Zephy Earth
Climate Glossary
Terms That Matter
The Zephy Earth Glossary is your jargon-free guide to cutting-edge climate tech and ecological science. Unpack the innovations shaping our planet's future, build your green IQ, and discover how to turn that knowledge into real-world climate action.
Browse Terms
8 terms and growing
Biochar
The ancient carbon-trapping material reshaping modern climate tech.
A fine-grained, highly porous, carbon-rich material produced by heating organic waste in an oxygen-free environment — locking carbon safely for hundreds to thousands of years.
Read definition MycologyMycelium
Nature's living internet — the underground fungal network holding our planet together.
The vast underground network of thread-like filaments (hyphae) that forms the body of fungi. Far more than a root system, it is a highly intelligent communication grid connecting forests, decomposing waste, and locking carbon underground.
Read definition EcologyBiodiversity
Nature's ultimate multiplayer game — every organism is a critical player.
Short for biological diversity, biodiversity spans three levels: genetic variation within species, the sheer variety of plants, animals, and fungi, and the diverse ecosystems — from rainforests to coral reefs — that host them all.
Read definition Clean EnergyGreen Hydrogen
The zero-emission fuel that could power ships, planes, and steel furnaces — all from water and sunlight.
Produced by using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. Because the power source is 100% clean and the only byproduct is pure oxygen, the resulting fuel is completely zero-emission from start to finish.
Read definition Sustainable EconomicsCircular Economy
The systemic upgrade on "Take-Make-Waste" — an economic model where nothing is ever thrown away.
An economic model designed entirely after nature, where waste does not exist. Everything we make is designed to be shared, leased, reused, repaired, refurbished, and recycled back into the production loop — keeping materials at their highest value for as long as possible.
Read definition Climate ScienceCarbon Footprint
The measurable signal that tells us exactly where to redesign our civilisation for a net-zero future.
An environmental accounting metric that measures the total greenhouse gases — primarily CO₂ and methane — released to sustain modern human life, infrastructure, and commerce. It is the chemical byproduct of the physics powering our world.
Read definition Oceans & Blue CarbonBlue Carbon
The ocean's secret climate weapon — coastal ecosystems that bury carbon faster than any rainforest on Earth.
The CO₂ naturally captured and structurally stored by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems — specifically mangrove forests, tidal salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. These habitats cover less than 2% of the ocean yet bury up to half of all carbon sequestered in ocean sediments.
Read definition Oceans & Blue CarbonSeaweed Farming
The zero-input marine system growing two feet a day — and quietly revolutionising plastics, livestock, and climate tech.
Technically known as restorative marine macroalgal cultivation, seaweed farming grows and harvests marine algae in coastal and oceanic waters with no soil, no freshwater, and zero artificial inputs — running entirely on sunlight and dissolved ocean nutrients.
Read definitionMore terms coming soon
We're adding new definitions regularly. Check back soon.
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