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Terms & Acronyms

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Term	Acronym	Vocabulary	Vocabulary Type	Definitions
Global Warming		Glossary of Climate Change Terms	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The recent and ongoing global average increase in temperature near the Earth's surface.
Global warming		GlobalChange.gov Glossary	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The observed increase in average temperature near the Earth’s surface and in the lowest layer of the atmosphere. In common usage, “global warming” often refers to the warming that has occurred as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. Global warming is a type of climate change; it can also lead to other changes in climate conditions, such as changes in precipitation patterns.
Global Warming		Heat Island Effect Glossary	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities.
global warming		Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems Glossary	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The increase in temperatures as a result of human activities.
Global Warming		Web Taxonomy-Environmental Media Topics	Taxonomy
Global Warming		Terms of Environment	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: An increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases. Scientists generally agree that the Earth's surface has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past 140 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently concluded that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases are causing an increase in the Earth's surface temperature and that increased concentrations of sulfate aerosols have led to relative cooling in some regions, generally over and downwind of heavily industrialized areas.
Global warming		Greenhouse Gas Emissions	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The progressive gradual rise of the earth's surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns. See enhanced greenhouse effect, greenhouse effect, climate change.
Global warming		Student's Guide to Global Climate Change	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: An increase in temperature near the surface of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural causes. However, the term is most often used to refer to recent and ongoing warming caused by people's activities. Global warming leads to a bigger set of changes referred to as global climate change.
Global Warming Potential	GWP	Greenhouse Gas Emissions	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The index used to translate the level of emissions of various gases into a common measure in order to compare the relative radiative forcing of different gases without directly calculating the changes in atmospheric concentrations. GWPs are calculated as the ratio of the radiative forcing that would result from the emissions of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas to that from the emission of one kilogram of carbon dioxide over a period of time (usually 100 years). Gases involved in complex atmospheric chemical processes have not been assigned GWPs. See lifetime.
global warming potential	GWP	Waste Reduction Model (WARM) Definitions and Acronyms	Glossary and Key Word List
Global Warming Potential	GWP	Ozone Layer Protection Glossary	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: A number that refers to the amount of global warming caused by a substance. The GWP is the ratio of the warming caused by a substance to the warming caused by a similar mass of carbon dioxide (CO2). Thus, the GWP of CO2 is 1.0. Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-12 has a GWP of 8,500; CFC-11 has a GWP of 5,000; hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons have GWPs ranging from 93 to 12,100; and water has a GWP of 0.
Global Warming Potential	GWP	State and Local Climate and Energy Program Glossary of Terms	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The cumulative radiative forcing effects of a gas over a specified time horizon resulting from the emission of a unit mass of gas relative to a reference gas. The GWP-weighted emissions of direct greenhouse gases in the U.S. Inventory are presented in terms of equivalent emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Global Warming Potential		Glossary of Climate Change Terms	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: A measure of the total energy that a gas absorbs over a particular period of time (usually 100 years), compared to carbon dioxide.
Global Warming Potential	GWP		Abbreviation and Acronym List
Global warming potential	GWP	Student's Guide to Global Climate Change	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: A measure of how much heat a substance can trap in the atmosphere. GWP can be used to compare the effects of different greenhouse gases. For example, methane has a GWP of 21, which means over a period of 100 years, 1 pound of methane will trap 21 times more heat than 1 pound of carbon dioxide (which has a GWP of 1).
Global Warming Potential		Terms of Environment	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: The ratio of the warming caused by a substance to the warming caused by a similar mass of carbon dioxide. CFC-12, for example, has a GWP of 8,500, while water has a GWP of zero.
Global Warming Potentials	GWPs	Ozone Layer Protection Glossary	Glossary and Key Word List	Definition: A number that refers to the amount of global warming caused by a substance. The GWP is the ratio of the warming caused by a substance to the warming caused by a similar mass of carbon dioxide (CO2). Thus, the GWP of CO2 is 1.0. Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-12 has a GWP of 8,500; CFC-11 has a GWP of 5,000; hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons have GWPs ranging from 93 to 12,100; and water has a GWP of 0.
Global Warming Site	GWS		Abbreviation and Acronym List
Kyoto Global Warming Treaty		Web Taxonomy-Environmental Laws, Regulations & Treaties	Taxonomy	Definition: Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1997
Respond to Global Warming		Web Taxonomy-Functions	Taxonomy
Global Warming		EPA EV-Environmental Events-Climate Change	Taxonomy	Definition 1: The progressive gradual rise of the earth's surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns. [Greenhouse Gas Emissions] Definition 2: Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. [Glossary of Climate Change] Definition 3: Certain natural and human-produced gases prevent the sun's energy from escaping back to space leading to an overall rise in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. [NOAA Climate Program Office Glossary] Definition 4: The increase in temperatures as a result of human activities. [Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems Glossary] Definition 5: The recent and ongoing global average increase in temperature near the Earth's surface.[Glossary of Climate Change Terms] Definition 6: Certain natural and human-produced gases prevent the sun's energy from escaping back to space leading to an overall rise in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. [NOAA Climate Program Office Glossary]

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