Making sense of green vernacular

The word green itself, in fact, can still be an anomaly and the waters become murkier still when you throw in terms such as VOCs or volatile organic compounds, carbon neutral, and sustainable use. Despite a proliferation of writing on environmental conservation, beginning in 1864 with naturalist Henry David Thoreau's Maine Woods and steaming along to the present-day cause as other notables including John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and Al Gore put pen to paper in support of their concerns, it is only in the last several years that many of the terms long tossed around — and some newer ones —have become the lexicon of the movement. Let us average folks, new to the green bandwagon, get a grasp on this specialized, sometimes technical, language and it can only serve to aid our efforts to be environmentally conscious.

• Biodegradable: The tendency of substances to break down and become a harmless part of the environment. The speed at which the break down takes place, however, is critical. Days as opposed to years make a huge difference. Biodegradable can refer to product ingredients or the containers that hold them.

• Carbon Footprint: A measure of the human impact on the environment, primarily climate change, resulting from the amount of greenhouse gases produced. The burning of fossil fuels — oil, coal, and natural gas — releases the carbon dioxide that becomes part of this heat-trapping pollution that hangs in the atmosphere. A primary footprint is made by the individual's home and vehicle energy usage. The secondary footprint results from consumption of goods, starting with their manufacture and ending with their final disposal. The lighter you tread, the smaller your footprint. Sometimes referred to as an ecological-footprint.

• Carbon Neutral: Any practice that produces no carbon emissions or offsets emissions by doing something good for the environment such as planting a tree.

• Ecologically-friendly: A practice or product that has little or no harmful effect on the environment. Ecologically-safe is also sometimes used. Beware, however, of product labels that shout this term. It can be meaningless unless backed up on an ingredients list that states no phosphates, solvent-free, or no petroleum-based substances.

• Energy Efficient: Processes or technologies that can reduce the amount of electricity or fuel used to do the same amount of work. For example, CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps, use less energy to produce the same amount of light as conventional light bulbs.

• Energy Star: This is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that evaluates the energy efficiency of appliances, computers, lighting fixtures, and now newly built homes. Product must bear an Energy Star label.

• Green: A philosophy — and fast becoming a lifestyle, but not a trend — that calls for the creation of ecologically-friendly practices and products, use of sustainable technologies, conservation of resources, and recycling. Green, of course, is the color most closely associated with nature and renewal.

• Greenwashing: Labeling of products as or claiming that practices are eco-friendly, natural, organic when in fact they are not. Always read labels or ask questions to verify these claims.