ecoglobe Glossary, Abbreviations and Acronyms

a-z	A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H   I   J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z - Deutsch
Also consult The Devil's Dictionary for the Environment	Suggestions and new entries are welcome. Thank you! On-line feedback   A [top]   ADD - Attention Deficit "Disorder" and ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity "Disorder" (We place "disorder" in quotation marks since it is a psychiatric term that tendentially ignores the social origin of the child's behaviour.) See: Ritalin: A psychiatric drug prescribed to children against a behaviour that is called ADD and ADHD.   B [top]   Biodiversity - the variety of life on Earth, i.e. the number of different species (birds, fish, animals, insects, plants, etc. that exist and survive. A species that has become extinct has gone forever. Caring for biodiversity means maintaining sufficient space for nature.   Bioenergy - energy produced by animal and human power, biofuel, biogas, wood   Biotech - Biotechnology [genetic engineering]   C [top]   Carrying capacity - The number of humans the Earth, a region, can support sustainably, i.e. for a very long time without depleting the environment.   D [top]   Democracy - Rule, government by the people of a region, a country (related concept: self-determination)   Depleted uranium - see Nuclear wastes: Depleted uranium   E [top]   ecoglobe - Our world in the balance with the natural resources. A project of ecological education ecoglobe   Ecological Economics - economics as a sub-system of human ecology   edfnz - ecology discovery foundation new zealand (charitable trust) P.O.Box 24184 Wellington New Zealand [ecoglobe]   F [top]   G top]   GDP - Gross Domestic Product, the financial account of money turned over in a country over a one year period. Groth of GDP is generally believed to be good, although the account includes many bads, such as costs because of accidents, natural disasters, the restorative health care (as opposed to preventive care), pollution, the justice system (criminality, jails) and so on.   Greenhouse gases - Gases in the Earth atmosphere that retain radiation: Carbondioxide CO2, Methane CH4, water vapour H2O, CFCs   Greenhouse effect - the increase in the ambient temperatures and climate change because of the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, caused by human industrious activities.   Genetic engineering: Genetic engineering biotechnology: Basic concept - Modifying genetic structures of animals, plants, insects, bacteria   GoNGOs & BuNGOs - Government and Business NGOs   H [top]   Hydro (water) energy - energy generated by the flow of water (river, dams, tidal, wave)   I [top]   J [top]   K [top]   Kiwis - Products of New Zealand: Kiwis, kiwifruits and kiwi birds     L [top]   Limits to Growth -     M [top]   Murpy's Law - Risk and danger assesment [genetic engineering]     N [top]   Nature - Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, or the environment, physical universe, material world or material universe.   Nuclear energy - Atomic energy. A method of producing electricty that uses Uranium and creates radioactive wastes that will endanger life for hundreds of thounds of years.   Nuclear wastes - All radioactive wastes that are produced while mining uranium, using it it in civil and military products, and the wastes after use. Compare: reports on depleted uranium in armaments See [nuclear] Radioactive armaments: depleted uranium and radioactivity in the food chain The effects of depleted uranium in armaments on our food chain.     O [top]   Organics - 'bio' - chemicals-free (organic) agriculture, horticulture and foodstuffs; also free from genetically engineered ingredients.     P [top]   Photosynthesis - The production of new plant material by the use of sunlight.   Progress -   Prosperity - being successful or thriving; especially: economic well-being.   Psychiatry - the medical discipline of treatment of people with psychological problems.   Psychology - The knowledge and understanding of human behaviour.     Q [top]     R [top]   Resources - Natural and mineral resources.   Risk - An estimate of the probability that an undesired event will occur. Murphy's Law states that if something can go wrong it will. It's a matter of time. Theoretically, zero risk does not exist. See: Risk - A scenario of environmental catastrophe     S [top]   "Substantial equivalence" - The political notion that a genetically engineered food ingedient can be assumed to be as safe as the natural variety, if appears to be similar to its natural counterpart. See substantial equivalence (1) and (2)   Sustainability - Organising our lives in such a way that sufficient resources are left for our children. Sustainability means that a given societal structure and mode of functioning can be maintained UNCHANGED for a very long time, say many hundreds of years.   "Sustainable Development" - ("SD") - Development that can go on for a very long time. Since development, for any practical purpose, always means more resource consumption and more wastes, it cannot be sustainable. "SD" is therefore a misnomer, an oxymoron, always to be used within quotation marks. Development graph, Carrying Capacity, Ecological Footprint, Limits to Growth with a chilling scenario..., etc.     T [top]     U [top]     V [top]     W [top]   Welfare The economic well-being of a person or entity - prosperity. Usually used to describe a stipend given out by a federal government to aid those who live below the threshold of certain socioeconomic conditions.   Well-being: The term usually refers to the degree to which an individual is well. In this sense it is synonymous with 'quality of life'. Wellbeing, in the chosen meaning, manifests itself in the degree to which people live long, healthy and happy lives. Happiness is relative to what other people enjoy in the neighbourhood or area. Well-being and happiness are different from 'prosperity' and 'welfare', which account material posessions.     X [top]     Y [top]     Z [top]
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