Sustainability Glossary

Geoengineering -
geoengineers believe that since humans are doing such a good job messing up the planet, surely they can also find ways to fix it on the massive scale required to reverse the damage.






A “grand plan” -an environmental program or scheme cooked up by politicians and subsidized by the taxpayers.The recent boom and bust of the biofuels movement – in particular ethanol – is an example of a “grand plan”

C40 -a group of cities determined to tackle climate change. Toronto is one of them. For the list, visit website: http://www.c40cities.org/cities/

COP15 - COP stands for "Conference of the Parties" which is the name given to all nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. They are "parties to" the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "15" is the number of such annual conferences on climate change that have been held since the first one in Berlin in 1995. COP15 is the official name of the climate summit. Its goal is "to establish an ambitious global climate agreement for the period from 2012."

Ecological Goods and Services = non-monetary environmental values provided by nature. Ministry of Natural Resources is using this value to translate ecological values into the language of economy, to inform decision making processes.New understanding of ecosystem goods and services at a local and global scale are influencing forest makers, for example.

Fact Sheet on Endangered Breeds of Livestock and Poultry

Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "The Chance to Survive" L. Alderson (www.rarebreedscanada.org)
About one third of the world's domestic animal breeds are now at risk of becoming extinct.

About 40 breeds of domestic animals contribute to 30-40% of the total value of food and agriculture production.

In 80% of the world's rural areas, the locally adapted breeds are superior to common modern breeds.

In North America, about 41 breeds are seen to be at risk.

Breeds can be lost when too much political and economic emphasis is given to one breed to the exclusion of others.

Sustainable, well managed use of animals in their environment will likely be the most cost-effective way of maintaining breeds for the future.

The Charolais was a rare breed 150 years ago; it is now a beef breed of international importance.

How the whole sustainable picture is evolving... | Greener Package

How the whole sustainable picture is evolving... | Greener Package

Educate yourself about and give your opinion on packaging evolution.

LINKS

http://esl-radmila.blogspot.com
for teaching ideas and tasks around the topic of the environment

Facebook group Green Teach:http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?sid=17264e980fe3f92ee39db6abfd398cff&gid=46889648852&ref=search

http://www.teslontario.org/conference08
a host of handouts and practical suggestions around the movies "The Inconvenient Truth", "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Toxic Trespass"

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AerWSJk57KV7ZGYydmJxaDNfNThmaDJxNnZnaA&hl=en
Power Point prenentation "ESL Teaching for ustainability" from TESL Ontario Conference 2009, with ready made handouts

From You

We spent Friday doing an activity around the colourful and informative Toronto Star GTA section chart about recycling in last week's paper (Tuesday, I think?). The students really got into it and it was an excellent language/awareness-raising activity. They had to ask and answer questions about what you are supposed to do with different items - compost, recycle or put in the garbage. I looked around and noticed that so many students now use plastic water bottles and that the old Chinese glass jar tea holders were fast disappearing. When I mentioned this, they said it wasn't convenient (new word this week!) because the glass breaks! Then I told them about the new island that was discovered in the Pacific and they eagerly wanted to know what country it belonged to. I said China was part owner, along with many other countries. The awareness raising continues! Anne



Here is what happened in my Literacy class last Friday. I was preparing my students for the 20 Minute Toronto Make-over, and I was explaining that many people from offices and children from schools all over the city were going to join in the clean up. Then one of my senior students commented: "Government help." It was an epiphany to me, comparable to your child's first word. I myself hadn't perceived it as a government business, but more as a citizen engagement, but thanks to my student I got to see the event from his perspective: it did come from the mayor - the event designation and time, organizing and advertizing of course, and he put it in those two words so well. This inspired me so much that during the next session, which happened to be in the computer lab, I seated them around my computer and we wrote a mail to cleanandbeautiful@toronto.ca (shown in the second slide of my presentation) thanking the city for organizing this event. My students felt very important and capable of writing to the government!
I can't wait for Wednesday to show them the reply from the City that came the very same day.
Such real life situations that often come unexpectedly are the most motivating in the process of language acquisition. I wish you a lot of joy and fun in creating them. Radmila

ACRONYMS

AGW = anthropogenic global warming
ALUS = the Alternative Land Use Services, a land program that offers a direct payment to farmers for the ecosystem services they foster on their property
BGH = bovine growth hormone
CCS = carbon capture and storage (carbon sequestration)
CO = carbon monoxide
CO2 = carbon dioxide
CFC = chlorofluorocarbon
CFL = compact fluorescent lights
CWF = Canadian Wildlife Foundation
FSC = Forest Stewardship Council
GMO = genetically modified organisms
GHG = greenhouse gases
LED = light efficiency diode, high efficiency, intensity and quality lights
PAHs= Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, include a large number of toxic chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic. They are created from the combustion of organic material, including fossil fuels
PCBs = Polychlorinated biphenyls, manufactured for transformer cooling oil and numerous other applications. They are no more manufactured and their use is restricted because of carcinogenic properties and persistence in the environment.
PBDEs = polybrominated diphenyl ethers are widely used in consumer products as flame retardants.
PMRA = Pest Management Regulatory Agency; agency within Health Canada responsible for registering pesticides for use in Canada.
POP = persistant organic pollutants (include halogenated carcinogens such as PCBs, vinyl chloride, DDT etc.)
VOCs = volatile organic compounds; organic gases and vapours in the air.Examples of sources include the burning of fuels, dry cleaning operations and evaporation of organic compounds from solvents, paints or other coatings.

BIO-GLOSSARY

BIODIVERSITY, n.: the variety of life on earth and it is short for biological diversity


CRYOSPHERE, n.: snow and ice

ECOSYSTEM, n.: all the living and non-living things in a certain area, including air, soil, water, animals and humans. A lake is an example of an aquatic ecosystem.

ENDANGERED, adj.: when a population of plants or animals is so small, it's at risk of becoming extinct.

EXTINCT, adj.: if this happens, the species is gone forever.

EXTIRPATED, adj.: a species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but is found elsewhere (in another country, or a zoo, for example).

HABITAT, n.: the natural home of a plant or animal.

MIGRATE, v.: when animals travel to a different area because of temperature changes or to find food. For example, geese and Monach butterflies migrate every fall and spring.

PESTICIDE, n.: substances used for destroying pests such as insects.

RECYCLOPATH,N.: someone who derides others' non-green habits, but enjoys binning cans at home and drives an SUV.

SPECIES, n.: animals, plants or micro-organisms that are so similar that they are able to have offspring.

SUSTAINABLE USE, n.: use a natural resource in a responsible way, so it will be available in the future. For example, ensuring that new trees grow in areas where older ones have been cut down.

THREATENED, adj.: a species likely to become endangered, if we do not take steps to protect it soon.

SPECIAL CONCERN (VULNERABLE), ADJ.: a species is of special concern when it is especially sensitive to human activity or natural events.

WETLANDS, n.: places where land and water meet or where the ground is wet for most or all of the year. Some examples include marshes, swamps and bogs.

WILDLIFE, n.: animals or plants not domesticated or cultivated by humans.