Can’t differentiate between biofuel and gasoline? Many think permaculture is a hairstylist lingo for a type of perm. Here is a glossary of some common terms about the environment.

Biofuel
Any solid, liquid or gas obtained from organic materials like corn, soybeans, flaxseed and rapeseed used as fuel. Biofuel is considered a renewable energy because it is not derived from material that is fossilized like coal or petroleum, but what goes into the car deprives hungry stomachs of food.

E-waste
Waste materials comprising discarded electronic devices like mobile phones, televisions and computer parts. Few of them are easily reusable or easily taken apart for recycling purposes, while most are highly toxic to animals, plants and humans.

Green
A common adjective that associates products, organizations, political parties or policies as being sensitive to the environment.

Kyoto Protocol
An agreement reached by industrialized nations in Kyoto, Japan, at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 1997 to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 5% below 1990 levels by 2012.

LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability)
A term that describes the lifestyle of consumers who are concerned about the impact their consumption has on the environment, ecology, health, wellness, and sustainability. It also describes companies that practise “responsible capitalism” by providing goods and services based on economic and environmentally sustainable business models.

Organic
A term referring to food and other agricultural products that are produced without the use of pesticides, hormones, synthetic fertilizers or other toxic materials. The Organic Food Production Act 1990 of the US defines organic foods and products as those that are at least 95% free of synthetic or toxic materials.

Permaculture
A contraction of “permanent agriculture”, an approach to developing ecological human habitats and food production systems that use land in a sustainable manner and build communities that harmonize dwellings and agriculture with climate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water use. Coined by Australian ecologists David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in 1978.

Sustainability
As defined in the Brundtland Report, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.