Copy of `Green Guide - Green energy glossary`

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Green Guide - Green energy glossary Category: Earth and Environment > Green energy Date & country: 25/11/2007, UK Words: 29

Biomass & Biofuel
Biomass is living and recently living biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production, for example trees and crops, even food waste or poultry litter. A biofuel is a fuel derived from such materials and can be both sustainable and carbon neutral.

Carbon Capture
Technological solutions for capturing and storing carbon dioxide as it is released into the atmosphere thereby preventing its greenhouse effect.

Carbon Dioxide
The gas released into the atmosphere when carbon is burnt. Although not the only greenhouse gas, it is considered the most important.

Carbon Footprint
A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels; can be measured on a personal or national level, or according to a specific activity, such as taking a flight to go on holiday.

Carbon Neutral
An activity or process that doesn`t add to the net amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Is also used to describe a process which is offset (see carbon offset)

Carbon Offset
A carbon offset negates the overall amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by avoiding the release or removing it elsewhere â€` eg through a renewable energy or energy conservation project. Voluntary carbon offsetting schemes can can help people reduce their carbon footprint, but should only be used as a last resort. It is also important that a credible scheme is used â€` see www.cdmgoldstandard.org

Carbon Tax
A tax levied on fossil fuel usage usually based on the carbon content â€` generally designed to curb use rather than just raise revenue.

Carbon Trading
The trading of personal, corporate or national credits to maintain and gradually reduce carbon emissions. Companies, nations or individuals who beat the targets can sell the balance as credits to those that exceed their limits. The financial gain should lead to the reduction in emissions over time.

Climate Change
The variation in the Earth`s global climate over time. Man-made climate change is a variation directly attributable to human behaviour.

Ecological Footprint
The area of land and water a human population uses to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes, including carbon dioxide.

Energy Efficiency
Obtaining the same results without affecting the services provided, often achieved by technological advance. Also refers to cutting down on wasted energy. A good example is an energy efficient light bulb which produces the same amount of light as a conventional bulb but uses up to 75% less energy to do so.

Fairtrade Mark
The Fairtrade Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal. For a product to display the Fairtrade Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards. Producer receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects. Visit www.fairtrade.org.uk

Farmers` Market
A market in which farmers, growers and producers sell their produce direct to the public. All products should be grown, reared, caught or prepared by the producer. Normally producers are local to the region and much of the produce is seasonal.

Food Miles
A measurement of the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is consumed. Generally the lower the food miles, the greener the product.

Fossil Fuels
Oil, natural gas and coal â€` formed in the ground from the remains of dead plants and animals over millions of years.

FSC Wood
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifies forests which are managed to ensure long term timber supplies while protecting the environment and the lives of forest-dependent peoples. So if you buy wood or wood products with the FSC label, you can be confident that you are not contributing to global forest destruction. Visit www.fsc-uk.org

Global Warming
The gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth`s surface and atmosphere. The majority of scientists agree that the current warming we are experiencing is caused by the the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels and other industrial processes.

Greenhouse Effect
The trapping of the sun`s heat by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so leading to global warming. It is because we are adding to the greenhouses gases in the atmosphere that we are altering the delicate balance that has kept the Earth`s climate relatively stable.

Greenhouse Gas
A gas that absorbs infra-red radiation (ie the sun`s heat and energy) in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), halogenated fluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone (O3), perfluorinated carbons (PFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
The fourth report on climate change, produced under the auspices of the United Nations, gathered the findings of over 600 experts and was reviewed and agreed by representatives from 113 governments. States that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and is very likely caused by human activities.

Local and Seasonal Food
Refers to food which is produced close to you and according to the national seasons and traditional growing cycles â€` this doesn`t include food supplied out of season by artificial means, such as strawberries grown in winter greenhouses or dwarf beans flown in from Africa. Generally local and seasonal food will be more naturally produced and much less processed. It also requires far less packaging and transportation.

Micro-Generation
The small-scale generation of energy, by for example solar panels or domestic wind turbines, and often refers to generation from renewable sources at a domestic or small community level.

MSC Fish
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) rewards environmentally responsible fisheries management and practices with its distinctive blue product label. So if you buy MSC-certified fish, you can be sure that the product has come from a well-managed fishery and has not contributed to the environmental problem of overfishing. See www.msc.org

Nuclear Power
Generates electricity using heat produced by an atomic reaction. The process of generation produces negligible amounts of carbon which is why nuclear is put forward as one way of reducing global carbon footprints. However, the huge financial expense, the storage of spent radioactive materials, the safety record and potential for serious disaster like Chernobyl, and the carbon cost of extracting uranium ore to use as fuel are powerful arguments against the adoption of more nuclear power stations.

Organic Food
Food grown to verified organic standards which avoid genetically modified organisms, synthetic chemical inputs (such as pesticides and additives), and which often protect the natural environment and biodiversity. Standards vary from country to country. The UK organic certification standards are amongst the most stringent.

Planet-Friendly
Products, services or actions that do not negatively impact on the Earth and its resources.

Renewable Energy
Energy obtained from sources that do not run out â€` unlike oil and coal. Examples include wood, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and waste. The UK, and Scotland in particular, has an abundance of resources for the generation of renewable energy.

Sustainable Development
Economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Wind Turbine
A modern day windmill for producing electricity from the energy contained in the wind.