Heard of “going green” but not sure about some of the terminology? Here’s a rundown of some common green words and terms.
Atmosphere
The mixture of gases surrounding the Earth. The Earth’s atmosphere consists of about 79.1 percent nitrogen (by volume), 20.9 percent oxygen, 0.04 percent carbon dioxide and trace amounts of other gases.
Carbon Footprint
The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2).
Carbon Sequestration
The uptake and storage of carbon. Trees and plants, for example, absorb carbon dioxide, release the oxygen and store the carbon. Fossil fuels were at one time biomass and continue to store the carbon until burned.
Climate
The average weather, usually taken over a 30-year time period, for a particular region and time period. Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region. Weather describes the short-term state of the atmosphere. Climatic elements include: precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost and hailstorms.
Climate Change
The term “climate change” is sometimes used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency, but because the Earth’s climate is never static, the term is more properly used to imply a significant change from one climatic condition to another. In some cases, climate change has been used synonymously with the term, global warming; scientists however, tend to use the term in the wider sense to also include natural changes in climate.
Climate Model
A quantitative way of representing the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice. Models can range from relatively simple to quite comprehensive.
Global Warming
The progressive gradual rise of Earth’s surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns. An increase in the near surface temperature of Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse Effect
Trapping and buildup of heat in the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface. Some of the heat flowing back toward space from the Earth’s surface is absorbed by water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and several other gases in the atmosphere and then reradiated back toward the Earth’s surface. If the atmospheric concentrations of these greenhouse gases rise, the average temperature of the lower atmosphere will gradually increase.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone (O3), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Renewable Energy
Energy obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels, of which there is a finite supply. Renewable sources of energy include wood, waste, geothermal, wind, photovoltaic and solar thermal energy.
Source: Begreennow.com