The practice of reusing raw materials, products, and waste for future use, rather than discarding them.  By recycling, humans can reduce their need to extract new raw materials from the natural world and thus reduce their ecological footprint.

The return of native forests and woodlands to deforested areas through natural or human-led actions.

A farming practice which places emphasis on increasing the natural health of soils. This differs from industrialized farming which devastates soil health and relies heavily on fertilizers and pesticides (Attenborough, 2020).

Energy sources which naturally replenish themselves on a timescale conducive to human needs, such as solar, wind, tide, and geothermal heat.

The ability for a plant population, animal population, or ecosystem to recover from stressed or hazardous conditions. As the world’s climate becomes more unpredictable, habitats disappear, and levels of toxic pollutants continue to rise, it becomes increasingly harder for recovery processes to occur.

The restoration of large portions of land or water to its natural and uncultivated state in an effort to promote biodiversity, reintroduce threatened or missing species, stabilize natural environmental processes, and increase carbon capture / sequestration (Attenborough, 2020).

A buildup of greenhouse gasses which disables a planet's ability to regulate solar radiation and cool itself down. Left unchecked, the effect has the potential to raise a planet's temperature to levels unsuitable to support any known life. While this sounds like a far-fetched doomsday scenario, an example of a runaway greenhouse effect exists on the planet Venus. With its own thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide, Venus is the hottest planet in the entire solar system, with an average surface temperature of 863 degrees Fahrenheit. This is exceptionally sobering when one considers that Mercury is nearly half the distance to the sun, but due to its thin atmosphere, experiences a surface temperature that ranges from 800 to negative 280 degrees Fahrenheit. Earth is fortunate enough to regulate amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide through exchange processes referred to as the carbon cycle. However, as human produced greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase on Earth, there is growing alarm that portions of the carbon cycle are unable to meet our demands or are breaking down altogether (Siegel, 2016).

An undesired consequence of over extracting water from coastal, freshwater, aquifers. As fresh water levels drop, they are replaced with ocean salt water, thus degrading the quality of fresh water essential for supporting coastal residents and farmlands. As climate change raises sea levels, there will be increased opportunities for such aquifers to become more saline ("Saltwater Intrusion," 2021).

The inability to perceive changes in the environment over years, decades, or generations due to one's own subconscious adaptation to new “normal” conditions (Attenborough, 2020).

A regenerative farming practice in which domesticated animals are raised and actively managed within afforested areas to the benefit of both the livestock and vegetation (Attenborough, 2020).

Goods made from plastic which are only intended to be used once before being discarded. They are generally not recycled, and do not decompose; meaning that after serving a very brief use/purpose they will be around long after the user is dead.

Energy released by The Sun as a result of nuclear fusion reaction. On Earth, we primarily experience solar radiation through sunlight and air temperature. It is also the key driving factor of Earth’s weather, climate, and seasons. Emitted from The Sun in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared waves of light, it is either retained by the planet or bounced back into space. The heat that remains on Earth is absorbed, distributed and regulated through multiple Earth systems. However, as the buildup of greenhouse gasses traps more of this solar radiation, many Earth systems are experiencing extreme and unpredictable shifts (National Research Council, 1994).

The targeting and extermination of a specific species from an area it inhabits. It is essentially a genocide against a type of plant or animal. In the United States, predators such as wolves, coyotes, and cougars have been the targets of species cleansing, condoned through the use of a wide variety of hunting, trapping and poisoning techniques with little regard to humane methods or widespread ecological impact (Flores, 2017).

A positive feedback in which the recovery of biodiversity in one area positively impacts the biodiversity of surrounding areas. This has been recorded around wildlife protection areas such as MPAs where fish populations recover in the preserve boundaries and then spill over into neighboring waters and increase fish catch (Attenborough, 2020).

Utilizing the conditions or abilities that allow a practice and/or resource to produce indefinitely.

An economic, social, and industrial movement which places sustainability as the primary catalyst for change (Attenborough 2020).

A threshold that if exceeded could result in amplified or irreversible instability to Earth systems. While the exact thresholds are unknown, experts have identified nine major tipping points that could induce such a cataclysm. They are the shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, the West Antarctic ice sheet disintegration, Amazon rainforest dieback, West African monsoon shift, permafrost and methane hydrates, coral reef die-off, Indian monsoon shift, Greenland ice sheet disintegration, and a boreal forest shift (McSweeney, 2020).

A term used to describe the widespread impacts that removing or reintroducing a species has on an ecosystem and its food webs. For example, when wolves, a keystone species, were removed from Yellowstone National Park, the park’s population of deer and elk exploded. The increase of these ungulates led to the overgrazing of many native plants, which consequently led to a decrease in species that directly, or indirectly, relied on those plants as habitats or food sources. However, another trophic cascade occurred when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. As elk populations declined due to wolf predation, native plant populations such as willows and aspen recovered. These plants then allowed populations of beaver (another keystone species) to rebound. Beavers dams created beaver ponds provide crucial habitats for various species of fish, insects, birds, and plants. Wolves also outcompeted oversaturated coyote populations, thus allowing native rodent populations to improve, leading to healthier raptor populations. Grizzly populations also benefited as the bears scavenged off of wolf kills. By understanding keystone species and trophic cascades, conservation efforts can target the recovery of specific species in order to more effectively recuperate or rewild damaged ecosystems (Blakeslee, 2017).

The practice of growing crops within existing urban areas. The food produced locally therefore requires fewer resources to transport food from its source to the dinner plate, thus reducing the consumer’s carbon footprint.  It also decreases a dependence on industrial scale agriculture (Attenborough, 2020).

The utilization of hydroponics within multiple tiered structures in order to grow crops.  The practice is celebrated for its ability to reduce the amount of space, water, and pesticides needed to grow food in comparison to traditional or industrialized farms (Attenborough, 2020).

A broad term that describes atmospheric conditions such as temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation in regards to a specific location over a brief period of time.

An agricultural setup designed to imitate the ecosystem of the area’s native environment.  Livestock and plants can assimilate to the land’s carrying capacity with little or no interference and can even enrich biodiversity by aiding positive trophic cascades (Attenborough, 2020).