effective access to decision makers for all, and the ability in all communities to make informed decisions and take positive actions to produce environmental justice for themselves.
Fracking
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting oil and gas from the Earth by drilling deep wells and injecting a mixture of liquids and chemicals at high pressure.
Fossil Fuels
Fossil energy sources, including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried by layers of rock. Over millions of years, different types of fossil fuels formed - depending
on what combination of organic matter was present, how long it was buried and what temperature and pressure conditions existed as time passed.
Greenhouse Gases
Gases that absorb and trap heat in the atmosphere are called “greenhouse gases.” The major greenhouse gases include ozone, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons. They come from both natural processes as well as human
activities, though increases in the human-made greenhouse gases are most responsible for disrupting the balance of the atmosphere.
Global Warming
As the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere increases, the amount of heat trapped by the atmosphere also increases, causing the overall warming of the planet, otherwise known as global warming. The various impacts from global warming are referred to as climate change.
Particulate Matter (PM)
PM stands for particulate matter (also called particle pollution). This is a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope.
PM10: inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller; and
PM2.5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.