Glossary
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Genotype
The genotype or heritage of an organism represents its exact genetic amenities; in other words the individual set of genes present in its cell nucleus.
Governance
The term governance refers to the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs. It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and co-operative action may be taken and includes formal, e.g. legal, institutions as well as informal arrangements, e.g. cultural norms.
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse effect refers to the phenomenon that a space enclosed by glass warms up faster as a result of the sun’s rays than its surroundings. The visible and infrared sunlight, most of which passes through glass, is absorbed by the ground inside and converted into heat, while the long-wave thermal radiation emitted by the ground cannot pass through the glass. The atmosphere’s ability to let through short-wave radiation, but then to absorb it and not let most of it back into space, leads to a rise in temperature, as in a greenhouse, and to a temperature balance between day and night. The part of the atmospheric greenhouse effect caused by human activity is called the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. The term greenhouse effect is often used as a shorthand way of referring to global warming.
Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation and contribute to the greenhouse effect. They can be of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Carbon dioxide and methane are both greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases absorb part of the infrared radiation emitted from the ground, which would otherwise escape into space. Natural greenhouse gases increase the average temperature on the earth’s surface by 15 °C. Without this natural greenhouse effect, life on earth would probably be impossible.
