Green Glossary

                      Green Key Terms

Carbon Footprint: a measure of the amount of carbon emissions, or greenhouse gases (gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that trap the heat of the sun in the Earth's atmosphere) produced, by companies' and/or individuals' activities annually (Source: www.carbonfootprint.com).

Carbon Sequestration: the uptake and storage of carbon from the atmosphere, such as a tree absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and processing it through photosynthesis (Source: EuropeanEnvironmental Agency - www.eea.europa.eu).

Conservation: preserving or protecting living and non-living resources (Definition: Merriam-Webster)

Fuel Cell: an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. When used to power vehicles, the heat propels the vehicle; the water is released in the form of water vapor. (Source: http://www.fuelcells.org).

Global Warming: An increase in the near surface temperature of the 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 (GHGs). Scientists generally agree that the Earth's surface has warmed by about 1° Fahrenheit in the past 140
years (Source: Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov).

Hybrid Vehicles: vehicles that usually use more than one power source, such as an internal combustion engine and a battery or fuel cell (Source: www.hybrid-vehicle.org)

Ozone Layer: a protective layer in the Earth's atmosphere that filters harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun (Source: Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov).

Sustainability: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the livelihood of the future.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): compounds that vaporize easily and have low water solubility that are often human-made chemicals used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, refrigerants and are components of petroleum fuels.

Fuel Terms

Alternate/Renewable Energy: sources of energy that do not rely on fossil fuels, such as solar, wind and tidal energy (Source: U.S. Department of Energy)

• Biomass: organic materials, including wood by-products and agricultural wastes that can be burned to produce energy or converted into a gas and used for fuel (Source: U.S. Department of Energy)
• Green Power: electricity produced from a sustainable source of energy
• Biodiesel: organically-derived fuel that can be made from sources including animal fats, soybeans, canola oils, waste vegetable oils or microalgae oils (Source: Iowa State University - www.iastate.edu)
• Butanol: an alternate fuel and type of alcohol (like ethanol - see below) produced by fermentation from corn, grass, leaves, agricultural waste and other biomass. Butanol is distributed through existing pipelines and filling stations(Source: http://www.lightparty.com/Energy/Butanol.html)
• Ethanol: an alternate fuel that can be produced chemically from ethylene or biologically from the fermentation of various sugars from carbohydrates found in agricultural crops and cellulosic residues from crops or wood. Its hygroscopic (absorbs water) characteristic makes it very difficult to transport through existing fuel pipelines. It can only be used in engines that are specially equipped to handle it (Source: City of Austin, TX)
• Solar Power: energy from the sun's radiation that is captured and converted to heat or electricity (Source: Wisconsin Public Service - www.wisconsinpublicservice.com).

Non-renewable Energy: energy obtained from exhaustible sources, such as fossil fuels

• Fossil Fuel: a non-renewable fuel formed in the Earth from plant or animal remains, including coal, oil and natural gas (Source: Environmental Protection Agency- www.epa.gov).

Power Units of Measure:

• Watt (W): The basic unit of measure for power. The power dissipated by a 1-amp current flowing across a resistance of 1 ohm.
• Kilowatt (kW): 1,000 watts. A typical hairdryer has 1.5 - 2.0 kilowatts of power (or 1500 - 2000 watts).
• Megawatt (MW): 1,000 kilowatts or 1,000,000 watts.
• Watt-hour (Wh): The power consumed when 1 watt of power is applied for 1 hour.
• Kilowatt-hour (kWh): 1,000 watt-hours. This is the unit that is most commonly used to describe electric power consumption.

Megawatt-hour (MWh): 1,000 kilowatt-hours or 1,000,000 watt-hours. Generating 1 MWh of electricity from non-renewable energy sources produces an average of 0.6 tons of greenhouse gases. According to Department of Energy estimates, the average U.S. home consumes roughly 11 MWhs annually (varies by region).

Green Glossary