GLOSSARY of TERMS
Environmental
Definitions
Acid Rain: Rain with a high concentration of acids produced by the gasses from burning fossil fuels.
Alternative Energy Sources: Alternative energy use can help preserve the delicate ecological balance of the planet, and help us conserve the non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gases. Alternative energy sources are wind power, solar power and geothermal energy.
Biodegradable: Capable of being readily decomposed by the action of microbes.
Biotechnology: The industry in which humans are engaged in altering the natural composition and processes of life forms. Example: genetic engineering.
CO2: An inorganic gas composed of carbon and oxygen that's creating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, concentrations of which have increased (from 280 parts per million in preindustrial times to over 350 parts per million today) as a result of humans' burning of coal, oil, natural gas and organic matter.
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: A compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL bulb) is a type of fluorescent lamp which screws into a regular light bulb socket, or plugs into a small lighting fixture. Compared to incandescent lamps of the same luminous flux, CFLs have a longer rated life and use less energy. A CFL can save over US$60 in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp.
Composting: The result and act of combining organic materials under controlled conditions so that the original raw ingredients are transformed by decay and degradation into humus (or compost).
Conservation: Conservation is the wise use of natural resources (nutrients, minerals, water, plants, animals, etc.). Preserving and renewing natural resources to assure their highest economic or social benefit over the longest period of time. Clean rivers and lakes, wilderness areas, a diverse wildlife population, healthy soil, and clean air are natural resources worth conserving for future generations.
Decomposers: Plants and animals that feed on once-living material and cause it to mechanically or chemically break down.
Environmental / Ecological Footprint: It measures how your lifestyle impacts not only on the planet but also on other people. It is measured in global hectares because it calculates how much productive land and sea is needed for food and to provide all the energy, water and materials used. It also calculates the emissions generated from the oil, coal and gas burnt, and how much land is required to absorb the waste generated. A carbon footprint measures the carbon emissions associated with activities including travel, water, electricity and oil use, direct land use, office catering and waste production.
Environmental Stewardship: The careful and responsible management of our natural resources and the environment.
Fossil Fuels: Carbon-based fuels formed in the ground from the remains of dead plants and animals. It takes millions of years to form fossil fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels.
Genetic Engineering: Genetic engineering is a laboratory technique used by scientists to change the DNA of living organisms GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms): Life forms that are the result of combining the genes of one organism with that of another, thus altering the make-up of the "target" organism. What is produced in this process in often not something that could occur naturally or through conventional breeding - for example, crosses between tomatoes and fish are possible.
Geothermal (heating and cooling): Geo (Earth) thermal (heat). Process in which the earth's energy is converted into heat and/or cooling energy. Commonly achieved via a "geothermal heat pump system," which consists of pipes buried in the shallow ground near the building, a heat exchanger, and ductwork into the building. In winter, heat from the relatively warmer ground goes through the heat exchanger into the house. In summer, hot air from the house is pulled through the heat exchanger into the relatively cooler ground. Heat removed during the summer can be used as no-cost energy to heat water.
Green Design: A design, usually architectural, conforming to environmentally sound principles of building, material and energy use. A green building, for example, might make use of solar panels, skylights, sustainable and recycled building materials.
Greenhouse Effect: The way in which the Earth's atmosphere acts as a blanket to keep temperatures at a higher level than would otherwise be so. The carbon monoxide and water vapor in the atmosphere transmit solar radiation but reflect the longer-wavelength heat radiation from the Earth. The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, caused by large-scale burning of fossil fuel, will probably produce higher temperatures and have widespread climatic effects unless control measures are instituted.
Green Living: A lifestyle intended to ensure that one's impact on the environment is as minimal (or as positive) as possible
Hazardous or Toxic Waste: Any solid, liquid, or containerized gas that can catch fire easily, is corrosive to skin tissue or metals, is unstable and can explode or release toxic fumes, or has harmful concentrations of one or more toxic materials that can leach out.
Household Toxic Materials:
Paint Supplies - latex paint, oil based paint, paint thinner
Used Motor Oil and other Auto Supplies - antifreeze, brake fluid, transmission fluid, gasoline, car batteries
Household Cleaners - window and surface cleaner, spot removers, oven cleaner
Garden Chemicals - pesticides, fungicides, fertilizer
Poisons - rat poison, ant & roach poison, flea powder
Resins - fiberglass, epoxy, cement, glues
Aerosols - spray paint, disinfectant spray, spray bug killer, oven cleaner
Asbestos (must be properly packaged).
Photo Chemicals
Hybrid Car: A hybrid vehicle or gas-electric hybrid powered vehicle uses a mixture of technologies such as internal combustion engines (ICEs), electric motors, gassoline, and batteries.Today's hybrid cars are driven by electric motors powered by both batteries and an ICE.
