| ICPD
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| (International Conference on Population and Development) A U.N.-sponsored conference held in 1994 in Cairo. Egypt, where the Program of Action was drafted and later adopted by the United Nations.
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| Igneous rocks
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| Crystalline minerals solidified from molten magma from deep in the earth¡¦s interior; basalt, rhyolite, andesite, lava, and granite are examples.
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| Inbreeding depression
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| In a small population, an accumulation of harmful genetic traits (through random mutations and natural selection) that lowers viability and reproductive success of enough individuals to affect the whole population.
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| Incremental value
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| Used in calculating the value of natural services performed by ecosystems, it is the value of some finite change in a natural service.
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| Indicator organism
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| An organism, the presence or absence of which indicates certain conditions. For example, the presence of Escherichia coli indicates that water is contaminated with fecal wastes and pathogens may be present; the absence indicates that the water is free of pathogens.
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| Individual transfer quota (ITQ)
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| A system for fishery management where quotas are set and individual fishers are given or sold the right to harvest some proportion of the quota.
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| Indoor air pollution
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| Generally refers to air pollutants in homes from internal sources such as smokers, fireplaces, wood stoves, carpets, paneling, furniture, foam insulation, and cooking stoves.
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| Induced abortion
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| Surgical procedure to interrupt pregnancy by removing the embryo or fetus from the uterus. In the first trimester, generally carried out by vacuum aspiration. Contrast with spontaneous abortion.
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| Industrial Revolution
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| During the nineteenth century, the development of manufacturing processes using fossil fuels and based on applications of scientific knowledge.
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| Industrial smog
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| The grayish mixture of moisture, soot, and sulfurous compounds that occurs in local areas where industries are concentrated and coal is the primary energy source.
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| Industrial timber
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| Trees used for lumber, plywood, veneer, particleboard, chipboard, and paper; also called roundwood.
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| Industrialized agriculture
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| Using fertilizer, irrigation, pesticides. and energy from fossil fuels to produce large quantities of crops and livestock with minimal labor for domestic and foreign sale.
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| Industrialized countries
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| See developed countries.
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| Inertia
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| Tendency of an ecosystem to resist change.
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| Inertial confinement
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| A nuclear fusion process in which a small pellet of nuclear fuel is bombarded with extremely high-intensity laser light.
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| Infant mortality
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| The number of babies that die before age 1, per 1000 babies born.
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| Infant mortality rate
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| Number of infants under 1 year of age dying per 1000 births in any given year.
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| Infiltration
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| The process of water percolation into the soil and pores and hollows of permeable rocks.
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| Infiltration-runoff ratio
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| The ratio of the amount of water soaking into the soil to that running off the surface. The ratio is obtained by dividing the first amount by the second.
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| Inflammatory
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| Response A complex series of interactions between fragments of damaged cells, surrounding tissues, circulating blood cells, and specific antibodies; typical of infections.
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| Informal economy
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| Small-scale family businesses in temporary locations outside the control of normal regulatory agencies.
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| Infrared radiation
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| Radiation of somewhat longer wavelengths than red light, the longest wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Such radiation manifests itself as heat.
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| Infrastructure
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| The sewer and water systems, roadways, bridges, and other facilities that underlie trhe functioning of a city and that are owned, operated, and maintained by the city.
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| Inherent value
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| Ethical values or rights that exist as an intrinsic or essential characteristic of a particular thing or class of things simply by the fact of their existence.
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| Inherently safe reactor
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| In theory, a nuclear reactor that is de- signed in such a way that any accident would be automatically corrected and no radioactivity released.
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| Inorganic compounds/Molecules
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| Classical definition: All things such as air, water, minerals, and metals that are neither living or-ganisms nor products uniquely produced by living things. Chemical definition: all chemical compounds or molecules that do not contain carbon atoms as an integral part of their molecular structure. (contrast organic compounds.)
