Gene bank

A facility that preserves genetic material for the ex situ conservation of individuals (seeds), tissues, and reproductive cells of plants or animals.

(Human) genome

The complete set of genetic information or hereditary material in the chromosomes of each cell of a human being.

Green architecture

see main entry Sustainable architecture.

Green revolution

The intensification of industrial agriculture in the 1960s in the developing world.  The green revolution led to a dramatic increase of crop yields per unit area of farmland.  Practices supporting such an increase include turning large tracts of land over to monocultures of high-yield cereal crops (rice and wheat); the heavy use of irrigation, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers; and sowing and harvesting on a single piece of land multiple times per season or per year.  The green revolution has been criticized for its long-term deleterious ecological and social effects.

Green space

Open, undeveloped space frequently containing forests, gardens, or grass within or adjacent to a built-up area.  Green spaces are often designated for parks, trails, gardens, preserves, playgrounds, or habitat restoration.

Greenhouse gas

Any gas contributing to the greenhouse effect by absorbing some of the outgoing terrestrial infrared radiation and re-emitting it back to the earth’s surface.  The most important greenhouse gases, in order of relative abundance, are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and the halocarbon gases.