Environmental Encyclopedia | Environmental topics

Browse by Subject Alphabetically:

D

Deep Ecology

( Article Type: Explanation )

The Deep Ecology worldview asks that we do some deep thinking about who we are and what our role is on the planet. The term was coined by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in 1972 and defines an ecocentric environmental worldview.

Deforestation

( Article Type: Explanation )

The world’s forests, both temperate and tropical, are under enormous pressures from disease (often as a result of air pollution, notably from acid rain), felling for timber needs, clearing for agriculture, or loss under reservoirs through the dammi

Desalination

( Article Type: Explanation )

Desalination describes the process of removing dissolved salts from salt water or brackish (slightly salty) water to make it fit for consumption by humans or for use for agricultural and other human activities.

Desertification

( Article Type: Overview )

Desertification is defined as ‘land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities’. The important point is that there is loss of productivity of the land.

Dilution

( Article Type: Explanation )

Dilution in the context of environmental management describes a strategy to deal with pollution. Certain liquid effluents are, for example, disposed of down sewers by being heavily diluted with clean or relatively clean water.

Dioxins

( Article Type: Explanation )

Dioxins such as CDDs, CDFs, and PCBs were created intentionally for industrial purposes, but others are created unintentionally from processes such as the incineration of waste, the burning of fossil fuels, and the chlorine bleaching of pulp and pape

Dissolved Oxygen Content

( Article Type: Explanation )

Dissolved oxygen content (DOC) is an important means of measuring the 'health' of a stretch of river or quantity of water by checking the concentration of oxygen. The healthier the water body is, the higher the dissolved oxygen content will be.

Drip Irrigation

( Article Type: Explanation )

Drip irrigation is a very economical irrigation system, that delivers small quantities of water to crops close to their roots with minimal loss to evaporation or runoff.