3. Definition : What is ecological capacity?
Ecological capacity is The overall ability of an ecosystem
to maintain its natural, original, or current condition and to
produce goods and services. This includes both the current stock
and the ability of an ecosystem to produce more of a specific
resource. This includes surface and subsurface renewable
resources. This includes both land and ocean ecosystems.
5. Air Capacity
• Definition: The ability water resources to
maintain the ecosystem in its natural, original, or
current state. This includes the capacity of the
water to provide Oxygen and water to the biota
and carry off Carbon Dioxide from the biota in
the ecosystem. This includes both man-made and
naturally occurring substances found in air that
interact with water and soil, each other, and biota
to produce adverse or undesirable affects. This
does not include waste products managed by
man, which fall under Man-made Capital.
6. Air Capacity Categories
• Carbon Monoxide in Air: A very poisonous gas formed when carbon burns
incompletely, as in the exhaust of automobile engines. (Definition Source:
Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary)
• Nitrous Oxides in Air: Those compounds in the atmosphere formed by a
combination of nitrogen and oxygen (NOx).
• Other Toxics in Air: Substances in the atmosphere that can kill or harm the
health of living animals and/or plants. This includes the over 600 chemicals
in the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory.
• Ozone: A form of oxygen (O3) that results from photo-chemical reactions in
the atmosphere.
• Particulates in Air: Small particles of matter emitted into the atmosphere,
such as dust, pollen and solid combustion products.
7. Air Capacity Categories
• Radioactives in Air: All substances in the atmosphere
that emit radiation. This includes both man-made
substances such as waste from nuclear power plants and
hospitals, as well as naturally occurring radioactive
substances such as Radon.
• Sulphur Oxides in Air: Those compounds in the
atmosphere formed by a combination of sulphur and
oxygen (SOX).
• Volatile Organic Compounds in Air: Easily evaporated
compounds of or formed from living things. Typically
these compounds originate from petroleum, coal
tar, solvents, fuel and the manufacture of plastics.
