How to reduce waste and save the earth this holiday season
Visit an interactive home to find out where dangerous chemicals in your home may be hiding.
Yale Environment 360
Green Living Gallery Archive
Clean diesels available in 2009
The U.S. Open goes "green"
A look inside eco-chic condos in L.A.
Alternative Fuel Cars Star At Paris Motorshow
How to make compost
2007 Live Earth London Concert
Hybrid Tugboat
Miss Earth 2008
Green news from around the world
Green Celebrities
Green Car News
Eco Home Trends
Reports on new eco-friendly car technology
Find out the newest and latest green home trends
2009 Green Car of the Year finalists
-- LA Times
Green Car Journal, a magazine and Web site, made waves last year by awarding the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, pictured, its influential Green Car of the Year. This year's finalists fall into at least one of three categories: compact, clean diesel or hybrid.
To be included vehicles had to "exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance" and be in production as of January 1 of the award year. Nine jurors, including Jay Leno, Carroll Shelby and Carl Pope, will choose a winner.
(General Motors)L.A. Auto Show Green Cars
KTLA Green - Viewer Info
Green living
Green Living - News Photos
A worker eats lunch at a recycling center on the outskirts of Beijing on Dec. 17. The global economic crisis has slashed prices of recycled raw materials by nearly 50 percent as many recyclers feel the pinch. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)
Celebrities living the green lifestyle
An outspoken advocate of solar power, Edward Norton helped launch BP's Solar Neighbor's Program ( bp.com ), which focuses on renewable solar energy, including providing solar panels for low-income homes in the L.A. area. (Source: RedEye Photo: Zap2It)
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Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Alternative fuel | Most alternative fuels come from renewable energy sources and have little negative impact on the environment. Alternative fuels include biodiesel, hydrogen, and stored electricity. |
| Antibiotic free | Meat that comes from animals not treated with antibiotics or hormones. |
| Biodegradable | By U.S. government definition, 60 percent to 70 percent of a product's ingredients must be able to break down and return to the environment within 28 days. |
| Biodiesel | Alternative fuels used in cars and trucks created from oils such as soybean oil or vegetable oil. |
| Biodiversity | Diversity in an environment based upon the number of plants and animals that exist. |
| Black water | Sewage water that has come in contact with human waste. Black water is not recirculated as drinking water. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Carbon buying/offsetting | Compensating for the carbon you release by financially supporting activities that reduce carbon emissions elsewhere in the world, like wind energy initiatives. |
| Carbon capture and storage (CCS) | Capturing carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, storing it and releasing it into the atmosphere when it is needed in the future. There are few CCS facilities in the world currently. |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | One of the basic greenhouse gases. It is produced by plants and animals but also by burning wood and fossil fuels. Too much in the atmosphere can contribute to global warming. |
| Carbon fluorescent lamp (CFL) | Fluorescent light bulbs that save energy by emitting less heat than normal incandescent light bulbs. They are slightly more expensive but last longer and require less energy. CFLs contain a small amount of mercury and should be recycled properly. |
| Carbon footprint | The amount of carbon dioxide emitted as part of an individual's or business's everyday life. They are usually measured in tons of carbon dioxide. |
| Carbon neutral | A balance of the amount of carbon dioxide released with the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered. |
| Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) | Artificially created chemical compounds commonly used in refrigeration and aerosol cans that damage the ozone layer. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Clean fuel | Fuels that have lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional fuels such as gasoline and diesel. |
| Clean vehicles | Cars, trucks, vans and SUVs with special equipment to burn biofuels, use clean fuel, hydrogen or a hybrid of battery and fuel-power rather than gasoline or diesel. |
| Climate change | A regional change in temperature and weather patterns. |
| Closed-loop recycling | A type of recycling in which a recyclable packaging items used, discarded, captured and recycled into a new product. |
| Compost | A mixture of organic material, such as table scraps, broken down by microorganisms and reused as fertilizer. |
| Conservation | The protection and preservation of natural resources to ensure they are not abused. |
| Daylighting | The practice of using natural light rather than electric light in ordinary daily activities. Buildings constructed with daylighting in mind have strategically placed windows and reflective surfaces to maximize daylight. |
| Downcycling | When materials are recycled into a product of lesser quality. For instance, some plastics are recycled into lower-grade plastics. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| E85 fuel | An alternative fuel of 85-percent alcohol and 15-percent gasoline, which burns cleaner than gasoline or diesel. |
| Eco-friendly | Any practice or product minimally harmful to the environment. Recycling or driving clean vehicles are examples. |
| Ecosystem | The complex community created when several types of organisms live in the same environment. |
| Ecovillage/Ecocity | A community completely socially, economically and ecologically sustainable with little outside assistance. |
| Energy conservation | The practice of saving energy and using energy more efficiently. Use of alternative energy sourcesis a basic example. |
| Energy Star | Initiative between U.S. government agencies that establishes consumer guidelines to ensure products are energy efficient and eco-friendly. |
| Ethanol | An alcohol-based, clean-burning biofuel. A common type is E85. |
