Green Print - Semester 2 Exam

Climate change

Long-term change in weather patterns and subsequent changes to oceans, land surfaces, and ice sheets occurring over decades or longer.

Anthropogenic driver

A cause or factor driving climate change resulting from human activity (e.g., fossil fuel emissions, land-use change).

Greenhouse gases (GHGs)

Heat-trapping atmospheric gases including carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), water vapour, and fluorinated gases.

Global warming

Gradual increase in the Earth's average surface/atmospheric temperature caused primarily by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse effect

Natural process where solar radiation warms Earth and greenhouse gases in the troposphere absorb and re-radiate outgoing infrared heat, keeping Earth liveable.

Enhanced greenhouse effect

Additional warming caused by human activities (fossil fuel burning, agriculture, land clearing) increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the troposphere.

Troposphere

Lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere (0 to ~10 km), where most weather events, clouds, and trapped greenhouse gases occur.

Stratosphere / Ozone layer

Atmospheric layer above the troposphere (~10–50/85 km) containing the ozone layer (O₃), which absorbs harmful UV radiation.

Ozone hole

Man-made thinning/hole in the stratospheric ozone layer above Antarctica caused mainly by CFCs (addressed via the Montreal Protocol), distinct from global warming.

Observed trends

Recorded changes in weather or climate variables over an extended period based on actual scientific measurements.

Observed impacts

Effects on ecosystems, human systems, and liveability already caused by observed climate trends.

Projected trends

Informed predictions of future climate trends generated from climate models and emissions scenarios.

Projected impacts

Logical future consequences expected to arise from projected climate trends.

Homogenisation

Adjusting long-term climate/temperature records to remove inconsistencies caused by station moves, instrument, or technological changes.

Paleoclimate data

Indirect climate records from before modern instruments, such as tree rings, ice-core gas bubbles, and fossils.

Global Climate Model (GCM)

3D computer representation of Earth's climate system based on physics laws, dividing atmosphere/oceans into grid boxes (~100–400 km) to simulate variables.

Tipping point (tipping element)

Critical threshold in a climate system or ecosystem beyond which a significant, often irreversible or self-amplifying change occurs.

Deforestation

Large-scale clearing or removal of forest (e.g., for cattle ranching, palm oil, soy, logging), reducing carbon sinks and releasing stored carbon.

Carbon sink

A natural or human system (such as forests or soil) that absorbs and stores more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.

Atmospheric pollution

Contamination of indoor or outdoor air by chemical, physical, or biological agents (e.g., particulate matter, CO, NO₂, SO₂) from natural or human sources.

Waterway pollution

Introduction of harmful substances, excess nutrients, or contaminants into rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coastal waters, causing direct contamination and disrupting natural processes.

Eutrophication / Algal blooms

Excess nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) triggering explosive algae growth; decomposition depletes dissolved oxygen, creating aquatic 'dead zones'.

Human wellbeing

People's ability to access what they need to live happy and healthy lives, measured via indicators like health, wealth, and education plus qualitative factors.

Displacement

Forced temporary or permanent relocation of individuals or communities because their home/region becomes unliveable (e.g., via floods, drought, sea-level rise).

Climate migration

Gradual, mostly internal movement of people responding to worsening climate conditions; currently not legally covered under international refugee law.

Sustainability (Brundtland definition)

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987).

Triple bottom line / Three pillars of sustainability

Framework requiring a home or building to balance People (social), Planet (environmental), and Profit (economic) pillars to be truly sustainable.

People pillar (Social sustainability)

Social variables in the triple bottom line, including community, education, equity, social resources, occupant health, comfort, wellbeing, and quality of life.

Planet pillar (Environmental sustainability)

Environmental variables in the triple bottom line, including natural resources, materials, energy use, water use, air quality, carbon emissions, and land use.

Profit pillar (Economic sustainability)

Economic variables in the triple bottom line, including cash flow, upfront cost vs. long-term savings, and affordability over time.

Vernacular building

Pre-industrial building using locally sourced materials (e.g., mudbrick, stone, timber) and climate-responsive orientation out of practical necessity rather than modern sustainability labels.

NatHERS (Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme)

Australian rating tool introduced in the 1990s–2000s to measure and compare building energy performance/sustainability.

Green Star

Building sustainability rating tool introduced in the 1990s–2000s to quantify and compare environmental performance.

