Glossary of Green Terms

Glossary of Green Terms

Atmospheric concentrations are the quantity of greenhouse gases relative to the global volume of the atmosphere, expressed in parts per million (ppm). Atmospheric concentrations are often cited for carbon dioxide (CO2) alone or for CO2 equivalents, in which case they are adjusted to reflect all greenhouse gases. Rising atmospheric concentrations can occur even with unchanged levels of annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Biodegradable is material that which, when left to itself, will be decomposed by natural processes.

Biodiesel is a diesel-equivalent processed fuel made from biological sources that can be used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. It’s a renewable fuel that can be manufactured from algae, vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases.

Biodiversity: A large number and wide range of species of animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. Ecologically, wide biodiversity is conducive to the development of all species.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major greenhouse gas implicated in global warming, usually expressed in terms of carbon. One metric ton of carbon equals 3.667 metric tons of CO2. Other greenhouse gases are often given as carbon or CO2 equivalents, based on their respective global
warming potentials.

Carbon Footprint: A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels. A carbon footprint is often expressed as tons of carbon dioxide or tons of carbon emitted, usually on an annual basis.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): Stable, artificially created chemical compounds containing carbon, chlorine, fluorine and sometimes hydrogen. Chlorofluorocarbons, used primarily to facilitate cooling in refrigerators and air conditioners, have been found to deplete the stratospheric ozone layer which protects the earth and its inhabitants from excessive ultraviolet radiation.

Clean coal refers to methods to reduce pollutants emitted when coal is burned, either by using coal with lower sulfur content or by using various methods to reduce the amount of sulfur emitted into the atmosphere.

Climate change can be caused by an increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases which inhibits the transmission of some of the sun’s energy from the earth’s surface to outer space. These gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and other chemicals. The increased concentrations of greenhouse gases result in part from human activity -- deforestation; the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, coal and natural gas; and the release of CFCs from refrigerators, air conditioners, etc.

Compostable materials are those that decay into organic substances and can be used for fertilizing soil.

Ecosystem is the complex of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interacting as an ecological unit. Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; instead, their parameters are set according to the scientific, management, or policy question being examined. Depending upon the purpose of analysis, a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem.

Eco-friendly: Little or no impact on the native eco-system.

Ecological Footprint: The area of land and water needed to produce the resources to entirely sustain a human population and absorb its waste products with prevailing technology. The concept of an ecological footprint is used as a resource management and community-planning tool.

Embodied Energy: Total energy used to create a product, including the energy used in mining or harvesting, processing, fabricating, and transporting the product.

Emissions are pollutants released into the air or waterways from industrial processes, households or transportation vehicles. Air emissions pertain to atmospheric air pollution; water emissions refer to pollutants released into waterways.

Energy Efficiency: Ratio of energy output of a conversion process or of a system to its energy input.

Energy Star: A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.(http://www.energystar.gov/)

Fossil Fuels: Fuels found in the earths strata that are derived from the fossilized remains of animal and plant matter over millions of years. Fossil fuels include oil, natural gas, shale, and coal. Fossil fuels are considered to be non-renewable since they are consumed faster than their natural production.

Fuel cycle refers to the total life of a fuel in all its uses and forms. For example, the fuel cycle of coal is extraction; transportation; combustion; air emissions, and ash removal, transportation and disposal.

Geothermal Energy: Heat that comes from the earth.

Green can mean anything from recycled to compostable. MyGreenGSB includes one or more of the following qualities when we call a product green: biodegradable or compostable; made of 100% recycled content or contains recycled content; saves energy; nontoxic; reusable or represents a greener alternative; emits low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) or CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons); uses renewable resources or is rechargeable; the manufacturing company uses green methods in the factory; the product is certified as such by an established third party.

Green Building: A building that minimizes impact on the environment through resource (energy, water, etc.) conservation and contributes to the health of its occupants. Comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and healthful environments characterize green buildings.

Green Power: Electricity generated from renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric).

Global warming is the progressive gradual rise of the earth's surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns.

