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Acarbonneutralbuilding,business,organizationorcommunityemitszeronet <br />emissionsofcarbon(carbondioxide)intotheatmosphere.Becomingcarbonneutralinvolvesasuiteof <br />strategiesincludingincreasingenergyandconservation,theuseofrenewableenergy,andfor <br />thecarbondioxidethatcannotbeeliminated,purchasing?carbonoffsets?suchasgreentagsthatpayan <br />organizationtoplanttreesortakeotherstepstosequestertheamountofcarbonyouhaveproduced. <br />Theseareatmosphericgassesthatcontributetothegreenhouseeffect. <br />Thesegasesincludecarbondioxide,methane,ozoneandnitrousoxide.Watervaporisalsoa <br />contributortowarming,butincreasedwatervaporresultsfromwarmertemperatures.Greenhousegasses <br />naturallyoccurintheatmosphere.WithoutthemtheEarthwouldbetoocoldformostformsoflife. <br />However,scientistshavethatoverthepast150yearsorsohumanshaveemittedexcessive <br />amountsofGHGfromburningfossilfuels,deforestation,livestockfarmingandotherpracticesthathave <br />accumulatedintheatmosphere.Theexcessgassesformwhatcanbethoughtofasahugeblanketthat <br />preventssolarradiationfrombouncingbackintospace,thustrappingheatneartheEarth?ssurface. <br />Energygainedfromsourcesthataremoreorlessinexhaustibleandarereadily <br />replenishedwithoutenvironmentalharm,suchassunlight,wind,water,geothermalenergy <br />andbiomass.Althoughhydropowerisrenewable,large-scaleprojectsareoftennotgroupedwith <br />otherrenewableenergiesbecauseoftheenvironmentaldamagebylargedams.Biomassand <br />geothermalenergycanalsoproduceenvironmentalharmifnotdesignedandmanagedcarefully. <br />Thisbroadtermdescribesaprocesstoconsiderbothinitialandfuturecostsand <br />ofinvestments.Thecostsofmaintenance,use,anddisposalareconsideredinlifecyclecosting. <br />Forexample,lifecyclecostingmayrevealthatwhileenergywindowsmaycostmoreinitially,in <br />thelongtermtheenergysavingsmorethanmakeupfortheoriginaloutlayofcapital. <br />Althoughthereisnosingleoftheterm,theU.N.WorldCommissionon <br />EnvironmentandDevelopmentcoinedtheterm?sustainabledevelopment?intheir1988report,?Our <br />CommonFuture?: <br />?Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without <br />compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.? <br />Thetermcanalternativelybeconceptualizedasabalancebetweenenvironmental,socialandeconomic <br />priorities,alsoknownasthetriplebottomline.SeeSectionII.A.oftheSBIFinalReportformoredetails <br />onthetermsustainability. <br />Measurestosimultaneouslyachieveeconomic,socialandenvironmental <br />wellbeing. <br /> <br />