Environmental issues glossary

A glossary of words and phrases used in green construction and sustainable development.

F

Factor Four

The idea that resource productivity should be quadrupled so that wealth is doubled, and resource use is halved.

Factor Ten

The idea that per capita material flows from rich countries need to be reduced by 90% to hit the Factor Four target because they are responsible for five times as much resource use as Southern countries.

Fair Trade

Occurs when manufacturers agree to fair return to raw material producers; a return above that which the market would normally impose, and above poverty levels.

Flood estimation handbook (FEH)

Produced by Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford (formerly the Institute of Hydrology)

Fenestration

Architectural term for windows and their placement.

Filter drain

A linear drain consisting of a trench filled with a permeable material, often with a perforated pipe in the base of the trench to assist drainage, to store and conduct water, but may also be designed to permit Infiltration.

Filter strip

A vegetated area of gently sloping ground designed to drain water evenly off impermeable areas and filter out silt and other particulates.

Filtration

The act of removing sediment or other particles from a fluid by passing it through a filter.

First flush

The initial Runoff from a site or Catchment following the start of a rainfall event. As runoff travels over a catchment it will pick up or dissolve pollutants and the first flush portion of the flow may be the most contaminated as a result.

Flood frequency

The probability of a flowrate being equalled or exceeded in any year.

Floodplain

Land adjacent to a watercourse that would be subject to repeated flooding under natural conditions.

Flood routeing

Design and consideration of above-ground areas that act as pathways permitting water to run safely over land to minimise the adverse effect of flooding. This is required when the design capacity of the drainage system has been exceeded.

Flow control device

A device used to manage the movement of surface water into and out of an Attenuation facility, e.g. a weir.

Fly ash

Ash residue from high-temperature combustion processes; can be used for fill material, soil stabilisation and waste Remediation. Electric power plants using western coal produce a non-toxic fly ash which can substitute for a portion of portland cement in concrete, to produce a strong, durable concrete. See - Pozzolan

Food Miles

The number of miles food produce travels from ‘plough to plate’, that is from the place of production to consumption.

Footprint of cities

The amount of land and/or resources used by a city, increasingly considered on a global rather than local or national scale.

Fossil fuel

A naturally occurring fuel rich in carbon and hydrogen formed by the decomposition of prehistoric organisms.

FTSE4GOOD

Created in 2001, FTSE4GOOD indexes are a range of socially responsible stock exchange indexes included in the FTSE index

BackToTop