Green Glossary

Greenhouse Gasses (GHG): the atmospheric gasses responsible for global warming. Although CO2 is the most notorious GHG, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor and ozone also contribute to the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse Effect: some infrared radiation is trapped in the earths’ lower atmosphere by greenhouse gasses in the outer atmosphere. This is a completely natural process contributing to the heating of the planet, but with recent human activities increasing the quantity of greenhouse gasses, the impact of the greenhouse effect is being enhanced, warming the earths’ surface above natural levels.

Carbon Footprint: a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

Ecological Footprint: a measure of the land area required to supply the resources for specific human activities, providing a comprehensive measure of the environmental sustainability of anything from consumer products to services.

Sustainability: practices that ensure the continued viability of a product or service well into the future, without detriment to its current quality.

Sustainable Tourism Development: managing tourism so that the needs of the current tourists, all future tourists and the host regions are met. Resources must be taken care of so that the economic, social and aesthetic needs can be reached whilst also preserving the cultural integrity, biological and ecological diversity of the region.

Renewable Energy: energy from sources that can be replenished at an equal or greater rate than the rate of its depletion, i.e. wind, solar and water power, and geothermal energy and biofuels.

Green Energy: includes renewable and non-polluting energy, such as anaerobic digestion, geothermal, wind, solar, biomass, tidal, small-scale hydropower and incineration of waste. Controversially, nuclear energy often also claims to be green.

Alternative Energy: energy derived from non-fossil fuel sources.

Greenwash: the dissemination of information by organizations in order to give the false impression of being environmentally friendly. For example, focusing publicity on green packaging to divert attention from the unenvironmental practices used to manufacture the product itself.

Carbon Sequestration: the process by which carbon dioxide is captured and removed from the atmosphere, then stored in carbon dioxide sinks such as the oceans, plants and soils. This is a natural process, but is being enhanced and artificially developed to mitigate global warming.

Carbon Offsetting: becoming ever-more controversial, carbon offsets are a means to pay someone else to reduce greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere when you are unable or unwilling to reduce your own. The most well-known schemes involve tree-planting, but the long time-lag between planting and growth to a size at which they are able capture significant carbon dioxide is so great that their short term benefits are minimal. As a result, many schemes have emerged which invest in renewable energies in developing countries or in energy conservation strategies. A newer type of offsetting scheme buys carbon credits from the emissions trading market, thus reducing the amount of emissions the industries involved in the market are permitted to produce.