A plain-language, New Jersey-aware guide to 158 climate, ecology, weather, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, justice, policy, and organizing terms.
Climate dictionary
158 terms, grouped by first letter. Open a letter to browse its definitions.
A10 terms
Adaptation
Changes that prepare people, infrastructure, economies, or ecosystems for actual or expected climate impacts. Cooling centers, flood-ready buildings, restored wetlands, and heat plans can be adaptation; adaptation reduces harm but does not replace cutting emissions.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Administrative rule
A binding requirement an executive agency adopts under authority granted by a statute. Rules are developed through a public process and sit below statutes in the legal hierarchy; read the current code and agency notices before relying on one.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)
A system of smart meters, communications, and data tools that records energy use and sends information between a utility and a customer. AMI can support time-based rates and outage detection, but privacy, access, and data-governance choices still matter.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Agroecology
The science and practice of applying ecological knowledge to the design and management of food and farming systems. It considers relationships among soil, water, plants, animals, people, economics, and culture rather than treating a farm as only a production site.Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: soil health
Agroforestry
The intentional integration of trees or shrubs with crops or livestock. Practices such as windbreaks, forest farming, and streamside buffers can produce food or wood while also supporting soil, water, habitat, and farm resilience.Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: agroforestry
Air Quality Index (AQI)
A public scale that communicates how clean or polluted outdoor air is and what health effects may be possible. The index combines pollutant measurements with health guidance; it is not a measurement of every chemical in the air.Source: EPA: air quality basics
Alternative-fuel vehicle
A vehicle designed to run on a fuel or power source other than conventional gasoline or diesel, such as electricity, hydrogen, or certain biofuels. The climate and air-quality effects depend on the vehicle, fuel production, and how it is used.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Anaerobic digestion
A controlled process in which microorganisms break down organic material without oxygen. It produces biogas that can be used for energy and a nutrient-rich material called digestate; it is different from composting, which is an oxygen-dependent process.Source: EPA: anaerobic digestion
Aquifer
A body of rock or sediment that stores and transmits usable quantities of groundwater. Water enters an aquifer through recharge and may reach the surface through wells or springs.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
Atmospheric river
A long, narrow region of the atmosphere that transports large amounts of water vapor. When it reaches land, it can provide beneficial rain or snow, but a strong event can also contribute to flooding and landslides.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
B9 terms
Base-building
The ongoing work of growing a durable group of people who understand an issue, trust one another, take responsibility, and act together. Base-building is deeper than collecting followers or petition signatures because it develops relationships and leadership that remain after one action.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Battery-electric vehicle (BEV)
A vehicle propelled only by one or more electric motors powered by rechargeable batteries. A BEV has no tailpipe emissions, while its full life-cycle impacts depend on manufacturing, electricity, driving, and end-of-life management.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Bill
Proposed legislation introduced in a legislature. A bill is not law until it completes the required legislative steps and receives the approval or enactment required by that government; its number and text can change during the process.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Biodiversity
The variety of life at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Biodiversity is more than a species count because it also includes ecological relationships and variation within species.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Biomass
Organic material from plants or animals that can be used as an energy source, including wood, crop residues, food waste, and some fuels made from biological material. Biomass can be renewable when replenished, but its climate and ecological effects depend on the feedstock, land use, processing, and timescale.Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration: renewable energy
Bioswale
A shallow, vegetated channel designed to slow, collect, and filter stormwater as it moves through a site. A bioswale is one type of green infrastructure and is usually longer and more channel-like than a rain garden; the term is sometimes misspelled as bioswell.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Blue infrastructure
Water-focused infrastructure and systems, including streams, wetlands, floodplains, reservoirs, and constructed water-management features. Planning blue infrastructure with green infrastructure can store, slow, clean, and convey water while supporting habitat.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Brownfield
Property whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or possible presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. A vacant lot is not automatically a brownfield, and assessment is needed to understand site conditions.Source: EPA: brownfields
Building decarbonization
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from a building across construction, energy use, refrigerants, maintenance, and eventual replacement. Efficiency, weatherization, heat pumps, clean electricity, and low-carbon materials can each contribute.Source: U.S. Department of Energy: weatherization
C22 terms
Campaign
