Resqcapt19:
I see your point. It is indeed possible to have an "equipment ground" that is not in contact with the actual earth at any point, and still be perfectly safe. In this case it would serve as equipotential bonding only.
I don't like the term equipment grounding conductor, since it's meaning isn't intuitively clear.
How about "Protective conductor"? Then we could use "Protective bonding" to refer to an installation with "Protective conductors". (I.e. it is a "grounded" system, like almost all systems today)
"Protective earth" will then mean that the "Protective bonding" is in contact with earth. (We should take the chance to create a common terminology for all countries. US vs UK vs "Down under" vs Swedish terminology get me confused all the time...)
