Languages:
Renewable energy made from materials from biological sources. Wood, charcoal, manure and crop residues are all traditional forms of bioenergy.
Bioenergy carriers produced from crops like maize or sugarcane are known as biofuels, while biogas refers to the mixture of methane and carbon dioxide produced by the bacterial decomposition of organic wastes. (Source: GreenFacts )
Biofuels are non-fossil fuels. They are energy carriers that store the energy derived from organic materials (biomass), including plant materials and animal waste.
They may be solid, such as fuelwood, charcoal and wood pellets; liquid, such as ethanol, biodiesel and pyrolysis oils; or gaseous, such as biogas. (Source: GreenFacts)
The total quantity or mass of organic material produced by living organisms in a particular area, at a given time. (Source: GreenFacts)
The long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the Earth's climate.
It is also defined by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change as
“change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity
that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to
natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”
(Source:
CoRIS
glossary
Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as
cogeneration, is the simultaneous production of electricity and
heat from a single fuel source, such as: natural gas, biomass, biogas, coal,
waste heat, or oil.
(Source: U.S. EPA, Combined Heat and Power,
Basic information
The conversion of forested land to non-forested land as a direct result of
human activities.
(Source: Forest Carbon Accounting
Definitions
A plant grown to produce biofuels, or directly exploited for its energy content.
(Source:
FAO
"ECHA is the driving force among regulatory authorities in implementing the
EU's groundbreaking chemicals legislation for the benefit of human health and
the environment as well as for innovation and competitiveness. ECHA helps
companies to comply with the legislation, advances the safe use of chemicals,
provides information on chemicals and addresses chemicals of concern."
(Source:
https://echa.europa.eu/home
"The European Commission (EC) embodies and upholds the general interest of the [European] Union and is the driving force in the Union's institutional system. Its four main roles are to propose legislation to Parliament and the Council, to administer and implement Community policies, to enforce Community law (jointly with the Court of Justice) and to negotiate international agreements, mainly those relating to trade and cooperation."
The Commission's staff is organised into 36 Directorates-General (DGs) and
specialised services, such as the Environment DG and the Research DG.
(Source:
EC website
Feedstock refers to the raw material that is required for some industrial process. (Source: GreenFacts )
An oil extracted from body (body oil) or liver (liver oil) of fish and marine
mammals; mostly a byproduct of fish meal production.
(Source:
NOAA
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines “forest” as a portion of land bigger than half a hectare (5 000m2) with trees higher than 5 meters and a tree canopy cover of more than 10 %, or with trees that will be able to meet these criteria.
It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.
A general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials,
formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil,
coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's
crust over hundreds of millions of years.
(Source:
US EPA
Glossary of Climate Change terms
The process of regulating human behavior in accordance with shared objectives.
The term includes both governmental and nongovernmental mechanisms.
(Source:
MA Glossary
Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds.
This property causes the greenhouse effect.
Water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2),
nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and
ozone (O3) are the primary greenhouse gases
in the Earth’s atmosphere. Moreover there are a number of entirely human-made
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as the halocarbons and other
chlorine and bromine containing substances,
dealt with under the Montreal Protocol. Beside CO2, N2O and CH4, the
Kyoto Protocol deals with the greenhouse gases
sulphur hexafluoride (SF6),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
(Source:
IPCC
Glossary
In breeding, hybrids are plants or animals produced by the cross-breeding of two genetically different varieties or species. (Source: GreenFacts)
The human use of a piece of land for a certain purpose (such as irrigated agriculture or recreation). Influenced by, but not synonymous with, land cover.
(Source:
MA
CH3OH. Methanol is the simplest alcohol and is toxic. At high concentrations, methanol can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and death. Acute exposure may cause blindness. Chronic exposure to methanol can cause liver damage. (Source: GreenFacts )
The approximately 20 chemical elements
known to be essential for the growth of living organisms, including nitrogen,
sulfur, phosphorus, and carbon.
(Source:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Glossary
Organisms, including bacteria, viruses or cysts, capable of causing diseases
(typhoid, cholera, dysentery) in a host (such as a person). There are many types
of organisms which do NOT cause disease. These organisms are called
non-pathogenic.
(Source:
US EPA
US EPA Drinking Water Glossary, A Dictionary of Technical and Legal Terms
Related to Drinking
Water
A toxic chemical product that kills
harmful organisms (e.g., insecticides,
fungicide, weedicides, rodenticides, acaricides).
(Source:
FAO
Glossary of biotechnology & genetic
engineering
The pronounced deprivation of well-being.
Income poverty refers to a particular formulation expressed solely in terms of
per capita or household income.
(Source:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Production is the process of creating, growing, manufacturing, or improving goods and services. It also refers to the quantity produced.
In economics, productivity is used to measure the efficiency or rate of production. It is the amount of output (e.g. number of goods produced) per unit of input (e.g. labor, equipment, and capital).
In biology, productivity is a measure of the efficiency with which a biological system converts energy into growth. (Source: GreenFacts)
Energy produced from sources that can be renewed indefinitely, for example,
hydro-, solar, geothermal, and wind power, as well as sustainably produced
biomass.
(Source:
FAO
A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present and local population can be met without compromising the ability of future generations or populations in other locations to meet their needs.
When the combined effect of several forces operating is greater than the sum
of the separate effects of the forces.
(Source:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
The Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) is an advisory body, established in 1969, that advises the United Nations (UN) system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection.
At present GESAMP is jointly sponsored by nine UN organizations with responsibilities relating to the marine environment, and they utilize GESAMP as a mechanism for coordination and collaboration among them. GESAMP functions are to conduct and support marine environmental assessments, to undertake in-depth studies, analyses, and reviews of specific topics, and to identify emerging issues regarding the state of the marine environment. GESAMP itself today consists of 16 experts, drawn from a wide range of relevant disciplines, who act in an independent and individual capacity. Studies and assessments are usually carried out by dedicated working groups, most of whose members are not sitting members of GESAMP but part of the broader GESAMP network.
GESAMP's UN sponsors: IMO, FAO, UNESCO-IOC, WMO, IAEA, UN, UNEP, UNIDO, UNDP.GESAMP
Source:
(Source:
www.gesamp.org/about
Exposure to contingencies and stress, and the difficulty in coping with them.
(Source:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use.
Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of
quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers, etc.) and quality
(eutrophication, organic matter pollution, saline intrusion, etc.)
(Source:
UNEP Freshwater in Europe Glossary
This summary is free and ad-free, as is all of our content. You can help us remain free and independant as well as to develop new ways to communicate science by becoming a Patron!
BECOME A PATRON!