A coordinated, time-bounded effort to win a specific change from a person or institution with the power to deliver it. A campaign names the demand, target, strategy, milestones, and roles instead of treating every activity as an end in itself.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Carbon budget
The total amount of carbon dioxide that can still be emitted while retaining a stated chance of limiting warming to a particular level. A carbon budget is cumulative, not an annual spending plan, so delaying reductions uses more of the remaining total.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
A common unit that expresses the warming effect of different greenhouse gases as the amount of carbon dioxide with an equivalent effect over a stated time horizon. The chosen metric and time horizon matter, so CO2e is an accounting tool rather than a separate gas.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Carbon neutral
A claim that carbon dioxide emissions associated with a defined entity, product, or activity are balanced by reductions or removals inside or outside its direct boundary. The claim is meaningful only when the scope, time period, accounting rules, direct reductions, and any offsets are disclosed.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Carbon offset
A credit tied to a claimed emissions reduction or removal in one place that is used to compensate for emissions somewhere else. Offset quality and integrity vary, and buying an offset is not the same action as cutting emissions at their source.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Carbon sequestration
The process of capturing and storing carbon in plants, soils, oceans, geologic formations, or long-lived products. Storage duration and the risk that carbon will be released again are important when evaluating a sequestration claim.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Circular economy
A systems approach that keeps materials and products in use at high value for as long as possible, reduces material use, and designs out waste and pollution. Repair, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling can contribute, but circularity begins with how products and systems are designed.Source: EPA: circular economy
Clean energy standard
A policy that requires electricity suppliers to provide a defined share of electricity from resources that meet a stated emissions or technology standard. Eligibility rules vary, so the label does not by itself reveal the standard's climate effect.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Climate action plan
A public roadmap that sets climate goals, actions, responsibilities, timelines, and measures of progress for a government, institution, or community. A useful plan names funding, accountability, and who helped shape it.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Climate change
Long-term changes in the state of the climate, including average conditions and patterns of variability. Current rapid warming is driven primarily by human activities that increase heat-trapping greenhouse gases, especially fossil fuel use and land-use change.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Climate justice
A framework that connects climate change to rights, inequality, and power. Climate justice asks who produced the pollution, who experiences the harms, who makes decisions, and who receives the benefits and costs of climate action.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
Climate mitigation
Action that limits climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Replacing fossil energy, improving efficiency, protecting carbon-storing ecosystems, and changing industrial processes can all contribute to mitigation.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Climate resilience
The capacity of people, communities, institutions, infrastructure, and ecosystems to cope with climate stresses, maintain essential functions, adapt, and when necessary transform. Resilience is not simply returning to conditions that were already unsafe or unequal.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Coalition
A group of organizations or constituencies that coordinate around a shared objective while keeping their separate identities. A coalition works best when members are clear about the decision process, commitments, resources, and how public credit is shared.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Community organizing
The practice of building relationships, shared analysis, local leadership, and collective capacity so people can change the conditions affecting them. Organizing develops people who can act together; one-way outreach mainly distributes information.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Complete streets
A transportation-planning approach that designs streets for the safety and access of people walking, rolling, biking, taking transit, and driving. The right design depends on the street's context and the people who use it.Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
Composting
The managed, aerobic decomposition of organic materials by microorganisms. With the right balance of oxygen, moisture, carbon-rich material, and nitrogen-rich material, the process creates a stable soil amendment called compost.Source: EPA: composting
Conservation
The protection and careful management of natural resources, often allowing use when it can occur without exhausting or seriously damaging the resource. In everyday speech it overlaps with preservation, but conservation usually emphasizes responsible use and stewardship.Source: National Park Service: conservation and preservation
Conservation easement
A voluntary legal agreement that limits certain uses of land to protect conservation values while the land remains privately owned. The exact restrictions, permitted uses, holder, and duration are set by the recorded agreement.Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: conservation easements
Cover crop
A crop planted mainly to protect and improve soil between or alongside cash crops rather than for harvest. Cover crops can reduce erosion, keep living roots in the soil, improve infiltration, and retain nutrients, depending on the species and management.Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: soil health