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| Inorganic fertilizer
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| Synthetic plant nutrient added to the soil to replace lost nutrients. Major components include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Also called artificial fertilizer or synthetic fertilizer.
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| Insecticide
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| A chemical that kills insects.
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| Insecticide
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| One form of pesticide used specifically to control insect populations.
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| Insolation
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| Incoming solar radiation.
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| Instrumental value
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| Based on the belief that living organisms or species are worthwhile if their existence or use benefits people; the degree to which they benefit humans. (Contrast intrinsic value.)
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| Insurance spraying
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| Spraying of pesticides when it is not really needed in the belief that it will ensure against loss due to pests.
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| Intangible resources
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| Factors such as open space, beauty, serenity, wisdom, diversity, and satisfaction that cannot be grasped or contained. Ironically, these resources can be both infinite and exhaustible.
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| Integrated pcst management (1PM)
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| Two or more methods of pest control carefully integrated into an overall program designed to avoid economic loss from pests. The objective is to minimize the use of environmentally hazardous, synthetic chemicals. Such chemicals may be used in 1PM, but only as a last resort to prevent significant economic losses.
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| Integrated waste management
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| The approach to municipal solid waste that provides for several options for dealing with wastes, including recycling, composting, waste reduction, and landfilling and incineration where unavoidable.
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| Integrated wildlife or species management
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| Control of populations through the use of many techniques, including the reintroduction of natural predators, habitat improvement, reduction in habitat destruction, establishment of preserves, reduced pollution, and captive breeding.
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| Internal costs
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| The expenses, monetary or otherwise, borne by those who use a resource.
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| Internalizing costs
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| Value or worth of objects that satisfy the needs and wants of moral agents. Objects that can be used as a means to some desirable end.
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| International Whaling Commission (IWC)
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| The international body that regulates the harvesting of whales; the IWC placed a ban on all whaling in 1986.
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| Interplanting
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| The system of planting two or more crops, either mixed together or in alternating rows, in the same field; protects the soil and makes more efficient use of the land.
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| Interspecific competition
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| Competition between members of different species.
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| Intrinsic value
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| Based on the belief that living organisms or species are worthwhile if their existence or use benefits people; the degree to which they benefit humans. (Contrast intrinsic value.)
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| Inversion
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| See temperature inversion.
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| Ion
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| An atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained one or more electrons and consequently has acquired a positive or negative charge. Ions are designated by ¡§+¡§ or superscripts following the chemical symbol.
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| Ion-exchange capacity
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| See nutrient-holding capacity.
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| Ionic bond
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| The bond formed by the attraction between a positive and a negative ion.
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| Ionizing radiation
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| High-energy electromagnetic radiation or energetic subatomic particles released by nuclear decay.
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| Ionosphere
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| The lower part of the thermosphere.
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| Ions
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| Electrically charged atoms that have gained or lost electrons.
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| IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
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| The U.N-sponsored organization delegated to the continual production of an assessment of the science of global climate change and the potential impacts and means of response to the threat.
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| IPM
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| See integrated pest management.
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| Irrigation
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| Any method of artificially adding water to crops.
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| Irritants
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| Corrosives (strong acids), caustics (alkaline reagents), and other substances that damage biological tissues on contact.
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| Irruptive growth
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| See Malthusian growth.
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| Island biogeography
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| The study of rates of colonization and extinction of species on islands or other isolated areas based on size, shape, and distance from other inhabited regions.
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| Island effects
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| Reductions in species diversity caused by reduction in ecosystem area.
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| Isotope
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| A form of an element in which the atoms have more (or less) than the usual number of neutrons. Isotopes of a given element have identical chemical properties, but they differ in mass (weight) as a result of the additional (or lesser) neutrons. Many isotopes are unstable and radioactive. (See radioactive decay, radioactive emissions, and radioactive materials.)
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| ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act)
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| Legislation that provides for funding of alternative transportation (mass transit, cycling paths) using money from the Highway Trust Fund.
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