IPM (Integrated Pest Management): Combined use of biological, chemical, storage and cultivation methods in proper sequence and timing to keep the size of a pest population below that which causes an economically unacceptable loss of a crop or livestock animal.
Natural or Whole Foods: Any food in its raw, unrefined form. This includes all the unprocessed grains, beans, vegetables and meats.
Natural Resources: An area of the Earth's solid surface, nutrients and minerals in the soil and deeper layers of crust, water, wild and domesticated plants and animals, air and other resources produced by the Earth's natural processes.
Non-renewable Resource or Energy: A resource that exists in a fixed amount (stock) in various places in the Earth's crust and has the potential for renewal only by geological, physical and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billions of years. Examples are copper, aluminum, coal, and oil. We classify these resources as exhaustible because we are extracting and using them at a much faster rate than the geological time scale on which they were formed.
Nuclear Energy: Energy released when atomic nuclei undergo a nuclear reaction such as the spontaneous emission of radioactivity, nuclear fission, or nuclear fusion.
Old-growth Forest: Uncut, virgin forest containing trees that are often hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years old. Examples include forests of Douglas fir, Western hemlock, giant sequoia, and coastal redwoods in the Western United States.
Organic: Organic has many definitions, but this definition is specifically about a labeling term that denotes products produced in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act: According to Roots & Fruits Cooperative; "Organically-grown food is produced without the use of synthetic pesticides and/or fertilizers." The U.S.D.A. will be implementing a national organic standard in October of 2002. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people.
Ozone Depletion: Thinning of the protective layer of the upper atmosphere, known as the ozone layer, by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other human-created ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs). The ozone layer is a strong-smelling, slightly bluish gas layer in the stratosphere, 10 to 25 miles above the earth, that shields us from the burning ultraviolet rays of the sun, and traps reflected solar heat around the earth, keeping the earth warm.
Passive Solar Heating: A system that captures sunlight directly within a structure and without the use of mechanical devices, and converts it into low-temperature heat for space heating or for heating water for domestic use.
Recycling: Recycling is the process where recyclable materials (eg paper, plastic, glass, metal, aluminium, steel etc.) are converted into new products, which are suitable to replace the same or new products made from virgin materials (eg waste paper into office paper and cardboard, aluminium soft drink cans into new cans, plastic bottles into plastic utensils etc.).
Runoff: Excess rainwater that can carry contaminants---untreated---from urban concrete and other human-made surfaces, into sewers, rivers and streams.
Smart Strip Power Strip: The Smart Strip has a series of outlets that are controlled by a single controlling outlet. When the device plugged into the controlling outlet shuts down, power to the other outlets automatically shuts down. For example, a Smart Strip automatically turns off your peripherals when your computer powers down – even if you forget. 40% of the energy used to power consumer electronics is consumed when the devices are not in use. That’s nearly 5% of our total home electricity consumption nationwide. For example, as a country, we spend about a billion dollars a year to power TV’s and VCR’s when they are “turned off”.
Solar Power: The radiant energy of the sun that can be converted into other forms of energy. Electric power can be generated by using sunlight either to create electron flow in a photovoltaic cell (solar panel) or by heating a fluid that is used in the operation of an engine or turbine-generator.
Sustainable/Sustainability: Meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable Development: The use of components of biological diversity in a way that does not interfere with the natural functioning of ecological process and life-support systems. For example, crops that are managed in an ecologically sound way, including supporting and preserving genetic diversity for the future.
Virgin Wood: Virgin wood consists of wood and other products such as bark and sawdust which have had no chemical treatments or finishes applied.
Water Heater Blanket: A water heater blanket is made of insulation contained in sheet plastic so that it can be attached to the water heater. Blankets are rated based on their 'R' value just like other insulation. A blanket with R-11 is recommended. A properly installed blanket can reduce energy loss by 25% to 45%.
Watershed: A land area that delivers the water, sediment, and dissolved substances via small streams to a major stream or river.
Wilderness: An area of undeveloped land retaining its primeval character, without any substantial impact of human habitation or activities.
Wind Power:Wind power has been used for many years to drive mills and water pumps. Although some of those uses continue, the most common commercial use of wind power today is for running turbines that generate electricity.. The turbine collects wind energy and converts it to electricity which is transferred to your houses breaker panel, allowing you to rely on your existing utility power supply as only a backup. Wind turbines are also often set up in clusters, called wind farms, and the electricity generated is fed into the power grid.
Zero Population Growth: State in which the birthrate (plus immigration) equals the death rate (plus emigration) so the population of a geographical area is not increasing.
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