Green Glossary – C - 1-800-Recycling

Green Glossary – C

Cadmium Compounds: Metal compounds used in industries associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Workers with the highest exposures are those involved in removing zinc and lead from minerals, producing cadmium powders, welding cadmium-coated steel, and working with solders that contain cadmium.
Canopy: In biology, canopy refers to the above ground portion of a plant, vegetation or crop community. The term is often identified with forests.
Cap and Trade System: A type of system used for trading greenhouse gas emissions. It relies on a strict but feasible cap that decreases emissions over time.
Carbon Capture and Storage or CCS: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves absorbing carbon dioxide, transporting it to a storage site, then injecting it underground so that it is not released in the atmosphere.
Carbon Credit: Carbon credits are components of a tradable permit scheme.
Carbon Cycle: The carbon cycle describes the movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere.
Carbon Dioxide: Carbon dioxide is one of the major pollutants in the atmosphere produced mainly by fuel combustion and deforestation.
Carbon Emissions: Excess carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.
Carbon Footprint: Your carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are directly and indirectly caused by an activity or are accumulated over the life stages of products.
Carbon Leakage: In global climate change policy, carbon leakage refers to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions in one country due to an emission reduction by another country.
Carbon Monoxide: A colorless, odorless gas that is produced when carbon-containing fuels are burned. Sometimes referred to as carbon oxide, it is made when there is not enough oxygen to produce carbon dioxide.
Carbon Neutral: An activity or product is carbon neutral if it has no net greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon Offsets: The act of compensating for greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon Project: Any business venture that receives funding because it has been able to cut greenhouse gas emissions as validated by a third party such as the Clean Development Mechanism.
Carbon Sequestration: A process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a variety of means of capturing and storing carbon.
Carbon Sink: A reservoir that can accumulate and store carbon compounds, therefore being able to decrease carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process by which carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is known as carbon sequestration.
Carbon Storage: Underwater or underground depositories of excess carbon dioxide that have already been collected. Scientists estimate that the earth's underground and underwater areas are capable of storing 10 trillion tons of carbon dioxide.
Carbon Tax: Companies are charged carbon tax for carbon dioxide emissions produced from their manufacturing processes.
Carbon Trading: A market-based system that is meant to regulate greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. The carbon market trades emissions under cap-and-trade schemes or with credits that pay for or offset GHG reductions.
Carcinogens: Substances and environmental factors that can cause cancer or contribute to the growth of abnormal calls in the body.
Catalysis: A chemical process involved in the production of industrial chemicals. Catalysis is relevant to many aspects of environmental science--for instance, the study of the catalytic converter in cars and the catalysis involved in the ozone hole.
Catalytic Converter: A device used to reduce emissions or pollutants produced by an internal combustion engine.
Catalytic Incinerator: A control device that oxidizes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by using a catalyst to promote the combustion process.
Catch Limits: A fisheries management tool implemented to limit the quantity of a species of fish that fishermen are allowed to land in a specified amount of time or geographical area.
Catchment: An area of land drained by a river system also referred to as a drainage system or watershed. Identifying catchment areas is now a primary tool for environmental planning.
Cell Phone Recycling: Using old, discarded cell phones as a source of materials for new products. Currently, cell phones are usually recycled for metal components.
Cells: In solid waste disposal, holes where waste is dumped, compacted, and covered with layers of dirt on a daily basis.
Centre for Ice and Climate: Based in the University of Copenhagen, the Centre for Ice and Climate analyzes and interprets data derived from ice core samples from the earths coldest regions, particularly from Greenland.
Certified Emissions Reduction of CER: Reductions of greenhouse gases achieved by a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project.
Chemical: Any substance or material with a definite chemical composition--this can refer to a pure chemical element or a pure chemical compound.
Chernobyl: The most serious environmental disaster caused by a nuclear accident which occurred in Russia in the 1986. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accidentally released massive amounts of radioactive materials resulting in a radioactive cloud that spread over a big past of Europe from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX): The world’s first and North America’s only, voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil.
Chlordane: A chemical mixture used as a pesticide in the US from 1948 until its eventual ban in 1988. Some of its trade names are Octachlor and Velsicol 1068. Chlordane was once used on citrus and corn crops, on lawns and gardens as well as termites.
Chlorinated Hydrocarbon: An organic compound or chlorinated solvent containing at least one bonded chlorine atom. PVC, chloroform, certain pesticides and insulators are made up of chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Chlorine: A chemical widely-used in water purification, disinfectants, bleach and mustard gas. It is also commonly used in manufacturing various products such as paper, pesticides, paints, petroleum products, plastics and solvents.
Chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs: CFCs are chemical compounds which are reportedly one of the causes of the rapid depletion of the earth's ozone layer.
Clean Air Act: The law that outlines the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) responsibilities for maintaining and improving air quality and the ozone layer above US territory.
Clean Air Watch: A non-profit watchdog organization that advocates for better air quality in the US. The group monitors clean air and climate policies representing public interest as opposed to corporations and businesses that are typically air polluters.
Clean Development Mechanism: One of the "flexibility" mechanisms defined by the Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialized countries to invest in greenhouse gas emission reductions wherever it is cheapest globally.
Clean Energy: Environmentally friendly sources of energy. Typically, this refers to renewable and nonpolluting energy sources.
Clean Fuels: Fuels such as E-10 Unleaded that burn cleaner and produce fewer harmful emissions compared to ordinary gasoline.
Clean Technology: A catch phrase that covers various sustainable technology and methods, including the use of renewable energy, green chemistry and biofuels.
