Monday, July 16, 2007

Climate Change Glossary

Atmosphere - the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air.

Biodiversity - the diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat or in the world as a whole. A high level of biodiversity is desirable.

Carbon - a naturally abundant, nonmetallic element that occurs in all organic compounds and can be found in all known forms of life.

CO₂ - Carbon Dioxide. A colourless, odorless gas that is present in the atmosphere when any fuel containing carbon is burned. It is breathed out of animal's lungs during respiration is produced by the decay of organic matter and is used by plants in photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also used in refrigeration, fire extinguishers and carbonated drinks. It is the principal greenhouse gas. Approximately fifty percent of the CO₂ emitted today is still in the atmosphere a hundred years from now.

Carbon Footprint - is a measure of the amount of CO₂ emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels; in the case of an organization, business or enterprise, as part of their everyday operations; in the case of an individual or household, as a part of their daily lives; or a product or commodity in reaching market. This footprint is often expressed in tons of carbon dioxide on a monthly or yearly basis.

Eco - concerned with living things in relation to their environment.

Ecosystem - a community of organisms together with their physical environment, viewed as a system of interacting and interdependent relationships and including such processes as the flow of energy through trophic levels and the cycling of chemical elements and compounds through living and non living components of the system.

Emission - a substance discharged into the air, especially by an internal combustion engine or a smoke stack. CO₂ is emitted into the atmosphere by burning most types of fuels. Emission reduction programs will lower the amount of CO₂ going into the atmosphere but will not eliminate it.

Fossil Fuel - any combustible organic material such as oil, coal or natural gas, derived from the remains of a previous geologic time and used as fuel.

Greenhouse Effect - an atmospheric heating phenomenon, caused by short-wave solar radiation being transmitted inward through the earth's atmosphere but longer wave-length heat radiation less readily transmitted outward, owing to its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and other gases; thus the rising level of carbon dioxide is viewed with concern.

GHG - Greenhouse Gas. Any of the gases whose absorption of solar radiation is responsible for the greenhouse effect including carbon dioxide (approx 78%), methane, ozone and the fluorocarbons.

Offset - something that counterbalances, counteracts or compensates for something else; compensating equivalent. Carbon offsets neutralize carbon emissions. Emission reduction still leaves behind a residual carbon "footprint" that must be removed by offsetting.

Photosynthesis - the process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbo-hydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct. This is the only known way to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Refugia - an area where special environmental circumstances have enabled a species or a community of species to survive after extinction in surrounding areas.

Species - a group of closely related and interbreeding living things; the smallest standard unit of biological classification.

Econeutral™ - Trade Marked name of a carbon offset product that has ecological co-benefits including restoring native biodiversity, habitat enhancement, endangered species refugia, water filtration and other positive environmental attributes. Healthy ecosystems remove CO₂ from the atmosphere absorbing the carbon and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

Climate Change Glossary
posted by EcoNeutral on Monday, July 16, 2007