Definitions - m

A turbine having a large vaned wheel rotated by the wind to generate electricity. Often collected together to form 'farms'.

The region around the earth in which the earth's magnetic field plays a dominant part in controlling the physical processes that take place.

Clouds that look like pouches hanging from the underside of a cloud.

Programs which by law require consumers to separate trash so that some or all recyclable materials are recovered for recycling rather than going to landfills.

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. There are three naturally occurring isotopes, with 12C and 13C being stable, while 14C is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of about 5730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity. The name "carbon" comes from Latin language carbo, coal.

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A volcano on the island of Hawaii where scientists have maintained the longest continuous collection of reliable daily atmospheric records.

The average temperature experienced from the combination of all the surface temperatures in a room, i.e walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, and people.

The scale of meteorological phenomena that ranges in size from a few km to about 100 km. It includes local winds, thunderstorms, and tornadoes.

Carbon Pollution refers to the human produce Co2 that is meant to be harming the environment.

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 thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere itself, and by clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases are essential to maintaining the current temperature of the Earth; without them the planet would be uninhabitable.

Wikipedia Entry

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 thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere itself, and by clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases are essential to maintaining the current temperature of the Earth; without them the planet would be uninhabitable.

Wikipedia Entry

An effective pesticide; used to fumigate soil and many agricultural products. Because it contains bromine, it depletes stratospheric ozone when released to the atmosphere.

The merging of the urbanized areas of separate metropolitan regions; Megalopolis is an example of this process.

This is a small Inverter that mounts on to the back of each solar panel instead of having one large Inverter used by all the panels. While it works better when partial shading is a concern, it can increase the cost of the overall system.

Micro wind turbine is an umbrella term for small scale wind turbines that are typically deployed on or near buildings and used to generate electricity that is transmitted direct to the property.

Micro wind turbines have in the past been criticized for being visually intrusive and generating less energy than expected.

However, suppliers maintain that models can generate up to 100Kw of energy and represent an efficient source of on-site renewable energy as long as they are situated correctly.

A strong localized downdraft less than 4 km wide that occurs beneath severe thunderstorms. A strong downdraft greater than 4 km across is called a down burst.

A microgrid is a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that to the grid act as a single controllable entity. A microgrid can connect and disconnect from the grid to allow it to operate in both grid-connected or island-mode.

The area of the ocean beneath the twilight zone, extending from 3,000 feet (1,000 m) down to the ocean floor, where only about 1 percent of marine life can survive.

A Carbon Tax is a government imposed taxation on source goods and services in an attempt to reduce the production of carbon into the atmosphere.

Usually implemented as a form of 'at source' taxation; i.e. those whom manufacturer or consume the most carbon pay and everybody else on the supply chain picks up the price increase. This is often encountered with a carbon credit scheme, by which carbon producers can 'offset' their taxable carbon emissions against less carbon intense production methods.

As always with such schemes, the devil is in the detail; in particular there has been problems in the past with carbon fraud.

Note: This equally applies to the energy production sector as basic manufacturing; say if coal is being used as a source of electrical power.

Modal is 100% biodegradable and can make a great eco alternative to viscose. It's made from beech trees in Australia and needs few fertilizers or pesticides.

Carbon Pollution refers to the human produce Co2 that is meant to be harming the environment.

A heat pump is an electrically powered mechanical device that takes heat from one location and transfers it to another location. An air conditioner is an example of a heat pump in that it takes heat out of the interior space and then rejects that heat to the outdoors. However, a true heat pump can work in either direction, unlike an air conditioner; in that it can take heat out of an interior space, or it can put heat into an interior space.

A change in the genetic material of a living organism, usually in a single gene, which can be passed on to future generations.