Case Study > Sustainable Schools > Glossary Terms

Sustainability: living within the limits, equitable distributions of resources and opportunities.

Community Outreach: a program for extending assistance, services, and other provisions to the community as an act of charity or goodwill; activities or services undertaken by such a program.

Genetic Counselor: a medical professional who studies genetic diseases and how they run in families. A genetic counselor can help a family or person understand the risk of certain genetic conditions, educate about the disease, and asses the risk of passing the disease on to children.

Efficiency: effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with cost (as in energy, time, and money); the ratio of the useful energy delivered by a dynamic system to the energy supplied to it.

Solar Panels: panels of photvolatic cells that utilize the renewable energy from the sun. Solar panels are clean and environmentally sound.

Carbon Footprint: the total amounts of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities; it is usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.

Green Renovations: designs and the use of construction materials and techniques that are environmentally responsible, encourage energy efficiency, conserve natural resources, and create healthier interior environments for homeowners.

Campus Awareness: promoting knowledge and information about something on a college campus or to fellow students and peers.