Sustainability

Appendix 1 - Glossary of Terms

Adaptation Strategies and actions that help our communities prepare for and adjust to the current and projected impacts of climate change. As examples, weatherization programs for buildings makes those buildings more comfortable during extreme temperatures without the need to use heaters or air conditioners; artificial wetlands and constructed retention ponds can help communities adapt to more frequent floods.

Air Pollution Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases, solid particles, or liquid droplets. (source: National Geographic)

Air Quality The condition of the air we breathe and how it affects our health. (source: EPA)

Atmosphere Layers upon layers of gas surrounding the Earth, working to protect the planet. There are five main layers that make up the atmosphere, differentiated by factors such as temperature, chemical composition, and air density: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. Although we cannot directly see the atmosphere, it provides the air we breathe and protects us from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. The atmosphere also works to trap heat and maintain moderate, habitable temperature ranges. Without it, the Earth’s temperature would be similar to that of the moon, which experiences extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night (-208°F to 250°F) due to the lack of an atmosphere. (source: NASA)

Carbon Carbon is an element that is essential to all life on Earth. Carbon makes up the fats and carbohydrates of our food and is part of the molecules, like DNA and protein, that make up our bodies. Carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, is even a part of the air we breathe. It is also stored in places like the ocean, rocks, fossil fuels, and plants. (source: National Geographic)

Carbon Capture & Storage A process that captures emissions at the source — like from a power plant or a cement producer — and prevents those emissions from entering the atmosphere in the first place. Carbon capture is a form of emissions reduction rather than carbon removal. (source: World Resources Institute)

Carbon Cycle The flow of carbon between all places it exists (see "Carbon" definition above). (source: National Geographic)

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In 2022, CO2 accounted for 80% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the Earth's carbon cycle (the natural circulation of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, and animals). The main human activity that emits CO2 is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) for energy and transportation. Certain industrial processes and land-use changes also emit CO2. (source: EPA)

Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e) Carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2e means the number of metric tons of CO2 emissions with the same global warming potential as one metric ton of another greenhouse gas/ (source: EPA)

Carbon Footprint The total amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gas 9GHG) emissions for which an individual or organisation is responsible. Footprints can also be calculated for events or products. (source: Carbon Trust)

Carbon Negative The next step after “carbon neutral” – becoming carbon negative – requires an organization to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. (source: World Economic Forum)

Carbon Neutral A commitment to evaluate CO2 emissions produced. This is coupled with finding ways to reduce those emissions and with compensating for these by reducing emissions elsewhere, or by removing an equal amount of CO2 from the atmosphere. (source: World Economic Forum)

Carbon Offset A balancing practice to compensate for emissions caused elsewhere in operations by removing an equal amount of CO2 from the atmosphere. (source: World Economic Forum)

Carbon Parts Per Mission (PPM) “Parts per million” refers to the number of carbon dioxide molecules per million molecules of dry air. These measurements are from the mid-troposphere, the layer of Earth's atmosphere that is 8 to 12 kilometers (about 5 to 7 miles) above the ground. (source: NASA)

Carbon Removal A method that aims to help mitigate climate change by removing carbon dioxide pollution directly from the atmosphere. Carbon removal strategies include familiar approaches like growing trees as well as more novel technologies like direct air capture, which scrubs CO2 from the air and sequesters it underground. (source: World Resources Institute)

Carbon Sink A place that absorbs more carbon than it releases. For example, forests continually take carbon out of the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. The ocean is another example of a carbon sink, absorbing a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (source: National Geographic)

Carbon Source Processes that release carbon into the atmosphere. For example, any process that uses fossil fuels—such as burning coal to make electricity—releases a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. Raising cattle for food also releases a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. (source: National Geographic)

Climate Long-term (usually at least 30 years) regional or even global average of temperature, humidity, and rainfall patterns over seasons, years, or decades. (source: NASA)

