72
Sustainability and the built environment
radiative forcing The change in the balance between radiation coming into the
atmosphere and radiation going out.
renewables Natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat,
which are naturally replenished.
retrofitting Adding new technology or features to older systems.
Salinisation The process by which a non-saline soil becomes saline, as by the
irrigation of land with brackish water or irrigation of land that has inherently high
subsoil salt content, thus rendering the soil unfit for crop production.
Sequester Isolate or commit for safe keeping.
Short-wave radiation Radiation which issues from a very hot surface, such as the
sun.
Sick building syndrome A human illness caused by exposure to pollutants in an
indoor environment.
Social inequalities The gap between defined categories of people with access to
social ‘goods’ such as employment, political representation, healthcare, education,
etc.
Soil fertility The capacity to supply nutrients in proper amounts for plant growth
when other factors are favourable.
Underground aquifers An underground bed or layer of earth, gravel, or porous stone
that yields water.
Upstream pollution The introduction of harmful substances or products into the
environment, but closer to the point of production or manufacture than to the point of
sale.
Urban environment The area of man-made, built-up land in and around a city. (See
also built environment.)
Urbanisation Movement of people from rural locations to urban ones.
Watercourses Natural or artificial channels through which water flows.
Western society Countries whose dominant culture is derived from European
culture, such as the countries of the Americas and most of Oceania, particularly
implying developed nations.
Wildlife habitat destruction The process of land use change in which one habitat-
type is removed and replaced with another habitat-type at the expense of the original
inhabitants of that land.
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76