The combined effects of multiple environmental or public-health stressors over time, including pollution, heat, flooding, noise, and social conditions. A single-permit review can miss cumulative impacts if it looks only at one source or one exposure pathway.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
D6 terms
DC fast charging
Electric-vehicle charging that supplies direct current to a vehicle battery at higher power than typical Level 1 or Level 2 equipment. Actual charging speed depends on the vehicle, charger, battery state, site capacity, and temperature.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Decarbonization
The process of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from an economy, sector, building, or activity. It can include energy efficiency, electrification, clean power, material changes, and reduced fossil fuel use, but the measured emissions outcome matters more than the label.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Demand response
A utility or grid program that changes electricity use at particular times in response to grid conditions or prices. Customers may shift, reduce, or automate demand in exchange for a rate or other incentive.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Direct action
A public collective intervention that applies pressure more immediately than a routine request or private meeting. Marches, sit-ins, boycotts, strikes, and blockades can be direct actions; some forms involve civil disobedience or legal risk, while direct action is not automatically unlawful.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Distributed energy resource (DER)
A smaller energy resource connected to a local distribution system or located behind a customer meter. Rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, flexible loads, and some efficiency measures can act as DERs when they provide electricity or grid services.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Drought
A period of drier-than-normal conditions that lasts long enough to cause water-related problems. Meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and ecological drought describe different ways a shortage develops and affects people or ecosystems.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
E17 terms
Ecological restoration
The process of helping a degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystem recover. Restoration aims to rebuild ecological function and resilience, not necessarily to reproduce a single historical snapshot exactly.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Ecosystem
A community of living organisms interacting with one another and with the nonliving environment as a system. Ecosystems can be described at many scales, from a soil patch or pond to an estuary or forest.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Ecosystem services
Benefits people receive from functioning ecosystems, such as water filtration, flood buffering, crop pollination, food, cooling, and cultural connection. The phrase can help show what ecosystems do, but not every ecological or cultural value can be reduced to a price.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Electric vehicle (EV)
A vehicle that uses electricity to power a motor. The term includes battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; a plug-in hybrid can also use an internal-combustion engine.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Electrification
Converting an energy-using device, building, vehicle, or industrial process from a non-electric fuel to electricity. Its emissions effect depends on efficiency, the electricity supply, timing, and the fuel or technology it replaces.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Energy audit
A systematic inspection and analysis of how a building uses energy and where cost-effective savings may be possible. A good audit identifies equipment, insulation, air leakage, controls, health and safety conditions, and a prioritized path for improvements.Source: U.S. Department of Energy: weatherization
Energy burden
The share of a household's income spent on home energy costs. Energy burden can be high because of inefficient housing, energy prices, household income, or all three, and it can shape health, comfort, and the ability to make improvements.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
Energy efficiency
Providing the same or better service with less energy, such as using a well-insulated building or a more efficient motor. Efficiency reduces energy demand; it is different from simply using less service, which is energy conservation.Source: U.S. Department of Energy: weatherization
ENERGY STAR
A U.S. government-backed program that identifies products, buildings, and practices that meet specified energy-efficiency criteria. The label is a program qualification, not a guarantee that every product has the same lifetime cost or environmental impact.Source: U.S. Department of Energy: weatherization
Environmental impact statement (EIS)
A detailed analysis prepared under an environmental review law for a proposed action that may significantly affect the environment. An EIS describes alternatives, impacts, mitigation, and public input; it is an analysis, not automatically an approval or denial.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Environmental justice
The principle and practice of fair treatment and meaningful involvement in environmental decisions, with attention to how harms, protections, and benefits are distributed. Environmental justice work centers people who have carried disproportionate pollution and health burdens.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The U.S. federal agency that develops and enforces national environmental protections, conducts research, provides grants, and works with states, Tribes, territories, and local governments. EPA shares many responsibilities with state environmental agencies rather than replacing them.Source: EPA
EPA Region 2
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional office that serves New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight federally recognized Indian Nations. New Jersey's state environmental regulator is NJDEP, while EPA Region 2 handles federal programs and oversight assigned to EPA.Source: EPA
Eutrophication