Circular design

Designing materials and buildings for reuse and material recovery rather than landfill.

Regenerative design

Designing buildings and systems that give back more than they take, fostering renewal and positive environmental impact.

Embodied carbon (upfront carbon)

Carbon emitted during the extraction, manufacturing, transport, and construction of building materials (distinct from operational carbon).

Operational carbon

Carbon emissions from energy used to run a finished home or building over its operational lifetime.

Resource extraction

Removing raw materials from the environment (e.g., sand/gravel mining, iron ore mining, limestone quarrying, land clearing), reshaping landscapes and causing habitat/biodiversity loss.

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste

Waste from building, offcuts, over-ordering, and demolition; makes up ~39% of Australia's total waste stream, with concrete typically 50–70% by weight.

Bio-based building materials

Materials derived from biological/living sources (e.g., timber, bamboo, hempcrete, mycelium, plant fibres) that typically have lower embodied carbon, renew faster, and insulate well.

Hempcrete

A bio-based building material made from hemp shives (woody core of the hemp plant) and a lime binder; carbon-negative overall and highly insulating.

Rammed earth

A low-embodied-carbon wall material made by compacting local soil on-site into wall forms, offering high thermal mass and near-zero transport emissions.

Certified plantation timber

Timber grown in managed plantations and replanted on rotation, acting as a long-term carbon vault without depleting native forests.

Virgin timber

Timber sourced from native or unmanaged forests, linked to deforestation, habitat loss, and release of stored old-growth carbon.

Bamboo

Fast-growing grass (harvested in 3–5 years) with a short carbon-payback cycle and high strength, sometimes replacing steel in structural uses.

Recycled steel

Steel melted down from existing scrap rather than mined iron ore in coal-fired blast furnaces, saving up to 75% of production energy (avoids emissions rather than sequestering carbon).

Passive solar design

Using building orientation, window placement, and thermal mass (rather than mechanical systems) to reduce heating and cooling demand.

Building orientation

Positioning a home and its rooms on a site to capture winter sun and manage summer heat/winds (e.g., living areas 15°W to 20°E of true north in Melbourne).

Window placement / Glazing

Strategic positioning of windows (mostly north-facing in southern Australia), shading devices (e.g., eaves, pergolas, awnings), and double/triple glazing to control heat gain and loss.

Thermal mass

A material's ability to absorb and store heat energy (e.g., high thermal mass in concrete, brick, stone; low thermal mass in lightweight timber frames).

Thermal insulator

A material or system that slows or prevents heat flow (conduction, convection, radiation) by trapping still air or reflecting radiant heat.

Conduction

Heat transfer directly through solid materials or touching molecules.

Convection

Heat transfer through the movement of fluids (liquids or gases such as air).

Radiation

Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves (such as infrared/solar radiation) without needing a medium.

Bulk insulation

Insulation (e.g., glasswool) that traps still air in pockets within its structure to resist conduction and convection.

Reflective insulation

Insulation (e.g., double-sided reflective foil) with high reflectivity and low emissivity that mainly resists radiant heat flow.

R-value

Measure of how well an insulation product or material component resists heat flow; higher R-value means greater thermal resistance.

Total R-value

Combined heat-flow resistance of all material components in a building element added together, used to calculate energy ratings.

Natural ventilation

Using natural air movement and pressure/temperature differences (without fossil-fuel mechanical HVAC) to cool and ventilate buildings.

Stack effect / Chimney effect (Stacking)

Natural ventilation driven by warm, less dense air rising and escaping high openings while cooler, denser air enters lower openings.

Cross ventilation

Natural ventilation driven by wind creating positive pressure on one side of a building and negative (suction) pressure on the opposite side.

Single-sided ventilation

Natural ventilation relying on openings on only one wall/side of a space.

Active energy system

Technology that actively generates, stores, or manages a home's energy in real time (e.g., solar panels, batteries, smart home tech) to move toward net-zero or net-positive.

Solar panels (Photovoltaic effect)

Semiconductor (usually silicon) cells converting sunlight directly into electricity (~20–22% efficiency in residential panels) without fossil fuel combustion.

Battery storage

System storing excess daytime solar electricity for later use (such as evening peak demand) rather than exporting it at low feed-in tariffs.

Smart home technology

Sensors, automation, and internet connectivity that actively manage home energy (e.g., automated blinds, smart thermostats, scheduled appliances, reducing standby 'vampire' loads).