| Fair trade | Products and services from companies that consider sustainability, human rights and world hunger problems in the production of goods. |
| Flat pack | Sending goods, especially furniture, in multiple, disassembled pieces so the shipping boxes can be sent more efficiently, decreasing the environmental impact of shipping. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Fossil fuels | Fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas that are formed in the earth from plant and animal remains. When most fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released. |
| Free range | Livestock and poultry not confined to pens or barns and allowed to roam free. Free range food labels refer to the meat and products from free range animals, or the practice of free range farming. |
| Fuel efficiency | A measure of how efficiency a vehicle burns fuel. Fuel efficiency is government-regulated and usually measured in miles per gallon (MPG), energy impact scores, greenhouse gas scores and air pollution scores. |
| Genetically modified organism (GMO) | Any living organism that's DNA has been modified. Some plants and animals are genetically modified to increase their food yield. |
| Global warming | An increase in the temperature's at the Earth's surface as well as in the oceans caused by an increased amount of greenhouse gases. |
| Grain-fed | A diet for cattle that consists primarily of grains, such as hay, corn and soy. |
| Grass-fed | A diet for cattle that consists of only grass from a pasture. |
| Gray water | Water used in domestic processes like dishwashing, bathing and laundry. Gray water is generally not recycled for human consumption. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Green transit | When mass transit organizations engage in green practices, such as using clean fuel or solar power. |
| Greenhouse effect | The warming of the Earth's surface caused by the presence of greenhouse gases and water vapor in the atmosphere. |
| Greenhouse gas | Several gas compounds including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, ozone, CFCs and water vapor that exist in the Earth's atmosphere. If too many are released via pollution, the planet will warm. |
| Greenwashing | The act of misleading consumers about the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. |
| Hormone free | Livestock and poultry not treated by any artificial hormones. This can also refer to the food product labels that come from such animals. |
| Hybrid vehicle | A vehicle that runs on a combination of power sources. Most hybrid vehicles are powered by fuel such as gasoline or diesel and a battery or hydrogen cell. |
| Hydrogen vehicles | Use hydrogen as the main power source. In some cars, the hydrogen is burned directly, while in others, the hydrogen is reacted with oxygen to power an electric motor. |
| Locally grown | Produce, meat and other foods grown or raised in close proximity to the area or region in which they are consumed. |
| Miles per gallon (MPG) | The primary way in which a vehicle's fuel efficiency is measured. The U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA calculate MPGs for both city and highway driving. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Natural food | Foods produced without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, additives, preservatives, growth hormones, radiation, antibiotics or genetic modification. |
| Natural remedies | Cures and remedies for common, minor illnesses and ailments that come from the earth, without assistance from modern medicine. |
| Nitrous oxide (N2O) | A basic greenhouse gas found naturally in the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is also produced by bacteria and can come from cultivating soil and the use of some fertilizers. |
| Non-renewable energy | Energy taken from sources that cannot be replaced or renewed. Fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas are chief sources of non-renewable energy. |
| Off-grid living | A lifestyle where people do everything without any electricity or artificial power. |
| Organic | Products and food produced without artificial processes or products. |
| Outgassing | The slow release of harmful gases trapped, frozen or absorbed by some material. Some products covered in certain paints, varnishes and stains are susceptible to outgassing. |
| Ozone gas | A greenhouse gas that occurs naturally in the atmosphere. Ozone can also be created as a result of industrial processes and pollution. |
| Ozone hole | A area in the atmosphere where the ozone layer has decayed or disappeared. Pollution and the release of gasses such as CFCs are the leading causes of the ozone hole. |
| Ozone layer | A layer of the atmosphere that contains high levels of ozone gas. The ozone layer helps absorb the sun's rays, regulating the temperature on Earth. |
Green Glossary
New to being green? Find out what words mean.
| Pollution | When water, air or land becomes dirty and filled with contaminants. Humans are the main source of pollution, but some naturally-occurring pollution is possible. |
| Post-consumer recycling | Recycling products, such as paper and plastic, that consumers have used. |
| Pre-consumer recycling | Recycling material that would ordinarily be discarded before consumer use. Scraps, trimming and excess products are generally fit for pre-consumer recycling. |
| Recycling | The process of reconditioning old materials into new products to prevent excessive waste and reduce the use of energy, water and natural resources. |
| Renewable energy | Energy taken from sources that can be replaced or renewed. |
| Repurpose | Converting old material into something new and different. |
| Shade grown | A method for growing plants, especially coffee beans. Shade grown plants take longer to ripen and may have more rich flavors. |
| Solar energy | Using the heat from the sun as an energy source. Solar energy is one of the main renewable energy sources. |
| Stored electricity | Energy or electricity that is stored and saved for later. The energy stored in a battery cell of a hybrid car is a good example of stored electricity. |
| Sustainable | Any process that can be maintained at a certain level for long periods of time. |