Dictionary of Ecodesign

An Illustrated Reference

Ken Yeang, Lillian Woo

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781135192938
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Arquitectura
• Subtopic: Arquitectura general

The first guide to the terminology of sustainable design. Written by an internationally renowned expert in the field, this illustrated dictionary provides over 1500 definitions and explanations of ecodesign terms.

Providing a unique resource for the practitioner and student, this book leaves the reader free to 'dip' in and out of the book allowing for 'bite-sized' learning at their own convenience. It is an essential reference for all architects, engineers, planners and environmentalists involved in designing and planning projects and schemes in the built environment.

Appendix 1
Conversion tables

English to Metric

See Table

Metric to English

See Table

Temperature conversions

From Fahrenheit to Celsius

To convert from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius, subtract 32 degrees from the temperature and multiply by 5/9:

From Celsius to Fahrenheit

To convert from degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit, multiply the temperature by 1.8 and add 32 degrees:

See Table

See Table

Appendix 2
International Environmental Agreements

2007 Bali Roadmap Agreement of 190 participating nations during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Bali, Indonesia in December, 2007. It sets out a two-year process to finalize a binding agreement in 2009 in Denmark. Affirming scientific evidence of global warming, the convention addressed: i) the need to reduce emissions and the risks of further global warming; ii) policies, incentives, and financial support to halt deforestation and forest degradation and to preserve tropical rainforests; iii) international cooperation to protect poorer nations against climate change impacts; iv) assistance for developing countries to adapt to green technologies to help them reduce or avoid carbon pollution.

Four meetings scheduled for 2008 will develop specific goals and strategies to implement the Bali Roadmap and will be presented for adoption in 2009. It is intended to expand the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 United Nations treaty on the environment.

2003 Carpathian Convention Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Coalition of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovak Republic, and Ukraine, 2003) Signed by all members. The Carpathian Convention provides the framework for cooperation and multi-sectoral policy coordination, a platform for joint strategies for sustainable development of the natural resources of the region and preservation of biodiversity of species unique to the area.

2002 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (ASEAN, 2002) Signed by all ASEAN nations. It is an environmental agreement to bring haze pollution under control in Southeast Asia. It was precipitated by land clearing and burning on Sumatra and the haze, assisted by monsoon winds, spread to Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei.

2002 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

(International Seed Treaty, 2002) Signed by 102 countries plus the European Union. It became effective in 2004. It complements the Convention on Biological Diversity. Its goals are to develop food security through conservation and sustaining plant genetic resources and biodiversity for food and agriculture.

2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollution (United Nations, 2001) Signed by 91 countries and the European Union. Signatories agree to eliminate the production, use, and release of 12 key persistent organic pollutants: aldrin, chlordane, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins), and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (furans). The Convention included special provisions to eliminate PCBs and DDT. The Convention specifies a scientific review process that could lead to the addition of other persistent organic pollutant chemicals of global concern.

1997 The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (United Nations, 1997) Signed by 160 nations; became effective in 2005. The binding greenhouse gas emission targets include: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The agreement expires in 2012.

1994 International Tropical Timber Agreement Signed by 43 countries; nine countries have signed but not yet ratified. It succeeds the 1983 Agreement.

1994 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa Fifty-six countries signed the convention; 62 others have signed but not yet ratified. Became effective in 1996. Its purpose is to prevent desertification and ease the effects of drought.

1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—Rio Declaration (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992 in Rio de Janeiro) Signed by over 150 nations; 19 countries signed but not yet ratified. Became effective 1994. It now has 164 signatories and 17 countries that have signed by not yet ratified.

It reaffirmed the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, adopted in Stockholm on 16 June, 1972, and sought to expand it. Set forth in 18 principles, the goal was to establish a new and equitable global partnership through the creation of new levels of cooperation among states, key sectors of societies and people, and to work towards international agreements that respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system. A main objective is to stabilize or decrease greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous impacts on the climate.