Excess nutrient enrichment of water that can fuel algal growth, reduce oxygen, block light, and harm aquatic life. Nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer, manure, wastewater, and stormwater are common contributors.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
Executive order
A written directive from an executive such as a governor or president to agencies under that executive's authority. It can organize government action, but it cannot override a statute or create powers the law does not provide.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Extreme heat
Heat that is unusually intense or long-lasting for a place and season and creates health or system risks. Temperature, humidity, nighttime cooling, exposure, housing, health, and access to cooling all affect the danger.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
Extreme precipitation
Rain or snow that is unusually heavy for a place, duration, and season. A brief cloudburst and a multi-day storm can both be extreme, but they create different drainage, river, and landslide risks.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
F4 terms
Federal Register
The U.S. government's daily publication for agency rules, proposed rules, notices, and presidential documents. It is where many federal environmental proposals and public-comment deadlines are officially announced.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Fenceline community
People living closest to a facility, freight corridor, extraction site, waste site, or other pollution source and experiencing its localized effects. Fenceline community is descriptive movement language, not the name of a New Jersey legal designation.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
Floodplain
Land next to a river, stream, or coast that can be covered by floodwater. A mapped floodplain represents a modeled level of risk, not a guarantee that flooding will occur only inside its boundary.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
Frontline community
A community experiencing climate impacts or pollution early, intensely, or repeatedly and often leading the response. The term is broader than physical proximity to one facility, and communities may define their own relationship to it differently.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
G5 terms
Green infrastructure
A network or practice that uses vegetation, soils, permeable surfaces, and natural processes to manage water and provide environmental benefits. Rain gardens, bioswales, urban trees, green roofs, and restored wetlands are common examples, but design and maintenance determine performance.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Greenhouse gases
Gases that absorb and re-emit heat in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases are important human-influenced greenhouse gases; water vapor also acts as a greenhouse gas but mainly responds to warming rather than initiating current long-term warming. The standard plural is gases, though searches sometimes use greenhouse gasses.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Greenwashing
Communication that misleads people into believing an organization, product, policy, or pledge does more environmental good than the evidence supports. Warning signs include vague claims, selective data, distant targets without a credible plan, and attention to a small improvement that hides larger harms.Source: United Nations: greenwashing
Grey infrastructure
Built, engineered systems such as pipes, culverts, treatment plants, seawalls, roads, dams, and concrete channels. Grey infrastructure can be essential, but pairing it with green or blue infrastructure can add storage, habitat, cooling, and redundancy.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Groundwater
Water stored below the ground in pores and cracks in soil, sediment, and rock. Groundwater moves slowly, can supply wells and springs, and can be difficult to clean after contamination.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
H4 terms
Habitat
The place and conditions an organism needs to live, find food and water, shelter, reproduce, and move through its life cycle. Good habitat depends on quality, size, connectivity, and the needs of the particular species.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Heat index
A measure of how hot it feels when relative humidity is combined with air temperature in shaded, light-wind conditions. Direct sun, activity, clothing, age, health, and the built environment can make a person's actual heat stress different from the reported value.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
Heat pump
A mechanical system that moves heat rather than creating it by burning fuel. In heating mode it moves heat indoors, and in cooling mode it moves heat outdoors; efficiency, refrigerant, sizing, and installation determine performance.Source: U.S. Department of Energy: weatherization
Highway wildlife crossing
A bridge, underpass, culvert, fence, or related design that helps animals cross a road safely and keeps people safer. Effective crossings are placed where wildlife movement and collisions are documented and are paired with habitat connections.Source: U.S. Department of the Interior
I5 terms
Impervious surface
A surface such as a conventional roof, road, or parking lot that prevents much of the rain or snowmelt from soaking into the ground. More impervious cover generally increases and speeds stormwater runoff unless it is captured, stored, reused, or infiltrated elsewhere.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
The 2021 federal infrastructure law that authorized funding for transportation, water, broadband, energy, and resilience programs. Actual eligibility, timing, and awards depend on the specific federal program and its current guidance.Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
Interconnection
The technical, contractual, and regulatory process for connecting a generator, battery, or other distributed energy resource to an electric grid. A utility studies safety, power quality, equipment, and system impacts before approving the connection.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Invasive species
