| ecology | the study of the interrelationships between life forms and their environment |
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| ecumene | the inhabited (or inhabitable) area of the world. nonecumene is the uninhabited area of the world |
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| edge city | commercial center located on the suburban periphery of a metropolitan area near major highway intersections. coined by journalist joel garreau in his 1991 book edge city: life on the new frontier |
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| el niño southern oscillation (enso) | a periodic warming of the ocean waters in the eastern pacific ocean which affects global weather patterns |
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| environmental determinism | the belief that the environment is responsible for the development of a specific culture |
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| epicenter | the point on the earth's surface directly above the hypocenter, where the energy of an earthquake is first released. |
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| equator | zero degrees latitude, divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres |
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| equinox | the beginning of autumn and spring, the two days each year when the sun is directly overhead at the equator |
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| erosion | forces that shape the earth's surface. includes water, wind, and ice |
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| estuary | the wide end of a river when it meets the sea; salty tidal water mixes with the fresh water of the river here |
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