This document defines key terms related to energy efficiency, pollution, and the environment. It provides 17 definitions for terms about energy efficiency, including environment, climate, biomass, and renewable energy. It then provides 20 definitions for terms about pollution, such as deforestation, desertification, air pollution, greenhouse effect, and wastewater. The document serves as a reference for common terminology used when discussing topics of energy use, environmental impacts, and pollution.

1. SIR SYED UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
SUBJECT: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT II
NAME: MASOOMA DAWOOD
ROLL NUMBER: 2017-AR-032
SUBMITTED TO: MAAM AR. SAMAR
ASSIGNMENT ON: TERMONOLOGIES OF
POLLUTION AND ENERGY EFFICENCY

2. ENERGY EFFICIENCY: (the goal to reduce the amount
of energy required to provide products and services)
1) ENVIRONMENT: the sum of all external conditions effecting the life, development
and survival of an organism.
2) GEOSPHERE: the soil, sediments and rock layers of the earth’s crust, both
continental and beneath the ocean floors.
3) CLIMATE: climate is narrow sense is usually defined as the average weather or
more as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant
quantities over the period of time ranging from months to thousands of years. The
classical period is 3 decades as defined by WMO. The quantities are more often
surface variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind. Climate is wider
including a statistical description of the climate system.

3. 4) WEATHER: atmospheric condition at any given time or place.it is measured in
terms of such things as wind, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness
and precipitation. In most places weather can change from hour to hour , day by day
and season to season. Climate in narrow sense is usually defined as average weather.
The classical period id 30 years as defined by WMO.
5) BIOMASS: Materials that are biological in origin including organic material (both
living and dead) from above and below ground for example trees, crops, grasses roots
animal wastes etc.
6) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA): a process whose breadth, depth and
type of analysis depend on the proposed project. EA evaluates a projects potential
environmental risks and implementation by preventing minimizing or compensating
for adverse environmental impacts and by enhancing positive impacts.

4. 7) GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL: a measure of the total energy that a gas
absorbs over a particular period of time (usually 100 years), compared to carbon
dioxide.
8) RENEWABLE ENERGY: energy resources that are naturally replenishing such as
biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar ,wind , ocean thermal, wave and tidal action.
9)DAYLIGHTING: The controlled admission of natural light into a space through
glazing with the intent of reducing or eliminating electric lighting. By utilizing solar
light, daylighting creates a stimulating and productive environment for building
occupants.

5. 10) OREINTATION: The orientation of buildings is important, if the length of the
building is oriented in an east-west axis, it will allow penetration of passive heating
or cooling within the building on a seasonal basis
11) LAND USE EFFICIENCY: Land use efficiency pertains to architectural
designs that encourage suitable site development in terms of preservation
of the surrounding environment and reuse of existing local materials. It
advocates for the incorporation of roof gardens, earth shelters and
extensive landscaping around and throughout the building.
12) MATERIAL EFFICIENCY: The proper management and use of materials
in construction is also another huge concern. Proper construction
techniques have to be employed and this is where green architecture
comes in. As such, material efficiency is one of the green architecture
principles as it creates designs that inspire sustainable construction by
optimizing the construction operations. Material efficiency as a green
architectural principle sees to it that the lifetime of the building enhances
efficiency in terms of maintenance and operations. Energy efficiency and
resource conservation are the aspects incorporated in the designs to
guarantee overall material efficiency.

6. 13) WASTE REDUCTION: Green architecture advances the demand for
reducing the wastage of water, energy, and materials during and even
after construction. On this basis, the green architectural design offer
easier ways of reducing the amount of consumer productwastage
generated by the building occupants through the integration of on-site
solutions like compostbins and eco-friendly waste management system.
The design also takes care of water recycling and energy saving
approaches in construction to reduce water and energy wastage
respectively.
14) INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: Indoor environmental quality is
also part of the green architecture principles. The designing of a house or
commercial building based on the green principles involves the features
of comfortable interior spacewith an emphasis on natural temperature
control, proper ventilation and the use of products that do not give off
toxic compounds orgases. The purposeof the principle is to assure the
quality of indoor environments.
15) LOW MAINTENANCE COST: the operational and construction costs
associated with the conventional construction mechanisms prove quite
high and are equally material demanding. Green architectural design
facilitates the use of materials and construction techniques that help in
cutting backthe operational and construction costs by more than half, all
attributed to their cost-effectiveness. This green architecture principle
necessitates the need of using renewable plant products, recycled metal
and recycled stone among other non-toxic products.