A non-native organism whose introduction causes or is likely to cause environmental, economic, or health harm. Non-native and invasive are not synonyms because many non-native species do not spread aggressively or cause the harms that define an invasive species.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Inverter
A device that converts direct current into alternating current or manages power between electrical systems. Solar arrays and batteries use inverters to connect with building circuits or the electric grid.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
J2 terms
Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Six movement principles adopted at a 1996 meeting hosted by the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice in Jemez, New Mexico. They call on organizers to be inclusive, emphasize bottom-up organizing, let people speak for themselves, work together in solidarity and mutuality, build just relationships, and commit to self-transformation.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Just transition
A shift toward a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy that protects rights and livelihoods and shares the costs and benefits fairly. In practice, a just transition requires affected workers and communities to help shape decisions rather than receive a plan after it is settled.Source: IPCC climate glossary
K1 term
Keystone species
A species with an ecological effect that is large relative to its abundance. Removing a keystone species can reshape food webs, habitat, or ecosystem processes, but the label depends on evidence from a particular ecosystem.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
L6 terms
Legislation
A lawmaking proposal or enacted law created through a legislature's formal process. In everyday conversation the word can mean either a bill under consideration or the resulting statute, so check the document's status.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Legislative session
The period when a legislature is formally meeting and conducting its business. Deadlines, committee calendars, voting rules, and special sessions vary by jurisdiction and can change which bills move.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Level 1 charging
Electric-vehicle charging from a standard household outlet, typically at the lowest common charging power. It can be useful for vehicles parked for long periods, but charging time depends on the circuit, vehicle, battery, and starting state.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Level 2 charging
Electric-vehicle charging equipment using a higher-voltage alternating-current circuit than Level 1. Level 2 chargers are common at homes, workplaces, and public sites, with speed determined by the charger, circuit, and vehicle.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Lobbying
Communication intended to influence a legislator or government official about specific legislation or a covered government action. Registration and reporting rules differ, and public education or organizing is not automatically lobbying.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Loss and damage
Harms caused by climate impacts that are not avoided through mitigation or adaptation. The term can include economic losses such as damaged property and non-economic losses such as lives, health, territory, culture, biodiversity, and community identity; it also names an area of work under the UN climate process.Source: IPCC climate glossary
M6 terms
Maladaptation
An action intended to reduce climate risk that instead increases emissions, vulnerability, exposure, or inequality now or later. Protecting one place by shifting floodwater into another neighborhood is a simple example of why adaptation must be evaluated beyond the project boundary.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Meaningful involvement
Participation in which affected people have a real opportunity to take part, their contributions can influence the decision, their concerns are considered, and decision makers actively make participation possible. A meeting held after the outcome is fixed is not meaningful involvement.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Methane
A heat-trapping greenhouse gas and the main component of natural gas. Major human-related sources include oil and gas systems, livestock, landfills, coal mining, and some agricultural processes; methane remains in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide but has a stronger near-term warming effect per unit emitted.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Microplastics
Plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters, including particles intentionally made small and fragments shed from larger plastics, tires, paints, and synthetic textiles. Definitions of the smallest size vary across scientific methods, and researchers are still resolving many exposure and health questions.Source: EPA: microplastics research
Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)
A publicly owned stormwater drainage system that is separate from a sanitary sewer and serves a defined area. MS4 operators follow permit requirements to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges to waterways.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Mutual aid
Reciprocal community support organized so people meet needs together, share resources, and build collective capacity. Mutual aid differs from a one-directional charity model because participants can be both contributors and recipients and often help decide how the effort operates.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
N17 terms
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
A federal law requiring agencies to assess environmental effects and alternatives for major federal actions and to involve the public in the review. NEPA is a process and disclosure law; it does not require every project to choose the least-impact alternative.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
The federal Clean Water Act permit program for point-source discharges of pollutants to waters of the United States. EPA or an authorized state administers the program, and permit terms depend on the discharge and receiving water.Source: EPA: nonpoint source pollution
Nationally determined contribution (NDC)
