We hear about ecology every day, from social networks to press articles to the TV news. The same words are used, and repeated… but do we know what they mean exactly? To better understand ecology and preserve a cleaner planet, a few definitions are enough. Here is a very useful little dictionary!
Anthropization
Anthropization is the modification of the environment by the action or presence of man which distorts a natural environment or space. We distinguish between anthropogenic causes or factors (urbanization, industry, deforestation , road construction, etc.) and natural causes.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is a layer of gases and particles that form a protection around the Earth. Made up of different layers (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere), the atmosphere is currently changing due to greenhouse gases. The concentration of these gases, which is only increasing, prevents the evacuation of heat from the rays into space.
Organic farming
So-called organic agriculture meets a set of specifications that farmers must comply with in order to receive this designation. This charter consists of a regulation that gives the main principles and an implementing text that explains the concrete obligations to be implemented on the ground. They mainly concern the absence of pesticide use and the improvement of soil fertility. Specialists recognize that this charter is not sufficient today (it still authorizes non-virtuous practices) and would like it to be reviewed.
Industrial agriculture
Industrial agriculture produces in mass - with maximum yield - using all the tools at its disposal, even if it is harmful to the environment: antibiotics for animals, pesticides, overpopulation in animal farms. It causes the impoverishment and pollution of soil and water, the emission of greenhouse gases (particularly due to the spreading of nitrogen fertilizers) and the loss of biodiversity.
Biomass
Biomass is organic matter that is available to be transformed into energy. It can be organic or plant waste, but also wood that can be used to make biofuels and biogas, or a gas produced by the fermentation of organic matter.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity (association of the words diversity and biological) evokes the variety of all species, families and subfamilies of all living organisms, animals, plants or micro-organisms. It also includes the plurality and multiplicity within different ecosystems.
Carbon footprint
The carbon footprint is a method for assessing the direct or indirect greenhouse gas emissions of a company, activity, product or individual. Developed by ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency), this calculation takes into account the different sources of emissions to identify and reduce them.
Composting
Composting is a technique of natural degradation of organic matter. The result is a substrate (compost) a 100% natural fertilizer, which enriches the soil without polluting it while ensuring the disappearance of biodegradable waste.
Nuclear power plant
In a nuclear power plant , the nuclei of uranium atoms are transformed into heat (fission process). This heat is used to produce water vapor that turns a turbine, which itself produces electricity. Nuclear power, which produces little or no CO2, is today one of the energies to be favored to mitigate global warming. The disadvantages of nuclear power are therefore not linked to the climate, but to the treatment of the waste it generates and the fear of nuclear accidents.
Climate skeptic
A climate skeptic is a person who questions whether global warming is due to human activities (totally or partially) or claims that it is only of natural origin. This can be citizens, politicians, and even scientists! Some climate skeptics think that global warming does not exist, others relativize it. In short, there are multiple variants ranging from climate deniers to climate relativists.
Degrowth
In ecology, degrowth is a way of life that aims to consume less in order to pollute less. Driven by individuals who are aware of the limitation of resources, only a reduction in consumption (and therefore production) can, according to them, still slow down the degradation of the environment.
Deforestation
Deforestation is the clearing of forests to make way for livestock, crops, urban development projects, or to harvest wood. The removal of trees and plants drives out the animals and insects that live in these areas, leading to a serious loss of biodiversity, moisture, and freshness, as well as an increase in the greenhouse effect.
Sustainable development
The principle of sustainable development designs products and services that meet needs, while limiting their impact on the environment, with the aim of preserving it for future generations. This approach, which takes into account all stages, from design to marketing to reduce pollution and waste, also includes an ethical dimension.
Ecocide
In the news recently so that it is considered a crime, ecocide is the destruction, damage or irreparable ecological damage caused by man to an ecosystem and which leads to its annihilation. In general, it involves overexploitation or serious negligence.
Ecoanxiety, “green depression” or “solastalgia”
Ecoanxiety is a term that refers to overwhelming anxiety or worry about environmental changes and the prospect of the consequences of global warming. It can manifest as fear, sadness, or despondency about a world that seems to be destroying itself.
Ecofeminism
Ecofeminism is a movement that links the oppression of women by men and the destruction of the planet by society, seeing both phenomena as consequences of capitalist patriarchal domination.
Circular economy
What we call circular economy is a system that aims to reduce the impact of consumption on the environment by using all possible means to extend the life of products to avoid re-purchase. Through exchange, repair, transformation, rental, loan, recycling, we can establish a virtuous circle.
