Reforestation
Replanting of forests on lands that have recently been harvested.
Leave a Comment April 7, 2010
Filed under: natural resources
Bioremediation
The cleanup of a contaminated site using biological methods, i.e., bacteria, fungi, plants, etc.
Organisms are used to either break down contaminants in soil or water, or accumulate the contaminants in their tissue for disposal.
Leave a Comment December 22, 2009
Active solar
A system using mechanical devices such as pumps, fans etc., that transfers collected heat to the storage medium and/or the end-use.
Leave a Comment December 16, 2009
Runoff
The waste water that flows from our gardens, lawns, driveways, and streets into our sewer systems carries various pollutants, including fertilizers and pesticides from our yards that eventually finds its way into our rivers and oceans.
Leave a Comment December 6, 2009
Polylactic Acid (PLA)
A biodegradable, thermoplastic derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch or sugarcanes.
PLA, sometimes referred to as ‘corn plastic’ is used to make biodegradable ‘plastic’ cups and other items.
Leave a Comment November 22, 2009
Daylighting
Letting natural light into a space through glazing with the intent of reducing or eliminating electric lighting, and thereby the energy consumption of a building.
Leave a Comment November 19, 2009
Biodiesel
A cleaner-burning diesel fuel made from natural, renewable sources such as vegetable oils.
Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel.
Leave a Comment November 15, 2009
Carbon Neutral
Reducing energy use and impact to remove as much carbon dioxide from the environment as we put in.
Further steps to carbon neutrality can also be achieved by use of renewable energy and buying carbon offsets for that which can’t yet be reduced.
Leave a Comment November 10, 2009
Biomimicry
A new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.
Leave a Comment November 4, 2009
FSC
Forest Stewardship Council [FSC] is an international non-profit membership-based organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests through developing standards.
The FSC provides chain of custody tracking and a certification system.
Leave a Comment November 2, 2009