A national climate plan submitted under the Paris Agreement that describes a country's efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts. An NDC belongs to a national government; a New Jersey climate plan or municipal plan is not itself an NDC.Source: UNFCCC: nationally determined contributions
Native species
A species that occurs in a place through natural processes rather than human introduction. Native status is tied to a defined geography and history, so a species can be native in one region and non-native in another.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Net metering
A billing arrangement that credits an electricity customer for eligible power a distributed generator sends to the grid. The credit rate, caps, equipment rules, and treatment of excess generation are set by the applicable state or utility program.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Net zero
A state in which human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by human-caused removals over a specified period. Net zero does not mean every emission has stopped, so a credible pathway prioritizes deep direct reductions and clearly accounts for any residual emissions and removals.Source: IPCC climate glossary
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)
The state agency that regulates public utilities and helps administer energy, clean-energy, telecommunications, and certain water and transportation programs. Its authority and current incentives are defined by state law and board orders.Source: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA)
The state department that supports agriculture, food safety, farmland preservation, animal health, plant health, and related natural-resource programs. It works with federal, county, and university partners on farm and food systems.Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture
New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE)
The state department that sets and supports New Jersey’s public-school learning standards, assessments, educator guidance, and education programs. Local districts design and deliver curricula within state requirements.Source: New Jersey Department of Education
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
New Jersey's state environmental agency. NJDEP administers state environmental laws and permits, protects air, land, and water, manages parks and wildlife programs, and coordinates with EPA and other governments.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH)
The state department that protects and promotes public health through surveillance, health guidance, licensing, disease prevention, laboratory and emergency-response functions, and partnerships with local health agencies.Source: New Jersey Department of Health
New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)
The state department responsible for planning, building, operating, and maintaining New Jersey's state transportation system, including highways, bridges, transit coordination, and transportation safety programs.Source: New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
The NJDEP division that manages wildlife and fisheries, hunting and fishing rules, conservation programs, habitat, species information, and related licenses and permits in New Jersey.Source: New Jersey Fish and Wildlife
No-till farming
A farming system that plants crops with little or no soil inversion by plowing. No-till can reduce erosion and disturbance and improve water infiltration, but outcomes depend on crop rotation, cover, compaction, pest management, and local soil conditions.Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: soil health
Nonpoint source pollution
Pollution carried from many diffuse sources rather than discharged from one identifiable pipe or outlet. Rain or snowmelt can move sediment, nutrients, oil, salt, pesticides, and waste from streets, lawns, farms, and construction sites into water.Source: EPA: nonpoint source pollution
Nuclear energy
Energy released by reactions in atomic nuclei. Today's commercial nuclear power plants use controlled fission to create heat, make steam, turn a turbine, and generate electricity; operation produces little direct carbon dioxide but involves mining, fuel processing, radioactive waste, water use, cost, and safety considerations.Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: nuclear energy
Nutrient runoff
Nitrogen and phosphorus carried from land into waterways by rain, snowmelt, or irrigation. Fertilizer, manure, eroding soil, and wastewater can contribute, and excessive nutrient loading can cause eutrophication.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
O3 terms
Ordinance
A local law adopted by a city, township, borough, county, or other local government under the authority available to that government. Zoning, tree protection, building, stormwater, and noise rules are common ordinance subjects.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Overburdened community (New Jersey)
A formal New Jersey legal and mapping category based on census block-group criteria in the state's Environmental Justice Law. It should not be used as a general synonym for every community facing pollution; check NJDEP's current list or EJMAP when the legal designation matters.Source: New Jersey environmental justice
Ozone
A gas made of three oxygen atoms. High in the stratosphere it helps absorb ultraviolet radiation; near the ground it is a harmful air pollutant formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in sunlight.Source: EPA: air quality basics
P10 terms
Particulate matter (PM)
A mixture of tiny solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air. Smaller particles can travel deep into the lungs and, depending on their size and chemistry, contribute to cardiovascular and respiratory harm.Source: EPA: air quality basics
Permeable pavement and pervious concrete
Pavement systems designed with connected openings or pores that let water pass into an underlying stone reservoir and, where conditions allow, the soil. Pervious concrete is one type; porous asphalt and permeable interlocking pavers are others, and all require site-appropriate design and maintenance to avoid clogging or groundwater problems.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Permit
