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The Jargon

Common words used in the practice of Sustainability and their definitions

1. Afforestation: The process of restoring and recreating areas of woodlands or forest that once existed but were deforested or otherwise removed or destroyed.

2. Biofuels: Biofuel (also called agrofuel) is solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass (biological matter, often plant matter).

3. Carbon Credit: Credits that provide a way to reduce greenhouse effect emissions on an industrial scale. Credits can be exchanged between businesses or bought and sold in international markets at the prevailing market price. Credits can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world.

4. Carbon Footprint: A way of representing the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced. this quantity is usually measured in units of carbon dioxide emitted per year.

5. Carbon Neutral: (involves calculating your total carbon emissions, reducing them where possible and balancing your remaining emissions by purchasing carbon offsets. in essence, you neutralize your footprint so as not to contribute to global warming)

6. Carbon Offset: The process of balancing a unit of CO2 emissions with a product that saves or stores an equivalent amount of CO2. carbon credits are typically bought and sold through a number of online retailers and trading platforms.

7. Carbon Sink: A carbon dioxide reservoir that is increasing in size, and is the opposite of a carbon dioxide “source”. The main natural sinks are (1) the oceans and (2) plants and other organisms that use photosynthesis to remove carbon from the atmosphere by incorporating it into biomass and release oxygen into the atmosphere. This concept of CO2 sinks has become more widely known because the Kyoto Protocol allows the use of carbon dioxide sinks as a form of carbon offset.

8. Carbon Tax: A tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide. It is an example of a pollution tax, which some economists favor because they tax a “bad” rather than a “good” (such as income).

9. Cap and Trade: A cap system that sets mandatory limits on pollution. the CO2 emissions allowed under the cap are divided into individual permits. companies that reduce emissions can sell pollution credits to companies that cannot meet their allowance.

10. Energy Audit: An inspection, survey and analysis of the amount of energy that flows into a building, process or system. Typically conducted to seek opportunities to reduce the amount of energy input into the system without negatively impacting the output of that system.

11. Energy Efficiency: Refers generally to the concept of making homes, vehicles and businesses use less energy to operate, therefore having less of an impact on global warming and ensuring energy security. Mathematically, it is measured by the amount of energy output (amount of mechanical work, in watts, or energy released by the process, in joules) divided by the input (quantity of work or energy used to run the process).

12. Energy Star: A voluntary energy-conservation program sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with appliance manufacturers to promote energy efficient appliances.

13. Global Warming: Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. The global average air temperature near the Earth’s surface rose 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 100 year period ending in 2005. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes “most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations” via the greenhouse effect.

14. Green Building: A method of construction that utilizes innovative design and systems technologies, as well as renewable energy and products, to construct buildings and homes.

15. Greenhouse Gases: Gases present in the atmosphere that trap heat from the sun and warm the Earth. The major greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). They occur naturally, but are also emitted when fossil fuels are burned.

16. Kyoto Protocol: An amendment to the international treaty on climate change. Its overall goal is to reduce carbon emissions below 1990 levels by 2012. The Kyoto Protocol provides for three mechanisms that enable countries or operators in developed countries to acquire greenhouse gas reduction credits: (1) Under Joint Implementation (JI) a developed country with relatively high costs of domestic greenhouse reduction would set up a project in another developed country. (2) Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) a developed country can ‘sponsor’ a greenhouse gas reduction project in a developing country where the cost of greenhouse gas reduction project activities is usually much lower, but the atmospheric effect is globally equivalent. The developed country would be given credits for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country would receive the capital investment and clean technology or beneficial change in land use. (3) Under International Emissions Trading (IET) countries can trade in the international carbon credit market to cover their shortfall in allowances. Countries with surplus credits can sell them to countries with capped emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. More than 140 nations ratified the agreement, which went into effect in 2005. The United States is not one of those nations.

17. Net Metering: A method of measuring the energy produced and consumed at a home or business. if a customer generates more than is used, the surplus electricity will run the meter backward. depending on the local rules, the excess may be credited to the customer’s account)

18. RGGI: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a cooperative effort by Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which implements a cap and trade program.

19. Reforestation: The restocking of existing forests and woodlands — with native trees — that have been depleted.

20. Renewable Energy: A category of energy resources such as wind and solar power that can keep producing energy indefinitely without being depleted. these sources produce few hazardous emissions or pollutants and have minimal impact on ecosystems.

21. Triple-Bottom Line: A version of sustainability that looks at the social, economic and environmental bottom lines in connection with each other. Popular with industry and corporations.

22. Whole-Building Design: A term of art of Green Building; takes a holistic view of all aspects of a building to make the building as efficient as possible and with the least impact/carbon footprint.