Any combustible hydrocarbon deposit formed from the remains of prehistoric organisms. Examples are petroleum, coal, and natural gas.

Hydrocarbon-rich byproducts from the non-fossilized BIOMASS that are combusted to generate energy as opposed to fossilized hydrocarbon deposits (FOSSIL FUELS).

Materials or phenomena which can provide energy directly or via conversion.

Complex petroleum hydrocarbons consisting mainly of residues from crude oil distillation. These liquid products include heating oils, stove oils, and furnace oils and are burned to generate energy.

The effect of GLOBAL WARMING and the resulting increase in world temperatures. The predicted health effects of such long-term climatic change include increased incidence of respiratory, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases.

A combustible, gaseous mixture of low-molecular weight PARAFFIN hydrocarbons, generated below the surface of the earth. It contains mostly METHANE and ETHANE with small amounts of PROPANE; BUTANES; and higher hydrocarbons, and sometimes NITROGEN; CARBON DIOXIDE; HYDROGEN SULFIDE; and HELIUM. (from McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Planned management, use, and preservation of energy resources.

The extraction and recovery of usable or valuable material from scrap or other discarded materials. (from McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed.)

The study of early forms of life through fossil remains.

Naturally occurring complex liquid hydrocarbons which, after distillation, yield combustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants.

The industry concerned with the removal of raw materials from the Earth's crust and with their conversion into refined products.

A greasy substance with a smoky odor and burned taste created by high temperature treatment of BEECH and other WOOD; COAL TAR; or resin of the CREOSOTE BUSH. It contains CRESOLS and POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS which are CARCINOGENS. It has been widely used as wood preservative and in PESTICIDES and had former use medicinally in DISINFECTANTS; LAXATIVES; and DERMATOLOGIC AGENTS.

Any substance in the air which could, if present in high enough concentration, harm humans, animals, vegetation or material. Substances include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; and volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS.

Any of several processes for the permanent or long-term artificial or natural capture or removal and storage of carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon, through biological, chemical or physical processes, in a manner that prevents it from being released into the atmosphere.

Total mass of all the organisms of a given type and/or in a given area. (From Concise Dictionary of Biology, 1990) It includes the yield of vegetative mass produced from any given crop.

The gaseous envelope surrounding a planet or similar body. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

A natural fuel formed by partial decomposition of vegetable matter under certain environmental conditions.

Acidic water usually pH 2.5 to 4.5, which poisons the ecosystem and adversely affects plants, fishes, and mammals. It is caused by industrial pollutants, mainly sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted into the atmosphere and returning to earth in the form of acidic rain water.

A nonmetallic element with atomic symbol C, atomic number 6, and atomic weight [12.0096; 12.0116]. It may occur as several different allotropes including DIAMOND; CHARCOAL; and GRAPHITE; and as SOOT from incompletely burned fuel.

The presence of contaminants or pollutant substances in the air (AIR POLLUTANTS) that interfere with human health or welfare, or produce other harmful environmental effects. The substances may include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; or volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS.

Energy transmitted from the sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

A colorless, odorless gas that can be formed by the body and is necessary for the respiration cycle of plants and animals.

The circulation of nitrogen in nature, consisting of a cycle of biochemical reactions in which atmospheric nitrogen is compounded, dissolved in rain, and deposited in the soil, where it is assimilated and metabolized by bacteria and plants, eventually returning to the atmosphere by bacterial decomposition of organic matter.

A yellowish fossil resin, the gum of several species of coniferous trees, found in the alluvial deposits of northeastern Germany. It is used in molecular biology in the analysis of organic matter fossilized in amber.

Units that convert some other form of energy into electrical energy.

The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

A major group of unsaturated cyclic hydrocarbons containing two or more rings. The vast number of compounds of this important group, derived chiefly from petroleum and coal tar, are rather highly reactive and chemically versatile. The name is due to the strong and not unpleasant odor characteristic of most substances of this nature. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed, p96)

Increase, over a specific period of time, in the number of individuals living in a country or region.

The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.

Family of the suborder HAPLORHINI (Anthropoidea) comprising bipedal primate MAMMALS. It includes modern man (HOMO SAPIENS) and the great apes: gorillas (GORILLA GORILLA), chimpanzees (PAN PANISCUS and PAN TROGLODYTES), and orangutans (PONGO PYGMAEUS).

Gases, fumes, vapors, and odors escaping from the cylinders of a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed & Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment.

Compounds consisting of two or more fused ring structures.

Contamination of the air, bodies of water, or land with substances that are harmful to human health and the environment.

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

General name for two extinct orders of reptiles from the Mesozoic era: Saurischia and Ornithischia.

The study of the teeth of early forms of life through fossil remains.

The ceasing of existence of a species or taxonomic groups of organisms.

A great expanse of continuous bodies of salt water which together cover more than 70 percent of the earth's surface. Seas may be partially or entirely enclosed by land, and are smaller than the five oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic).

The longterm manifestations of WEATHER. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup.

The application of mathematical formulas and statistical techniques to the testing and quantifying of economic theories and the solution of economic problems.

Electric power supply devices which convert biological energy, such as chemical energy of metabolism or mechanical energy of periodic movements, into electrical energy.

The science of the earth and other celestial bodies and their history as recorded in the rocks. It includes the study of geologic processes of an area such as rock formations, weathering and erosion, and sedimentation. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

The inanimate matter of Earth, the structures and properties of this matter, and the processes that affect it.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.

The period of history before 500 of the common era.

The teeth collectively in the dental arch. Dentition ordinarily refers to the natural teeth in position in their alveoli. Dentition referring to the deciduous teeth is DENTITION, PRIMARY; to the permanent teeth, DENTITION, PERMANENT. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992)

Volative flammable fuel (liquid hydrocarbons) derived from crude petroleum by processes such as distillation reforming, polymerization, etc.

The prediction or projection of the nature of future problems or existing conditions based upon the extrapolation or interpretation of existing scientific data or by the application of scientific methodology.

Relating to the size of solids.

The SKELETON of the HEAD including the FACIAL BONES and the bones enclosing the BRAIN.

One of a set of bone-like structures in the mouth used for biting and chewing.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Cold-blooded, air-breathing VERTEBRATES belonging to the class Reptilia, usually covered with external scales or bony plates.

A refined petroleum fraction used as a fuel as well as a solvent.

A plant division of GYMNOSPERMS consisting of cone-bearing trees and shrubs.