Climate Action Plan A strategic document that outlines a collection of measures and policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and actively address climate challenges. It defines reduction goals based on local priorities and develops a framework with tactical activities to help achieve those goals. A climate action plan also aim[s] to address inequalities in the way the effects of climate change are being distributed. (source: Go Vocal)

Climate Change A long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. (source: NASA)

Climate Change Mitigation Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. (source: NASA)

Climate Change Adaptation Adjusting to actual or expected future climate. (source: NASA)

Climate Equity Climate Equity is a part of the overarching aim of Environmental Justice. Climate equity is the goal of recognizing and addressing the unequal burdens made worse by climate change, while ensuring that all people share the benefits of climate protection efforts. Achieving equity means that all people—regardless of their race, color, gender, age, sexuality, national origin, ability, or income—live in safe, healthy, fair communities. (source: EPA)

Climate Justice Global effort that prioritizes the needs and rights of the most vulnerable, ensuring that as we tackle climate change, we do so in a way that's fair and just for everyone. Climate justice recognizes that certain groups suffer the most from the impacts of climate change, even though they've contributed the least to the problem. (source: World Economic Forum)

Climate Positive A similar term to “carbon negative.” An organization is “climate positive” when it achieves net zero, then contributes additional reductions to society.

Climate Resilience The capacity of a community, business, or natural environment to prevent, withstand, respond to, and recover from a disruption. (source: US Climate Resilience Toolkit)

Conservation Earth’s natural resources include air, water, soil, minerals, plants, and animals. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future. (source: National Geographic)

Embodied Carbon Embodied carbon represents the millions of tons of carbon emissions released during the lifecycle of building materials, including extraction, manufacturing, transport, construction, and disposal. Concrete, steel, and insulation are all examples of materials that contribute to embodied carbon emissions. (source: Rocky Mountain Institute)

Emergency Management: The managerial function responsible for creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. This involves coordinating and integrating all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, whether they are natural, man-made, or acts of terrorism. (source: Federal Emergency Management Agency)

Environment All the physical aspects of Earth, including everything living and nonliving: soil, air, water and the water cycle, all plants, animals and other living things. (source: Britannica Kids)

Environmental Justice The just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment so that people: are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices (source: EPA)

Gentrification Gentrification is a demographic and economic shift that displaces established working-class communities and communities of color in favor of wealthier newcomers and real estate development companies. (source: National Geographic)

GHG Protocol Reporting guidance that establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.

Global Warming Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. This term is not interchangeable with the term "climate change." (source: NASA)

Global Warming Potential A measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). The larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that time period. The time period usually used for GWPs is 100 years. GWPs provide a common unit of measure, which allows analysts to add up emissions estimates of different gases (e.g., to compile a national GHG inventory), and allows policymakers to compare emissions reduction opportunities across sectors and gases. (source: EPA)

Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is the process through which heat is trapped near Earth's surface by substances known as “greenhouse gases.” (source: NASA)

Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Fluorinated gases. Additional compounds in the atmosphere including solid and liquid aerosol and other greenhouse gases, such as water vapor and ground-level ozone can also impact the climate. (source: EPA)

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Greenhouse gases caused by human activities. Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation. (source: EPA)

Intersectionality The combined effects of one's multiple identities, which includes identities such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and employee status. (source: NIH)

Mitigation

In the context of this Climate Action Plan, mitigation refers to actions limiting the magnitude and rate of future climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and/or advancing nature-based solutions. Mitigating the use of fossil fuels can be accomplished directly by switching natural-gas furnaces to heat pumps and internal-combustion engines (ICE) to electric or hydrogen, or simply by driving ICE vehicles less. Mitigating GHGs can also be done indirectly by reducing the energy demand in use of buildings through more energy-efficient design (see passive solar and passive design) and through weatherization and energy efficiency retrofits to reduce the energy needed to power and heat them.