Clearcutting: Also known as clearfelling, clearcutting is a logging technique in which all trees are removed from an area, typically 20 acres or larger, with little regard for long-term forest health.
Climate: General prevailing weather conditions of a region including temperature, air pressure, rainfall, humidity, sunshine, cloudiness, snow and winds.
Climate Change: The term ‘climate change’ is sometimes used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency, but because the Earth’s climate is never static, the term is more properly used to imply a significant change from one climatic condition to another.
Climate Sensitivity: The term used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to express the relationship between human-caused emissions that add to the Earth’s greenhouse effect — carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases — and the temperature changes that will result from these emissions.
Closed-Loop Recycling: Reclaiming or reusing wastewater for non-potable purposes in an enclosed process.
Cloud Computing: When data, software applications, or computer processing power are accessed from a network of online resources it is called cloud computing.
CO2 Scrubber: A machine designed to remove carbon dioxide from the air. Air polluted with carbon dioxide is pumped into the CO2 scrubber wherein an ion exchange resin attracts carbon dioxide molecules. After this, the carbon-free air is released out of the scrubber.
Coastal Erosion: The wearing-away of beach, soil, rock or dune sediments near the shore due to waves, tides or drainage which can also be exacerbated by human phenomena.
Cogeneration: Cogeneration is a process in which power is produced by a gas-fired engine and generator set. Heat produced as part of this process is used as heating and/or cooling media.
Combustion: The process of burning fuel and oxidants to produce heat and/or work. Combustion is the main energy release mechanism in the Earth.
Commercial Extinction: A term usually referring to marine animals, commercial extinction is the depletion of a population of species to the point where fisherman cannot catch enough of them to earn profit.
Commercial Fishing: Also known as industrial fishing, commercial fishing is the capturing fish and other seafood for profit, usually form the open sea or wild fishing areas.
Commercial Waste: All solid waste emanating from business establishments such as stores, markets, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centers, and theaters.
Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL): Small fluorescent lamps used as more efficient alternatives to incandescent lighting. Also called PL, CFL, Twin-Tube, or BIAX lamps.
Compost: Organic material made up of decomposing plant matter and animal manure that is used to fertilize land and improve soil structure.
Compost Accelerator: Commercial formulas containing microbe populations that act as compost starter which activates the composting process by speeding up the decomposition of organic material.
Compostable Packaging: Environment-friendly alternative to traditional box packaging that are not only disposable but can be used in composting when they are discarded.
Composting: The controlled biological decomposition of organic material in the presence of air to form a humus-like material.
Composting Facilities: An offsite facility where the organic component of municipal solid waste is decomposed under controlled conditions.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): An alternative fuel for motor vehicles; considered one of the cleanest because of low hydrocarbon emissions and its vapors are relatively non-ozone producing.
Conservation: The preservation and protection of the Earth's natural resources for the sake of future generations.
Conservation Biology: A branch of scientific study that focuses on nature, ecosystems and the earth's state of biodiversity with the specific aim of protecting species, resources and habitats from extinction.
Construction Waste Management: A devised set of strategies used for building construction and demolition to reduce the amount of waste and maximize reuse and recycling.
Consumption Footprint: A set of data used to define general consumption for a defined population. Consumption is the most commonly reported type of ecological footprint.
Container Gardening: An alternative to gardening in ground soil, container gardening is the the practice of growing plants exclusively in containers--typically pots and window boxes.
Contaminant: Any substance that is found in an environment where it does not belong. The term also applies to any substance that can be found naturally in a given setting, but is present at levels higher than normal--enough to cause harm to living organisms.
Contamination: The presence of an unwanted or unneeded substance in a material, mixture, metal, gas or chemical.
Controlled Burn: Controlled burn or prescribed burning is a method used in forest management, farming or prairie restoration. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of certain forest trees, and is therefore helpful in renewing the forest.
Conversion Technology: The term used for any type of technology that converts unwanted organic materials into valuable products such as energy, alternative fuels, solvents or other products.
Copenhagen Agreement: A consensus document in the 2009 Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change meant to outline how the world's industrial countries will take measures to abate the effects of global warming, particularly focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Coral Bleaching: Coral reef bleaching is a stress response of corals to various environmental disturbances such as global warming and increased UV radiation due to ozone depletion.
Cork Flooring: A "green" alternative floor option to wood, stone or tile.
Corporate Greenwashing: A term used to describe how big businesses use deceptive marketing tactics masked as corporate social responsibility.
Corporate Social Responsibility: A practice by companies that integrates social and environmental advocacy in their operations and interactions with stakeholders and communities.
Corrosive: Corrosive hazardous waste rusts steel at a higher than normal rate of 6.35 millimeters per year at a test temperature of 55 degrees Celsius.
Cradle to Cradle: Cradle to Cradle is the application of environmentally safe materials in the production of goods.
Cradle-to-Grave or Manifest System: A procedure in which hazardous materials are identified and followed as they are produced, treated, transported, and disposed of by a series of permanent, linkable, descriptive documents (e.g. manifests). Commonly referred to as the cradle-to-grave system.
Creosote: Creosote refers to a variety of products: wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles. These products are mixtures of many chemicals created by high-temperature treatment of beech and other woods, coal, or from the resin of the creosote bush. Creosote is considered a toxic substance as it affects the skin and liver.
Crop Dusting: The process of spraying powdered crop pesticides by low-flying airplanes. The practice is also known as aerial application.
Crop Residue: Materials or waste left after crop harvesting or processing.
Cullet: Crushed glass.