Definitions - o

Ocean fertilization is a proposed form of geo-engineering that involves the introduction of iron particles to the upper ocean to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom.

In theory, the phytoplankton will then absorb CO2 before dying and sinking to the bottom of the ocean where the carbon will be sequestered.

An experiment in early 2009 in the Southern Ocean dampened hopes for widespread uptake of the technology after crustacean zooplankton fed on the bloom before it died and reintroduced the extracted CO2 into the atmosphere.

However, some scientists maintain that ocean fertilization could prove a cost effective means of reducing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. Environmental groups counter that large scale ocean fertilization projects could have unexpected consequences on maritime food chains.

An off grid system is a solar panel electricity generation system which is not connected to the mains power distribution grid. It is completely independent of the mains grid, so to provide power during darkness such solar panel systems need a secondary power store (such as batteries) or a generator.

Materials may give off gases, some of which are toxic. Implicated in a variety of ailments, some people are more sensitive than others to these gases.

Deep clear lakes with few nutrients, little organic matter and a high dissolved-oxygen level.

The capacity to induce cancer.

A system capable of rotating about one axis to track the sun.

The cost of an economic activity foregone by the choice of another activity.

Theory that proposes large scale climate changes are due in part to the variations in precession, eccentricity and obliquity that affects the amount of solar radiation received by the earth.

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm. Organic farming excludes or strictly limits the use of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock antibiotics, food additives, and genetically modified organisms.

Compared to traditional aqueous inorganic redox flow batteries such as vanadium redox flow batteries and Zn-Br2 batteries, that have been developed for decades, organic redox flow batteries have emerged in last few years (since 2009) and hold great promise to overcome major drawbacks preventing economical and extensive deployment of traditional inorganic redox flow batteries. The primary merit of organic redox flow batteries lies at using sustainable and tunable organic redox active molecules, free of resources limit and enabling unlimited combinations of anode and cathode materials.

Organic foods are made in a way that limits or excludes the use of synthetic materials during production. For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. This more recent style of production is referred to as "conventional." Under organic production, the use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and saved as a last resort.

Precipitation that results when moist air is lifted over a topographic barrier such as a mountain range.

Cyclic movement of oxygen in different chemical forms from the environment, to organisms, and then back to the environment.

A family of man-made compounds that includes, but are not limited to, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), bromofluorocarbons (halons), methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methyl bromide, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These compounds have been shown to deplete stratospheric ozone, and therefore are typically referred to as ODSs.

Chemical compounds, such as carbon monoxide, methane, non-methane hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides, which in the presence of solar radiation react with other chemical compounds to form ozone, mainly in the troposphere.