Green Glossary – L
- La Niña
- The La Nina weather phenomenon is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. It is the opposite phase of the El Nino weather phenomenon which is marked by extremely hot and dry climate conditions.
- Land Application
- Discharge of wastewater onto the ground for treatment or reuse.
- Land Cover
- The physical and biological material found on the surface of the land, existing as vegetation or the built environment such as human-created structures.
- Land Farming (of Waste)
- A disposal process in which hazardous waste deposited on or in the soil is degraded naturally by microbes.
- Land Pollution
- Land pollution is the result of dumping garbage, waste, and other toxins into soil due to littering, and contaminants washed ashore from boats, oil rigs, and sewage outlets.
- Land Reclamation
- Land reclamation can refer to the process of creating new, dry land on the seabed--modifying wetlands or waterways to convert them into usable land. It can also refer to the process of restoring land that has been environmentally damaged.
- Land Treatment
- Systematic clean-up procedure meant to remove soil contaminants or reduce soil toxicity levels.
- Land Use
- The various ways in which human beings make use of and manage the land and its resources.
- Land Use Planning
- The comprehensive, complex process of studying and identifying how land use decisions will affect the environment, economics, and health of a community.
- Landfill Gas of LFG
- Biogas produced from the natural degradation of organic material in landfills. It must be clarified that landfill gas is not the same as natural gas or methane.
- Landfills
- 1. Sanitary landfills are disposal sites for non-hazardous solid wastes spread in layers, compacted to the smallest practical volume, and covered by material applied at the end of each operating day.
- Landscape Architect
- A relatively new type of licensed design professional, landscape architects apply the latest theories and methods for landscape planning.
- Landscape Cloth
- Materials woven of fabric, plastic or paper available in various lengths and widths that are meant to cover soil surfaces for protection.
- Landslide
- n geology, a landslide is the downslope movement of a mass of rock, debris, earth or soil. Landslides occur when gravity or other types of shear stress within a slope exceed the shear strength of the materials that form the slope.
- Leachate
- Water that collects contaminants as it trickles through wastes, pesticides or fertilizers.
- Lead
- A pervasive environmental pollutant, lead can be found in polluted air, contaminated soil, dust, drinking water and lead-based paint.
- Lead Poisoning
- One of the foremost environmental health threats to children in the US. Based on EPA studies, almost half a million children have been tested to have significant amounts of lead in their blood.
- Least-Cost Planning
- A method for satisfying consumers' demands for energy and transport services at the lowest societal and environmental cost.
- LEED
- LEED is an acronym that refers to the The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System(TM).
- Lichens
- A type of fungal organism widely used as an environmental indicator or bioindicator due to its sensitivity to sulfur dioxide.
- Life cycle
- Life cycle refers to the process of a product or material beginning with the accumulation of raw materials, then the design, manufacturing process and management of the waste involved in the manufacturing process. It also includes the usable life span of the product and its disposal or recycling.
- Life Cycle Analysis or LCA
- A quantitative approach that assesses a product's impact on the environment throughout its life. LCA attempts to quantify what comes in and what goes out of a product from cradle to grave.
- Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
- Light-emitting diodes or LEDs are a semiconductor light source.
- Liquid Petroleum
- Also known as crude oil, liquid petroleum is a natural, flammable liquid found beneath the Earth's surface and tapped as a fuel source.
- Liquid Wood
- A material developed as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, which can also be used for a wide range of purposes.
- Logging
- The practice of cutting down trees for timber to be used for various wood products or for forest management.
- Longlines
- Fishing lines stretching for dozens of miles and baited with hundreds of hooks.
- Love Canal New York
- An area in Niagra Falls, New York that gained environmental notoriety after it was discovered to have been seriously contaminated by toxic wastes buried underground.
- Low Impact Camping
- Camping that does not damage or change the land, where campers leave no sign that they were on the camping grounds.
- Low-flow toilets
- Low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons of water or less when flushing away waste versus the standard 6-7 gallons.
- LPG or Liquefied Petroleum Gas
- LPG stands for liquefied petroleum gas derived from petroleum refining and processing of natural gas.
