Environmental Encyclopedia | Environmental topics

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R

Radiation

( Article Type: Explanation )

Radiation can be split into two main types: ionising and nonionising radiation. Ionising radiation is high-energy short-wave radiation, which has enough energy to knock electrons and change the atoms to positively charged ions.

Radioactive Waste

( Article Type: Explanation )

Radioactive waste covers a spectrum from very low-level waste to very high-level waste and there are different challenges to be faced at the two ends of this spectrum.

Rainwater Harvesting

( Article Type: Explanation )

Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collecting rainwater or storm water, and storing it for subsequent use either indoors or outdoors.

Ramsar Convention

( Article Type: Explanation )

The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty, adopted in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and provides a framework for international cooperation for the conservation of wetlands.

Recycling

( Article Type: Explanation )

Recycling is the process whereby any discarded products and materials that have been reclaimed or recovered are refined, reprocessed and converted into new or different products.

Rehabilitation of Land

( Article Type: Explanation )

Land rehabilitation has become a vital part of new mining legislation, which stipulates that mines must develop Environmental Management Plans, which must include reference to closure and rehabilitation of the site.

Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency

( Article Type: Overview )

Modern Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficient Options are technically mature, commercially established, readily accessible and they are more or less just as expensive (or cheap) as the conventional option of grid.

Renewable Energy - Power

( Article Type: Explanation )

Energy production in South Africa is mainly based on coal - a material that is finite and harmful to the environment and the climate.

Renewable Resources

( Article Type: Explanation )

These are environmental resources that are continuously renewing themselves. For example, energy that is harnessed from the sun, wind and waves is renewable.

Resource Efficiency

( Article Type: Explanation )

Globally, we are extracting more resources to produce goods and services than our planet can replenish, while a large share of world population is still struggling to meet basic needs.