The term “mitigation” can also apply to efforts to prepare for and respond to disasters such as floods, fires, diseases, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and other sudden, dangerous, and extreme events. For more information on how Washoe County and other agencies and jurisdictions are preparing for these possibilities, refer to the County’s Hazard Mitigation Planning process led by the County’s Emergency Management Division. Although the County’s Climate Action Plan and Hazard Mitigation Plan can overlap (for example, expanding our community’s tree canopy can reduce the impacts of heat, smoke and floods), this Climate Action Plan focuses primarily on GHG reductions and related strategies and impacts related to the County’s goal of Net-Zero GHGs by 2050.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) The United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. (source: IPCC)

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) Also called “green infrastructure” or “natural infrastructure,” NBS are strategies using living systems to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate impacts. As examples; wetlands and bioswales can be used to absorb flood waters; house plants can improve indoor air quality.

Net Zero A situation where global greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are in balance with emissions reductions. At net zero, carbon dioxide emissions are still generated, but an equal amount of carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere as is released into it, resulting in zero increase in net emissions. (source: World Economic Forum)

Regeneration Approach to the climate crisis that weaves justice, climate, biodiversity, and human dignity into a seamless tapestry of action, policy, and transformation that can end the climate crisis in one generation. (source: Regeneration dot org)

Resiliency The ability to prepare for threats and hazards, adapt to changing conditions, and withstand and recover rapidly from crises and other disruptions. (source: FEMA). Examples include the ability of stormwater infrastructure to function during extreme rain and floods, the ability of our buildings to keep people comfortable during extreme heat or cold, and the capacity of our local food systems to feed people during the breakdown of supply chains. Different parts of our communities show resilience in different ways. Each requires attention to remain resilient:

• Ecosystem: the ability of our forests to provide clean air and clean water; and diverse plant communities to provide habitats for a wide range of native species.
• Infrastructure: the ability of our physical aspects of our community – roads, power supplies, stormwater systems – to remain serviceable to keep roads open, the power on, and continue providing essential services.
• Economic & Financial: the ability of our economy and financial system to function. We experienced challenges to this resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic collapse of 2008.
• Political: the ability of our authority and decision-making systems to continue functioning to deliver services to constituents. The attack on our nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021, showed us all how fragile our political system can be.
• Social & cultural: These forms of resilience show up when neighbors help each other sandbag properties during floods, when volunteers provide meals for those who are hungry, and when we show up in other ways for our neighbors in need. How can we invest in our social and cultural organizations that make us all stronger when we need it most?
• Personal, emotional & psychological Our personal ability to cope with stress or anxiety that comes from events in our lives. The Nevada Resilience Project (NRP) is designed to help individuals experiencing stress or anxiety build coping strategies and locate resources related to managing job loss, housing insecurity, isolation, or challenges of accessing care. Nevada 211, a program of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, is committed to helping Nevadans connect with the services they need.

Scopes The types of GHG emissions based on their sources. There are 3 main scopes:

• Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions occur from sources that are owned or controlled by an organization, for example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces, vehicles, etc.; emissions from chemical production in owned or controlled process equipment. (source: GHG Protocol)
• Scope 2: GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by an organization. Purchased electricity is defined as electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organization boundary of the organization. Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated, not where the electricity is used. (source: GHG Protocol)
• Scope 3: Operational reporting category that allows for the treatment of all other indirect emissions from an organization’s activities. Scope 3 emissions are a consequence of the activities of an organization, but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the organization. Examples of Scope 3 emissions:
• Upstream emissions related to everything we buy,
• Employee commuting and employee travel for work,
• Downstream emissions from everything we throw away (source: GHG Protocol)

Sectors: This word describes the different areas of action for sustainability, such as Buildings, Transportation, Energy Production, Land Use, Carbon Sequestration and Waste Management. This pie chart illustrates Washoe County’s community-wide GHG emissions by sector.

Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases A suite of monetary estimates that quantify the damage done per metric ton of greenhouse gases emitted. Specifically, it contains per-ton damage estimates for carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—three of the most common greenhouse gases.

Sustainability To create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations. (source: EPA)

Weather Atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—from minutes to hours or days. Familiar examples include rain, snow, clouds, winds, floods, or thunderstorms. (source: NASA)