1992 Convention on Biological Diversity

(United Nations Environment Programme, 1992) Part of the Rio Earth Summit in 1992; became effective in 1993. The Convention has been signed by 165 countries; 19 countries have signed but not yet ratified. The Convention’s objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainability of biological diversity; ensure the sustainable use of its components; and promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

1991 Alpine Convention (Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alpes, CIPRA, 1991) Seven member countries signed the agreement in 1991. It became effective in 1995. It is an agreement between various countries for the protection and sustainable development of the Alpine Region. It was signed on November 7, 1991 in Salzburg (Austria) by Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and the EU. Slovenia signed the Convention on March 29, 1993. Monaco became a party on the basis of a separate additional protocol.

1989 Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (United Nations Environment Programme, 1989) Signed by 170 nations; became effective in 1992. It strictly regulates the transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous wastes, and obliges its Parties to ensure such wastes are managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. It is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes.

1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer Signed by 161 nations, it became effective in 1989. The Montreal Protocol is the primary international agreement providing for controls on the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and methyl bromide. The Montreal Protocol is supplemented by the Vienna Convention of 1985. It has been amended substantially five times: London 1990, Copenhagen 1992, Vienna 1995, Montreal 1997, and Beijing 1999.

1983 International Tropical Timber Agreement Became effective in 1985 but expired in 1994; succeeded by the 1994 Agreement. It was signed by 54 countries. The goal was to develop cooperation between timber producers and consumers, and to establish sustainable use and conservation of tropical forests.

1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (United Nations, 1982) Also called the Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS); Law of the Sea Convention; or Law of the Sea Treaty. Signatories include 155 countries and the European Union. It became effective in 1994. UNCLOS is the result of the third UN Convention (Conference) on the Law of the Sea, which took place from 1973 to 1982. It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. The Convention concluded in 1982 replaced four 1958 treaties. UNCLOS codifies the rules by which nations use the oceans of the world. It includes rules and enforcement of established environmental standards and pollution of the marine environment.

1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 1979) Signed by 40 countries and the European Community; became effective in 1983. The Convention was the first international, legally binding instrument to deal with problems of air pollution on a broad regional basis. Its goals were to reduce and prevent air pollution. There was also an institutional framework established to decrease air pollutant emissions through monitoring and research.

The Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution now has 51 members, and has been extended by eight specific protocols, including: EMEP (Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe) Protocol, 1988; Nitrogen Oxide Protocol, 1988; Volatile Organic Compounds Protocol, 1991; Sulphur Emissions Reduction Protocols, 1985 and 1994; Heavy Metals Protocol, 1998; Multi-effect (Gothenburg) Protocol, 1999; Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Air Pollution Protocol, 2003.

1979 Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Council of Europe, 1979) Also known as the Bern Convention. Signed by 39 members of the Council of Europe together with the European Union, Monaco, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal. It became effective in 1982. Algeria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cape Verde, the Holy See, San Marino, and Russia are among nonsignatories that have observer status at meetings of the committee. The goals are to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats; promote cooperation between states; monitor and control endangered and vulnerable species; and provide assistance concerning legal and scientific issues.

1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) (United Nations Environment Programme, 1979) Also known as the Bonn Convention. It became effective in 1983. In 2005, 92 countries were signatories from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. The focus of the Convention is the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale, and the protection of terrestrial, marine, and avian migratory species throughout their range. The aim is to protect migratory species on the threatened extinction list, conserving or restoring their natural habitats, mitigating obstacles to migration, and controlling other factors that might endanger them. In addition to establishing obligations for each State joining the Convention, CMS promotes concerted action among the range states of many of these species.

1977 Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) (United Nations, 1977) The Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa was designed to manage both dryland ecosystems and the flow of aid for development. In 1977, the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) adopted a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD). Despite its efforts, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded in 1991 that the problem of land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas had intensified, although there were ‘local examples of success’. At the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, a new, integrated approach to the problem was adopted. It emphasized action to promote sustainable development at the community level.

1976 Convention to Prohibit Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modifications Sixty-four member countries signed the agreement; 17 countries have signed but not ratified it. Became effective in 1978. The Convention’s objective is to prohibit the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques in order to further world peace and trust among nations.

1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (United Nations, 1973) Also known as Marpol 73/78 (‘...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Preface
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z
• Appendix 1 Conversion tables
• Appendix 2 International Environmental Agreements
• Appendix 3 The Periodic Table of elements
• Appendix 4 Photovoltaics
• Appendix 5 Population by country