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Agriculture, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Agriculture, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1862, whose head was made a cabinet member in 1889. The department administers federal programs related to food pr...

Energy, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Energy, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government responsible for coordinating national activities relating to the production, regulation, marketing, and conservation...

Butler

(Encyclopedia)Butler, city (2020 pop. 12,699), seat of Butler co., W Pa.; inc. as a borough 1817, as a city 1917. It is located in an area with coal, natural gas, oil...

National Rifle Association of America

(Encyclopedia)National Rifle Association of America (NRA), group founded (1871) to promote shooting, hunting, firearm safety, and wildlife conservation. The NRA has more than 3 million members. The association spon...

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

(Encyclopedia)United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or Earth Summit, an 11-day meeting held in June, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss the global conflict between economic devel...

Jungius, Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Jungius, Joachim yōˈäkhĭm yo͝ongˈēo͝os [key], 1587–1657, German mathematician, logician, and systematizer of natural history. In 1608 he made his inaugural dissertation at the Univ. of Giess...

erosion

(Encyclopedia)erosion ĭrōˈzhən [key], general term for the processes by which the surface of the earth is constantly being worn away. The principal agents are gravity, running water, near-shore waves, ice (most...

state of emergency

(Encyclopedia)state of emergency, situation in which a government or a government body is empowered to act with enhanced powers in order to respond to a crisis. The enhanced or emergency powers, and in many cases i...

beta particle

(Encyclopedia)beta particle, one of the three types of radiation resulting from natural radioactivity. Beta radiation (or beta rays) was identified and named by E. Rutherford, who found that it consists of high-spe...

Hornaday, William Temple

(Encyclopedia)Hornaday, William Temple hôrˈnədā [key], 1854–1937, American naturalist, b. Plainfield, Ind. He was educated at Iowa State College (now Iowa State Univ.), continued his study of zoology and muse...