Greenhouse
The greenhouse effect comes from the trapping of part of the heat from the sun's rays by CO2 and methane (greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere at the moment when these rays should be released back into space in the form of infrared, after being reflected on the Earth. The greenhouse effect, initially beneficial since it allows the heat necessary for life to be conserved, becomes problematic when the gases are too large and retain too much heat, which causes the Earth's temperature to increase abnormally.
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint , calculated by analyzing the life cycle of a product, determines the balance of the ecological impact that it causes to the environment. It takes into account the energy consumed, the pollution generated, the resources used from the raw materials necessary for its manufacture, during its use until its end of life in terms of waste.
Collapse
The collapse of a civilization occurs when it can no longer provide for the needs of its population following one or more major crises. In ecology, we speak of the collapse of the thermo-industrial society following the consumption of resources on which it is dependent and which is running out.
Fossil energy
Fossil fuels are produced from oil, coal or natural gas, which are called fossil fuels because their stock is limited. These resources are considered non-renewable because they are the result of geological processes lasting several million years. Their combustion, which generates CO2, explains why they are responsible for a large part of the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Renewable energy
Renewable energies come from infinite resources (sun, wind, water). They produce little or no CO2: they are said to be “decarbonized”. They only produce electricity and cannot replace oil, except for devices that need electricity to operate.
Gray energy
Grey energy is the energy used upstream of the use of a product, that is to say the "hidden" energy expenditure used for the production, transformation, transport or extraction of raw materials. A finished product may consume little energy in use, but have required a lot of it.
Primary and secondary forest
The so-called primary forests have not been modified by human action, they are natural. Secondary forests have been impacted by man through felling, the integration of crops or modifications that have destabilized certain species.
Greenhouse gases
"Greenhouse" gases are gases that prevent the heat of the sun's rays received by the earth from escaping into space once they are transformed into infrared. These are mainly CO2 or carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, but also water vapor and ozone.
Greenwashing
Greenwashing or "green washing" in French translates as eco-bleaching. This technique is used by some companies to try to camouflage their ecological damage. Greenwashing then puts forward minimal ecological arguments to reduce the polluting dimension of a product, either with campaigns that display an eco-responsible image to the general public, or by deliberately misleading the consumer with false information. This practice, considered as false advertising, is regulated by the ARPP (professional advertising regulatory authority) and ADEME (environment and energy management agency).
Low tech
"Low tech" or "low technologies" as opposed to "high tech" are simple, ecological and economical solutions, which use means accessible to all to replace polluting or energy-intensive technological concepts. These low tech are associated with Do It Yourself in particular, because they rely on manual manufacturing, repair, upcycling, recycling and the diversion of objects. It can be a solar oven, dry toilets or quite simply... a bicycle!
Acid rain
Rain becomes acidic in the atmosphere when it meets sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emitted by factories and cars. Precipitation is then a real threat to the environment because it alters the soil, fauna and flora, but also waterways, and even buildings.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a philosophy, the global way of considering man, nature and drawing inspiration from its mechanisms. This word "permaculture" mainly refers to an agriculture that uses biodiversity to develop in synergy with nature in a virtuous system. By relying on sustainability and resilience, it claims a global approach where man acts according to the ecosystems from which he draws inspiration.
Carbon sinks
A carbon sink is a natural system that absorbs and stores CO2 (carbon dioxide) in biomass to reduce its concentration in the atmosphere. The main carbon sinks are the seas and forests, which use the sun's energy to fix CO2 in the form of organic matter through photosynthesis.
Global warming
Global warming (but also change) is a regular and global evolution of temperatures on the surface of the globe. This natural evolution has been greatly accelerated by pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases caused by human activity. This global warming, almost out of control today, is forcing humanity to face catastrophic situations.
Sobriety
Sobriety is a concept linked to that of degrowth. It includes self-censorship and the limits that we set ourselves in terms of consumption and use of resources. It is also an expression used to express a societal objective using frugality, moderation in terms of production, and "energy sobriety". The word also evokes de-consumption and energy saving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Forestry
Silviculture characterizes the methods of sustainable exploitation of forests. It refers to virtuous practices (reforestation, conservation) which make it possible to derive a profit while preserving and optimizing forest capital. These ecological benefits preserve forests in a long-term vision.
Traceability
Traceability is the ability (or not) to have all the information on a product at each stage of its production, from the raw materials used. Traceability allows us to know, for example, if subcontractors are involved in the life cycle or if a product is really "made in France" or simply assembled in France.