An official authorization to perform an activity under stated conditions. Environmental permits can limit emissions, discharges, waste handling, construction, or land disturbance, and usually include monitoring, reporting, and enforcement provisions.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
PFAS
A large and diverse class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used in many industrial and consumer applications. Many PFAS are highly persistent, some can build up in people and ecosystems, and evidence links exposure to certain PFAS with harmful health effects; risks and treatment methods differ across individual compounds.Source: EPA: PFAS explained
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)
A vehicle with an electric motor and rechargeable battery that can also use an internal-combustion engine. A PHEV’s fuel and electricity use depend on charging, trip length, driving conditions, and how the vehicle is operated.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Pollinator
An animal that moves pollen between flowers and enables fertilization and seed or fruit production. Bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, birds, and bats can be pollinators; wind also pollinates many plants but is not an organism.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
Power mapping
A campaign exercise that identifies the decision maker, people who influence that decision maker, organized constituencies, relationships, interests, and possible leverage. A power map is a working hypothesis that should change as organizers learn, not a permanent ranking of people's worth.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Preservation
Protection intended to keep a natural or cultural resource from damage, loss, or use that would impair it. In the conservation tradition, preservation generally places more emphasis on leaving nature protected from consumptive use.Source: National Park Service: conservation and preservation
Public comment
Formal input submitted during the comment period for a proposed rule, permit, plan, or other government action. The notice controls the deadline and submission method, and a useful comment clearly identifies the proposal, evidence, local impact, requested change, and supporting record.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Public utility commission
A state or local regulatory body that oversees some public utilities, such as electricity, gas, water, or telecommunications. In New Jersey, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities fills this role for the utilities within its jurisdiction.Source: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
R7 terms
Rain garden
A shallow planted depression that temporarily collects stormwater and lets it soak into soil or drain through an engineered system. Unlike a wetland or pond, a rain garden is normally designed to empty between storms.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Remediation
Actions taken to investigate, contain, remove, treat, or otherwise manage contamination so risks meet applicable standards for a planned use. Remediation does not always remove every contaminant, so engineering controls, monitoring, or land-use restrictions may remain.Source: EPA: brownfields
Renewable energy
Energy from sources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale, including sunlight, wind, flowing water, geothermal heat, and biomass. Renewable does not mean impact-free, so siting, materials, land and water use, wildlife effects, and community benefits still matter.Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration: renewable energy
Renewable portfolio standard (RPS)
A policy requiring electricity suppliers to obtain a specified share of their electricity or credits from eligible renewable resources. The definition of eligible resources, credit rules, and compliance schedule vary by jurisdiction.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Resilience hub
A trusted community-serving facility designed to support residents before, during, and after disruptions. Depending on local needs and resources, a hub may provide cooling, clean air, backup power, charging, communications, supplies, services, and year-round programming.Source: Vermont Energy Investment Corporation: resilience hubs
Riparian buffer
Vegetated land beside a river, stream, lake, or wetland that helps intercept runoff, stabilize banks, shade water, and provide habitat. Buffer effectiveness depends on width, slope, soils, vegetation, adjacent land use, and what pollutants need to be managed.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
Rulemaking
The formal process an agency uses to develop, propose, adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative rule. It commonly includes a public notice, proposed text, comment period, agency response, and effective date.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
S9 terms
Sea-level rise
An increase in average sea level caused mainly by warming ocean water expanding and land ice melting, with local conditions also affected by land movement, currents, and regional ocean patterns. Higher average water levels allow tides and storms to reach farther inland.Source: IPCC climate glossary
Soil health
The continuing capacity of soil to function as a living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and people. Healthy soil regulates water, cycles nutrients, supports biodiversity, stores carbon, and provides physical structure, but it must be evaluated for a specific place and use.Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: soil health
Solar photovoltaic (PV)
A technology that converts light directly into electricity using semiconductor cells. A PV system includes modules plus electrical equipment, mounting, wiring, controls, and often an inverter or battery.Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration: renewable energy
Stakeholder
A person, community, organization, agency, or business that is affected by a decision or can affect its outcome. Because the word can flatten large differences in power and risk, climate work is often clearer when it names the specific people involved.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Statute