Greenhouse effect is the progressive, gradual warming of the earth's atmospheric temperature, caused by the insulating effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that have proportionately increased in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect disturbs the way the Earth’s climate maintains the balance between incoming and outgoing energy by allowing short-wave radiation from the sun to penetrate through to warm the earth, but preventing the resulting long-wave radiation from escaping back into the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases include the common gases of carbon dioxide and water vapor, but also rarer gases such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) whose properties relate to the transmission or reflection of different types of radiation. The increase in such gases in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming, is a result of the burning of fossil fuels, the emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere, and deforestation.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). An organisation established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to provide the most widely accepted information available about climate change. The IPCC does not conduct new research or monitor climate-related data. Its mandate is to assess existing data and to produce balanced and objective publications. For more information see Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Switzerland).

LEED - An acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a point-based rating system developed by the US Green Building Council that evaluates the environmental performance from a “whole building” perspective over its life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a green building according to six categories:

Sustainable Sites
Water Efficiency
Energy and Atmosphere
Material Resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Innovation and Design Process

Buildings evaluated by LEED are rated as certified, silver, gold, or platinum. There are a total of 69 LEED credits available in the six categories: 26 credits are required to attain the most basic level of LEED certification; 33 to 38 credits are needed for Silver; 39 to 51 credits for Gold; 52 to 69 credits for the Platinum rating.

Non-renewable Energy Resources Energy resources that cannot be restored or replenished by natural processes and therefore are depleted through use. Commonly used non-renewable energy resources include coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium.

Ozone at the ground level is a form of air pollution that is produced when nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react in sunlight. It is not to be confused with stratospheric ozone, which is found 9 to 18 miles high in the Earth’s atmosphere and protects people from harmful radiation from the sun. Ground-level ozone pollution, or smog, is mainly a problem during hot summer days.

Recycling: A series of processes that include collection, separation, and processing by which products and raw materials are recovered and reused in lieu of disposal as solid or liquid wastes. Commonly recycled items include cans and bottles, paper and industrial solvents. Recycling can also apply to construction materials, and even to buildings themselves.

Renewable resources are energy sources that do not use exhaustible fuels. Sources of renewable energy include water, wind, solar energy and geothermal energy, as well as some combustible materials, such as landfill gas, biomass, and municipal solid waste.

Sustainability: Meeting the needs of the present without depleting resources or harming natural cycles for future generations.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): Organic compounds that evaporate at room temperatures and are often hazardous to human health, causing poor indoor air quality. Sources of VOC’s include solvents and paints. Many materials commonly used in building construction such as carpets, furniture and paints emit VOC’s.

Wind Turbine: A device that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy that can be used to drive equipment such as pumps. The addition of a generator allows the wind’s kinetic energy to be converted into electricity. There are two types of wind turbines, namely: horizontal axis turbines - blades rotate about a horizontal axis; and vertical axis turbines - blades rotate about a vertical axis.

The State of the Earth

Here’s the truth: Life on earth is changing before our very eyes and we need to do something about it.

Some Alarming Facts and Statistics You Should Know….

• Humans have caused all or most of the current planetary warming. This statement comes from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, based on the work of some 2,500 scientists in more than 130 countries, and overseen by the UN and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

• Global warming threatens to extinguish hundreds of millions of human lives and nearly a third of the planet's wildlife.

• Between 1970 and 2004, global greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 70%.

• With the destruction of the tropical rainforests, over half the plant and animal species on earth, as well as numerous indigenous cultures will disappear forever. Many scientists predicts that by 2060 there will be no rainforests remaining—almost half are now gone.

• The rate of wildlife extinction now is 1,000 times higher than the normal rate of the past.

• Glaciers in Greenland are melting twice as fast as they were five years ago.

• Though Americans make up just 4 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning.

• At least 36 states in the US will face water shortages within the next five years

• Greenhouse gasses are probably the main cause of ocean temperature increases in hurricane formation areas.
  

• There's been a 100% increase in the intensity and duration of hurricanes and tropical storms since the 1970s, most likely due to the increased amount of CO2 emissions to our atmosphere.
• Just in 2005, 1836 people lost their lives from Hurricane Katrina (705 people are still considered ‘missing’) and it cost the US over $89.6 in damage, the costliest storm in US history
  

• The rate of ice melting doubled in less than a decade (between 1996 and 2005).

• Montana’s Glacier National Park will have no glaciers left by the year 2030— it now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910.

• Glaciers in the Alps will melt away by 2050. And 2050 is a conservative estimate—if they keep melting at the current rate, most glaciers could vanish by 2037.

Do you see why we need to do something now? But there is hope.....we can begin to reverse the destruction we have caused the earth by altering our actions.

The window is closing and the next 10 years may be the most important.