Glossary
Abatement - refers to reducing the degree or intensity of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Biofuel - gas or liquid fuel made from plant material (biomass). Includes wood, wood waste, wood liquors, peat, railroad ties, wood sludge, spent sulfite liquors, agricultural waste, straw, tires, fish oils, tall oil, sludge waste, waste alcohol, municipal solid waste, landfill gases, other waste, and ethanol blended into motor gasoline.
Biomass energy - energy produced by combusting biomass materials such as wood. The carbon dioxide emitted from burning biomass will not increase total atmospheric carbon dioxide if this consumption is done on a sustainable basis (i.e., if in a given period of time, regrowth of biomass takes up as much carbon dioxide as is released from biomass combustion). Biomass energy is often suggested as a replacement for fossil fuel combustion.
Carbon credits - represents one ton of CO2 taken out of the atmosphere; the money from your carbon credit purchases is put directly towards clean, renewable energy projects and energy efficiency initiatives.
Carbon Footprint - measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
Carbon market - a term for a trading system through which countries may buy or sell units of greenhouse-gas emissions in an effort to meet their national limits on emissions, either under the Kyoto Protocol or under other agreements. The term comes from the fact that carbon dioxide is the predominant greenhouse gas and other gases are measured in units called "carbon-dioxide equivalents.
Carbon Offsetting - process whereby an organization purchases carbon credits to neutralize its global warming impact. Each carbon credit represents the abatement or sequestration of one ton of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases - or carbon emissions - from our atmosphere.
Carbon Sequestration - process through which carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is absorbed by trees, plants and crops through photosynthesis, and stored as carbon in biomass (tree trunks, branches, foliage and roots) and soils (see Sink).
Climate Change - any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). Climate change may result from:
- natural factors, such as changes in the sun's intensity or slow changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun;
- natural processes within the climate system (e.g. changes in ocean circulation);
- human activities that change the atmosphere's composition (e.g. through burning fossil fuels) and the land surface (e.g. deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, desertification, etc.)
Compost - partially decomposed organic plant and animal matter that can be used as a soil conditioner or fertilizer.
E-85 - fuel that is a blend of 85% ethanol & 15% gasoline.
Ecosystem - the complex system of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit.
Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP) - a process that deals with buying products or services that will reduce impact on human health and the environment.
Environmental Stewardship - the careful and responsible management of our natural resources and the environment.
Fossil fuel combustion - burning of coal, oil (including gasoline), or natural gas. The burning needed to generate energy release carbon dioxide by-products that can include unburned hydrocarbons, methane, and carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide, methane, and many of the unburned hydrocarbons slowly oxidize into carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Common sources of fossil fuel combustion include cars and electric utilities.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) - any gas that absorbs infrared radiation in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone (O3), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Greenwash - a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.
Kyoto Protocol - the Protocol, entered into force on February 16, 2005, requires developed countries to reduce their GHG emissions below levels specified for each of them in the Treaty. These targets must be met within a five-year time frame between 2008 and 2012, and add up to a total cut in GHG emissions of at least 5% against the baseline of 1990. Review and enforcement of these commitments are carried out by United Nations-based bodies.
Landfill - land waste disposal site in which waste is generally spread in thin layers, compacted, and covered with a fresh layer of soil each day.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) - a term used broadly to apply to any of a number of analytic techniques to evaluate the environmental impact of a material or a service throughout its life cycle from extraction or harvesting of raw materials through processing, manufacture, installation, use and ultimate disposal or recycling.
Metric ton - common international measurement for the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions. A metric ton is equal to 1000 kilograms, 2204.6 pounds, or 1.1023 short tons.
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer - the Montreal Protocol and its amendments control the phaseout of ozone depleting substances production and use. Under the Protocol, several international organizations report on the science of ozone depletion, implement projects to help move away from ozone depleting substances, and provide a forum for policy discussions.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) - more commonly known as trash or garbage—consists of everyday items such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - organizations that are not part of a governmental structure. They include environmental groups, research institutions, business groups, and associations of urban and local governments.
Photovoltaic and solar thermal energy - energy radiated by the sun as electromagnetic waves (electromagnetic radiation) that is converted into electricity by means of solar (i.e., photovoltaic) cells or useable heat by concentrating (i.e., focusing) collectors.
Point source - a single identifiable source that discharges pollutants into the environment.
REC - Renewable Energy Credit.
Recycling - diverting items, such as paper, glass, plastic, and metals, from the wastestream. These materials are sorted, collected, and processed and then manufactured, sold, and bought as new products. Recycling prevents the emission of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, saves energy, supplies valuable raw materials to industry, creates jobs, stimulates the development of greener technologies, conserves resources for our children's future, and reduces the need for new landfills and combustors.
Renewable energy - energy obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible, unlike, for example, the fossil fuels, of which there is a finite supply. Renewable sources of energy include wood, waste, geothermal, wind, photovoltaic, and solar thermal energy.
Single-Stream Recycling - a recycling process in which materials are commingled with no sorting required by individual recyclers. The sorting process takes place at the recycling plant.
Sink - any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Forests and other vegetation are considered sinks because they remove carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
Source reduction or waste prevention - practice that involves altering the design, manufacture, or use of products and materials to reduce the amount and toxicity of what gets thrown away.
Stewardship - the wise management and use of personal resources (natural resources and financial resources) for the benefit of all; The careful and responsible management of human, physical, biological, and financial resources.
Sustainability - a goal that aims towards preserving quality interactions with the local environment, economy and social system; social and environmental practices that protect and enhance the human and natural resources needed by future generations; a concept and strategy by which communities seek economic development approaches that benefit the local environment and quality of life; to maintain or prolong; continued viability.
Tipping fee - a fee assessed for waste disposal in a sanitary landfill, waste-to-energy plant, or composting facility for a given amount of waste, usually in dollars per ton. Fees are established based on disposal facility costs and the amount disposed of at the facility.
US EPA Climate Leaders Program - launched in 2002, it is an industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop long term climate change strategies.
VER - Verified Emissions Reduction (credit).
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - organic compounds that evaporate readily into the atmosphere at normal temperatures. VOCs contribute significantly to photochemical smog production and certain health problems.
Waste stream - the total flow of solid waste generated from homes, businesses, and institutions that must be recycled, incinerated, or disposed of in landfills.
The Glossary was compiled from the following sources:
UNFCCC Glossary (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
http://www.EPA.gov
Google definitions
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Healthy Building Network http://www.healthybuilding.net/life_cycle.html
Carbon Reduction Institute Pty Ltd
http://www.thegreenguide.org/definitions.php
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