A law enacted by a legislature and signed or otherwise made effective under that jurisdiction's process. Statutes authorize agencies, set duties or prohibitions, and can direct agencies to create more detailed rules.Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: rules
Storm surge
An abnormal rise of seawater above the level expected from the astronomical tide, caused by a storm's winds and pressure. Storm tide is the observed water level produced by the normal tide plus the surge.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
Stormwater
Rain or melting snow that flows over land and built surfaces instead of soaking into the ground. Stormwater can cause flooding and carry pollution, so infrastructure may convey, store, infiltrate, filter, reuse, or slowly release it.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Stormwater utility
A public program or entity that funds, operates, or maintains stormwater infrastructure through a dedicated fee or other revenue. A utility may support pipes and basins as well as green infrastructure, inspections, and maintenance.Source: EPA: green infrastructure
Sustainability
The capacity to meet present needs while maintaining environmental, social, and economic systems that future generations will depend on. Because the word is broad, a useful sustainability claim names the goal, boundaries, timeframe, tradeoffs, and evidence.Source: IPCC climate glossary
T2 terms
Theory of change
An explicit explanation of how planned activities are expected to produce intermediate changes and eventually the desired outcome. A useful theory of change names assumptions and evidence, making it possible to test why a strategy is or is not working.Source: Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
Transportation electrification
Replacing petroleum-fueled transportation with electric vehicles and the charging, grid, planning, and workforce systems needed to support them. Equity, housing, electricity supply, and access to charging shape the outcome.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
U7 terms
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The federal department that supports agriculture and food systems and administers programs involving farms, forests, rural development, nutrition, conservation, and animal and plant health. Different USDA agencies have different authorities and program rules.Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
The federal department responsible for energy technology, research, national laboratories, nuclear security, energy efficiency, and parts of the energy-policy and funding system. It does not regulate every energy activity; authority is shared with states and other federal agencies.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
The federal department that protects public health and delivers health and human services through agencies such as CDC, NIH, and the Administration for Children and Families. HHS addresses health effects of environmental conditions alongside EPA and state health agencies.Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
The federal department that manages many public lands and waters, wildlife and cultural resources, geological science, and trust responsibilities for federally recognized Tribes. Its bureaus include the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Bureau of Indian Affairs.Source: U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
The federal department that sets transportation policy and administers funding, safety, infrastructure, and research programs across aviation, highways, rail, transit, maritime, and pipelines. States and localities operate much of the resulting system.Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
Urban forestry
The planning and care of trees and forests in cities, towns, and developed areas. Urban forestry includes street trees, parks, private yards, canopy planning, maintenance, risk management, and equitable access to shade and cooling.Source: New Jersey Fish and Wildlife
Urban heat island
The tendency for a built-up area to be warmer than nearby less-developed areas because buildings and pavement absorb and release heat, vegetation is limited, and human activities add heat. The pattern varies block by block and can be reduced through shade, trees, reflective materials, green space, and lower waste heat.Source: EPA: heat island effect
V1 term
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
A system in which a compatible electric vehicle can send stored electricity back to the grid under an approved control and compensation arrangement. The vehicle, charger, utility, interconnection rules, and battery warranty all matter.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
W5 terms
Watershed
The land area that drains water to a common outlet such as a stream, river, lake, estuary, or ocean. Every place is in a watershed, and a large watershed contains many smaller nested drainage areas.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
Weather
Atmospheric conditions over minutes, days, or seasons, such as temperature, precipitation, wind, and humidity. Climate describes the longer-term patterns and ranges in those conditions, so one storm or cold day does not by itself confirm or disprove climate change.Source: National Weather Service Glossary
Weatherization
Building improvements that reduce energy waste and protect occupants from outdoor conditions, such as air sealing, insulation, duct repair, and moisture or ventilation measures. Weatherization is broader than replacing a heating system and should account for indoor air quality and combustion safety.Source: U.S. Department of Energy: weatherization
Wetland
An area where water is present at or near the surface often enough to shape the soil and support water-adapted vegetation. Wetlands include marshes, swamps, bogs, and other types and can store floodwater, filter pollutants, support biodiversity, and connect surface water with groundwater.Source: USGS Water Science Glossary
Wetland restoration
Work that helps a degraded or altered wetland recover its water regime, soils, vegetation, habitat, and ecological functions. Restoration may involve removing a barrier, reestablishing flow, controlling invasives, or rebuilding native communities.Source: National Park Service: invasive species