7. 16) WATER EFFICIENCY: Green architecture works with the inspiration of
ecological surrounding to protectwater quality and reduce water
consumption or wastage. It is part of the sustainable principles in green
construction which encourage the efficient use of water. This green
architecture principle makes certain that water is harvested, used, purified
and re-used during the entire construction period. At the same time, the
architectural design ensures that in the entire life cycle of the building not
only supports efficient water use but also preserves the quality of
surrounding water systems and makes use of water recycling
mechanisms.
17) LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND CONSERVATION OF NATURAL
CHARACTERSTICS: Construction projects are proven to be responsible
for more than 50% of environmental impacts and the destruction of
natural systems. Construction projects also contribute to about 10% of the
total global emissions every year. One of the principles of green
architecture is to therefore use green designs to lessen
these environmental impacts. Particularly, this green principle is all about
preventing degradation of the site during construction, sprawl
management, and the controlled use of resources as well as ensuring
energy-efficient buildings lessen the overall impacts on the environment.
The design aids in the conservation of natural resources, improved water
and air quality, and the protection of ecosystems and bio diversity.

8. POLLUTION: (the presence in or introduction into the
environment of a substance which has harmful or
poisonous effects)
1) DEFORESTATION: Those practices or processes that result in the conversion
of forested lands for non-forest uses. It contributes the increasing carbon dioxide
concentrations for two reasons. First the burning or decomposition of the wood
releases carbon dioxide. Second the trees that once removed carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis are no longer present.
2) DESERTIFICATION: Land degradation and semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas
resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
Further the UNCCD defines land degradation as a reduction or loss in arid, semi-
arid and dry sub-humid areas of the biological or economic productivity and
complexity of rain-fed cropland, irrigated cropland or range, pasture, forest and
woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes
including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns such as
soil erosion caused by wind and water, deterioration of the physical and chemical
and biological or economic properties of soil and long term loss of natural
vegetation. Conversion of forest to non-forest.
3) DRY LAND FARMING: a technique that uses soil moisture conservation and
seed selections to optimize production under dry conditions.

9. 4) DUMP: a site used to dispose of solid wastes without environmental controls.
5) ECOLOGY: the relationship of living things to one another and their
environment or study of such relationships.
6) ECOSYSTEM: the interacting system of a biological community and its non-
living environmental surroundings.
7) EFFICIENT WASTEWATER: treated or untreated that flows out of a treatment
plant, sewer or industrial outfall; generally refers to wastes discharged into surface
waters.

10. 8) HABITAT: the place where a population (e.g human, animal, plant or
microorganism) lives and its surroundings both living and non-living.
9) GLOBAL AVERAGE TEMPERATION: an estimate of earth mean surface air
temperature averaged over the entire planet.
10) GLOBAL WARMING: the recent and ongoing global average increase in
temperature near the earths surface.
11) AIR POLLUTION: the presence of contaminant or pollutant substances in the
air that do not disperse properly and interfere with human health or welfare or
produce other harmful environmental effects.
12) ATMOSPHERE: the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth. The dry
atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78% volume mixing ratio) and
oxygen (20.9% volume mixing ratio), together with a number of trace gases, such

11. as carbon dioxide (0.035% volume mixing ratio) and ozone. In addition the
atmosphere contains water vapor, whose amount is highly variable but typically
1% volume mixing ratio. the atmosphere also contains clouds and aerosols.
13) BIODEGRADABLE: the ability to break down or decompose rapidly under
natural conditions and processes.
14) CARBON FOOTPRINT: the total amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted
into the atmosphere each year by a person, family, building ,organization or
company. A persons carbon footprint includes greenhouse gas emissions from fuel
that an individual uses, including emissions from power plants that make
electricity, factories that make products and landfills where trash gets sent.
15) DECOMPOSITION: the breakdown of matter by bacteria and fungi; changes the
chemical makeup and physical appearance of materials.

12. 16) GREENHOUSE EFFECT: trapping and build-up of heat in the atmosphere
(troposphere) near the earth’s surface. Some of the heat flowing back toward
space from the earth’s surface is absorbed by water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone
and several other gases in the atmosphere and then reradiated back toward the
earths surface. If the atmospheric concentrations of these greenhouse gases rise,
the average temperature of the lower atmosphere will gradually increase.
17) HYDROSPHERE: the component of the climate system comprising liquid
surface and subterranean water such as oceans, seas, rivers, fresh water lakes,
underground water etc.
18) POLLUTANT: generally the presence of matter or energy whose nature,
location or quantity produces undesired environmental effects. Under the US
clean water Act for example the term is defined as the man-made or man-induced
alteration of the physical, biological and radiological integrity of waste.
19) WASTEWATER: water that has been used and contains dissolved or suspended
waste materials

13. 20) DEGRADATION: the process by which a chemical is reduced to a less complex
form.
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