Handout: Selected glossary of terms
Handout: Selected Glossary
Global Warming
Climate change is the long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the earth's climate. Global warming is defined by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change as “change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”
Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds in the atmosphere that trap heat there. They retain a proportion of the sun’s heat through a mechanism known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), are naturally present in the atmosphere in small quantities (less than 1%). Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds. It is very likely that greenhouse gases released by human activities are responsible for most of the global warming observed in the past 50 years. The warming is projected to continue and to increase over the course of the 21st century and beyond.
Biodiversity
The variety of life on earth—or its biological diversity—is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, and the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rain forests, and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse earth. Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, has an important role to play, and it is this combination that enables the ecosystem to possess the ability to prevent and recover from a variety of natural disasters. This is useful for humanity as a larger number of species of plants means more variety of crops and a larger number of species of animals ensures that the ecosystem is naturally sustained.
Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts: the direct, primary footprint and the indirect, secondary footprint. The primary footprint is a measure of the direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels. This includes domestic energy consumption and transportation from, for example, cars and planes. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole life cycle of products we use, those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown.
“Green” Building
“Green” building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources—energy, water, and materials—while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal—the complete building life cycle. Other similarly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.
Global Warming
Climate change is the long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the earth's climate. Global warming is defined by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change as “change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”
Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds in the atmosphere that trap heat there. They retain a proportion of the sun’s heat through a mechanism known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), are naturally present in the atmosphere in small quantities (less than 1%). Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds. It is very likely that greenhouse gases released by human activities are responsible for most of the global warming observed in the past 50 years. The warming is projected to continue and to increase over the course of the 21st century and beyond.
Biodiversity
The variety of life on earth—or its biological diversity—is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, and the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rain forests, and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse earth. Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, has an important role to play, and it is this combination that enables the ecosystem to possess the ability to prevent and recover from a variety of natural disasters. This is useful for humanity as a larger number of species of plants means more variety of crops and a larger number of species of animals ensures that the ecosystem is naturally sustained.
Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts: the direct, primary footprint and the indirect, secondary footprint. The primary footprint is a measure of the direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels. This includes domestic energy consumption and transportation from, for example, cars and planes. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole life cycle of products we use, those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown.
“Green” Building
“Green” building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources—energy, water, and materials—while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal—the complete building life cycle. Other similarly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.