Task 7 – Glossary Of Terms

Sustainability – The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level

Renewable – (of a contract, agreement) capable of being renewed

Biodiversity – the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.

Climate changes – a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

Greenhouse effect – the trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface.

Global warming – a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants.

Overpopulation – the condition of being populated with excessively large numbers.

Environmental migration – Environmental migrants are people who are forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment. These are changes which compromise their well-being or secure livelihood

Peak oil – the hypothetical point in time when the global production of oil reaches its maximum rate, after which production will gradually decline.

Tipping point – the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.

Transition – the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

Fair trade – trade between companies in developed countries and producers in developing countries in which fair prices are paid to the producers

Ethical design – relating to moral principles or the branch of knowledge dealing with these.

Sustainable design – Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level. Able to be upheld or defended. Conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.