Green Glossary – T
- T-8 Lighting
- T-8s are long tubular lighting that are narrower in diameter compared to older version fluorescent tube lights (T-12 tubes).
- Tailpipe Standards
- Emissions limitations applicable to mobile source engine exhausts.
- Tankless Water Heaters
- Water heaters that do not require the typical storage tank for hot water.
- Telecommuting
- A form of work arrangement that does not require riding transportation to an office, but rather telecommunications links such as internet and phone technologies.
- Terrestrial Sequestration
- The use of land, such as agricultural and forest land types, as areas for carbon sequestration.
- Thermal Depolymerization
- A type of plastic recycling method that involves breaking down plastic into its component polymers and converting these broken down polymers into petroleum.
- Thermal Pollution
- Thermal pollution involves the process of diminishing water quality by altering ambient water temperature.
- Thermochemical Conversion
- A type of conversion technology that turns organic wastes into usable products. Thermochemical conversion processes include combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Thermochemical conversion is characterized by higher temperatures and faster conversion rates.
- Thin Film Technology
- Thin film technology presents a new way to harness the sun's energy for electrical power without using poly-silicon material normally used for solar panels.
- Threatened Species
- Any animal, plant or living organism which are close to the possibility of being extinct in the future.
- Three Mile Island
- The nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that became site to one of the most serious nuclear accidents in US history. On March 1979, human errors and mechanical failures caused a partial meltdown of the nuclear core--releasing radioactive gases into the environment.
- Threshold Dose Response
- A type of response to a suspected carcinogen in which, at very low exposures, there appears to be no detectable increased risk of disease; there is a threshold below which no risk is detected.
- Threshold Limit Value or TLV
- The limit of concentration of an airborne agent to which humans can be exposed to without harmful effects.
- Topography
- The configuration of a surface including its relief and the position of its natural and man-made features. Topography focuses on the earth's surface shape and features including plant or vegetative life.
- Toxic
- Toxic substances contain contaminants that can cause sickness or death for living organisms.
- Toxicant
- A substance that is harmful to living organisms as a result of physical or chemical interaction.
- Toxicity Index
- The concept of toxicity evaluation in which toxicant concentration and toxicant exposure time are considered to be equal factors in resultant toxicity.
- Toxicological Profile
- Information provided by the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control concerning a wide variety of hazardous substances. A toxicological profile summarizes the toxicologic and adverse health effects information for a specific hazardous substance.
- Toxicology
- The study of the adverse effects of chemicals on organisms and living systems. Toxicology allows the prediction of risks likely to be associated with a particular chemical, drug, contaminant or pollutant.
- Toxics Release Inventory or TRI
- A compilation of information about chemical releases and waste management reported by major industrial facilities in the US.
- Toxins
- Natural substances, produced by plants and animals that can be harmful to humans.
- Traffic Calming
- An aspect of urban planning that focuses on designing streets to reduce automobiles on the road, as well as automobile speed, and to enhance walking and bicycling.
- Transfer Station
- Facility where solid waste is transferred from collection vehicles to larger trucks or rail cars for longer distance transport.
- Trash
- Material considered worthless or offensive that is thrown away. Generally defined as dry waste material, but in common usage it is a synonym for garbage, rubbish, or refuse.
- Trash-to-Energy Plants
- Power plants that incinerate waste in order to produce electricity.
- Triple Bottom Line
- Abbreviated as “TBL” or “3BL”, and also known as “people, planet, profit” or “the three pillars”.
- Troposphere
- The troposphere is the layer of atmosphere closest to the ground.
- Tsunami
- A wave caused by an underwater earthquake or landslide which can rise to great heights and cause catastrophic damage to the coast.
- Tundra
- A biome characterized by treeless vegetation populated by mosses, lichens, herbaceous perennials, dwarf shrubs and grasses.
- Turbidity
- Reduced water clarity resulting from the presence of suspended material in the water. Turbidity is an indication of poor water quality.
