Definitions - o

Ocean fertilization is a proposed form of geo-engineering that involves the introduction of iron particles to the upper ocean to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom.

In theory, the phytoplankton will then absorb CO2 before dying and sinking to the bottom of the ocean where the carbon will be sequestered.

An experiment in early 2009 in the Southern Ocean dampened hopes for widespread uptake of the technology after crustacean zooplankton fed on the bloom before it died and reintroduced the extracted CO2 into the atmosphere.

However, some scientists maintain that ocean fertilization could prove a cost effective means of reducing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. Environmental groups counter that large scale ocean fertilization projects could have unexpected consequences on maritime food chains.

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average (for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth.

In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as global warming.

Wikipedia - Climate Change entry

Materials may give off gases, some of which are toxic. Implicated in a variety of ailments, some people are more sensitive than others to these gases.

Deep clear lakes with few nutrients, little organic matter and a high dissolved-oxygen level.

The capacity to induce cancer.

A system capable of rotating about one axis to track the sun.

Climate Disruption is essentially a 'rebranding' of AGW caused climate change or global warming to include a larger range of seemingly unusual climatic events to be attributed to mans' influence on the climate system.

Climate Disruption allows events that would otherwise appear to be totally unrelated to global warming, such as excessively cold winters, flooding and storms to be, in the end, attributed to global warming and Co2.

The basic problem with the term Climate Disruption is that it is often 'pinned' on climate events well before any meaningful research or analysis has been done to determine if this is indeed the cause.

Also the fact that we are now better able than any other previous point in history to observe all climatic events means we may be just measuring what passes for a 'normal' frequency and size of climatic events. Also we suspect the large changes in land use and increases in population densities have made what were previously 'normal' climatic events (such as flooding, earthquakes, storms, etc) a lot more damaging in their impact to a population and society. Therefore it is critical that fully analytical research be done on these events independent of the local impact to ascertain if there is indeed any climatic change as the root cause.

Climategate refers to release/leak/stealing of emails, data and programs related to research into global warming by UEA's Climate Research Unit (CRU); that occurred in 2009 before the Copenhagen Climate Conference (and was therefore probably contributory to its failure). The information obtained was made publicly available for all to see and read through.

It indicates that there good reason to conclude:

• Problems with data retention and archiving;
• Weakly documented data processing both in terms of process and actions undertaken.
• A 'closed ranks' mindset to external criticism and freedom of information
• Close interdependent relationships between a small set of international researchers leading to peer review and career advancement support occurring within the group.

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm. Organic farming excludes or strictly limits the use of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock antibiotics, food additives, and genetically modified organisms.

Compared to traditional aqueous inorganic redox flow batteries such as vanadium redox flow batteries and Zn-Br2 batteries, that have been developed for decades, organic redox flow batteries have emerged in last few years (since 2009) and hold great promise to overcome major drawbacks preventing economical and extensive deployment of traditional inorganic redox flow batteries. The primary merit of organic redox flow batteries lies at using sustainable and tunable organic redox active molecules, free of resources limit and enabling unlimited combinations of anode and cathode materials.

Organic foods are made in a way that limits or excludes the use of synthetic materials during production. For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. This more recent style of production is referred to as "conventional." Under organic production, the use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and saved as a last resort.

Precipitation that results when moist air is lifted over a topographic barrier such as a mountain range.

Cyclic movement of oxygen in different chemical forms from the environment, to organisms, and then back to the environment.

Ozone is a colorless, odorless reactive gas comprised of three oxygen atoms. It is found naturally in the earth’s stratosphere, where it absorbs the ultraviolet component of incoming solar radiation that could be harmful to life on earth.  Ozone is also found near the earth’s surface, where pollutants emitted from society’s activities react in the presence of sunlight to form ozone.

Wikipedia Entry

Global warming is the name given to the theory that there is increase in the average temperature of the Earth surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation.

The exact mechanism of warming is not precisely understood, although it is strongly suspected that Greenhouse gases are to blame, as increasing concentrations of such gases help trap heat in the atmosphere and so raise mean temperatures.

Wikipedia Entry

Chemical compounds, such as carbon monoxide, methane, non-methane hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides, which in the presence of solar radiation react with other chemical compounds to form ozone, mainly in the troposphere.