Below is a glossary of key terms and concepts pertinent to the idea of sufficience. For my personal understanding of sufficience, please read my post.

cohousing - a residential building or development in which people share certain spaces - large kitchens, activity rooms, gardens, etc. - but still have their own private living quarters

 

cradle to cradle - (see life cycle assessment)

 

embodied energy - the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport and product delivery.

 

environmental assessment - An energy assessment or audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy conservation in a building, process or system to reduce the amount of energy input into the system without negatively affecting the output(s).

 

energy transition - is the transition from the current dependence on non-renewable energy sources (fossil fuels) to an energy portfolio dominated by renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable development. The final goal is the abolition of coal and other non-renewable energy sources.

 

gray energy - embodied energy, the total energy used to make something

 

life cycle assessment ( cradle to grave, cradle to cradle analysis) - is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with the various stages and inputs into a product’s lifespan - from design to material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, maintenance, disposal and recycling, in order to evaluate impact and to make informed decisions.

 

localism, localization - social and political trends that emphasize the local: decentralized government, local production, consumption, culture and identity. Their overriding goal is to foster the long-term well-being of a community, especially while maintaining and even improving the local natural environment. Localism has a narrow focus on a specific community, whereas localization refers to a view from a larger system back to the local. Both terms are often used in contrast to globalization.

 

makerspace (hackerspace, fablab) - creative do-it-yourself facility where people can gather to create, invent and learn. The often have such equipment as 3D printers, computers, craft supplies and tools.

 

nonrenewable energy - energy that comes from sources that will run out or will not be replenished in our lifetimes—or even in many, many lifetimes. Most non-renewable energy sources are fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Carbon is the main element in fossil fuels.

 

permaculture - (polyculture) refers to a system of agriculture developed in Tasmania in the 1970s to work with rather than at odds with nature. In contrast to traditional monoculture farming, permaculture farming relies on careful observation of local habitats and incorporates seasonal water, vegetation and animal habitat cycles. For more information one can read Permaculture One by B. Mollison and D. Holmgren, or go to the Permaculture News or the Permaculture Institute websites

renewable energy - energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.

 

sharing economy (also known as collaborative consumption) - peer to peer sharing of goods, often through an online platform, which can be complex and broad (think Uber) or community-based (see smart sharing).

 

smart sharing - a system where multiple users share the use of items (cars, rooms, scissors) to reduce their lying idle  and thereby conserving energy.

synergy - the working together of two or more things to produce an effect greater that the sum of the separate parts.

 

sufficiency - the idea of enough; an adequate amount of something, especially something essential

 

sufficience - meeting the needs of something; a sufficient quantity of something

 

sustainable - able to be maintained at a certain rate or level, especially of development or exploitation; conserving an ecological balance; able to be upheld or defended.

 

2000-Watt Society - a global energy-use goal for every person to use only 2000 watts per hour (48 kilowatt-hours per day) of total primary energy. Currently people in the US use about 12000 watts and hour, in Switzerland about 6000, in Bangladesh less than 500 watts.

Total primary energy includes embedded energy, e.g. energy for the production of both raw materials and consumer products, transportation and disposal (or reuse).

For more information: www.2000-watt-society.org