Definitions - k

The comparison of thermal conductivity can be measured by the 'k' value. The k value, or Thermal Conductivity, specifies the rate of heat transfer in any homogeneous material. If a material has a k value of 1, it means a 1m cube of material will transfer heat at a rate of 1 watt for every degree of temperature difference between opposite faces. The k value is expressed as 1 W/mK. The lower this value is, the less heat the material will transfer.

Species in stable environments tend to live longer and produce fewer, and sometimes larger, offspring. (K is the constant for carrying capacity in terms of population growth.) This used to be true for whales before their environment was changed. See R-Selection.

Kapok trees produce a fluffy fiber in their seed pods. The kapok fiber is a substitute for down.

Any wind blowing downslope. Usually cold.

A Carbon Tax is a government imposed taxation on source goods and services in an attempt to reduce the production of carbon into the atmosphere.

Usually implemented as a form of 'at source' taxation; i.e. those whom manufacturer or consume the most carbon pay and everybody else on the supply chain picks up the price increase. This is often encountered with a carbon credit scheme, by which carbon producers can 'offset' their taxable carbon emissions against less carbon intense production methods.

As always with such schemes, the devil is in the detail; in particular there has been problems in the past with carbon fraud.

Note: This equally applies to the energy production sector as basic manufacturing; say if coal is being used as a source of electrical power.

Where people sort out their recyclable waste, either into a box, bag or separate bin, and this is then collected from people's houses, like the ordinary waste collection.

Depression or pond found in glacial deposits (see Kame Terrace). Left by a chunk of melted glacier.

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average (for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth.

In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as global warming.

Wikipedia - Climate Change entry

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. There are three naturally occurring isotopes, with 12C and 13C being stable, while 14C is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of about 5730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity. The name "carbon" comes from Latin language carbo, coal.

See the full entry on wikipedia