Acid Rain Falling precipitation that has formed through the interaction of rainwater or moisture in the air with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted during the burning of fossil fuels, making it acidic.

Agribusiness The business of farming conducted by large- scale operations that produce, package, and distribute agricultural products.

Aquifers An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt) from which groundwater can be extracted using a water well.

Brownfields Old industrial sites whose degraded conditions pose obstacles to redevelopment.

Clear Cutting A controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down.

Digital Divide An economic inequality between groups, broadly construed, in terms of access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies.

Economic Core The dominant economic region within a larger region.

Ethnicity The quality of belonging to a particular culture group.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) Animals and crop plants in which the DNA is modified.

Gentrification The renovation of old urban districts by middle-class investments, a process that often displaces poorer residents. BeforeAfter

Hispanic Term used to refer to all Spanish-speaking people form Middle and South America, although their ancestors may have been black, white, Asian, or Native American.

Information Technology (IT) The part of the service sector that relies on the use of computers and the internet to process and transport information; software companies, medical technology companies, and publishing houses.

Infrastructure Road, rail, and communication networks and other facilities necessary for economic activity and human well- being.

Megalopolis An area formed when several cities expand so that their edges meet and coalesce.

Metropolitan Areas Cities of 50,000 or more and their surrounding suburbs and towns. Chicago, IllinoisColorado Springs, Colorado

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) A free trade agreement made in 1994 that added Mexico to the 1989 economic arrangement between the United States and Canada.

Nuclear Family A family consisting of a married father and mother and their children.

Pacific Rim Term referring to all the countries that border the Pacific Ocean.

Quebecois French Canadians living in Quebec; an ethnic group distinct from the rest of Canada, they all are citizens of Canada.

Service Sector Economic activity that involves the sale of services.

Social Safety Net The services provided by the government - such as welfare, unemployment benefits, and health care - that prevent people from falling into extreme poverty.

Suburbs Populated areas along the peripheries of cities

Trade Deficit The extent to which the money earned by exports is exceeded by the money spent on imports.

A region of winters so long and cold that the ground is permanently frozen several feet below the surface. Tundra Tundra Biome

Urban Sprawl The encroachment of suburbs on agricultural land surrounding cities.