Environment Vocabulary

The natural world

word/phrase notes/explanations
the natural world includes both animal and plant life
the Earth note the capital letter and “the”
the planet a synonym for the Earth
a habitat the natural habitat of an animal is where it lives
biodiversity variety of plant and animal life in a region
(endangered) species examples include the Giant Panda
an ecosystem the system where plants and animals support one another
rainforests a useful example when discussing environmental problems
deforestation cutting down forests
Energy
conserve energy another way ot saying “to save energy”
sources of energy a good collocation
renewable sources sources of energy such as wind power and solar energy
natural resources for example water, coal and gas
fossil fuels a collective term for coal, petrol and gas
solar energy energy from the sun
solar panels the implement used to create solar energy
wind turbines modern windmills used to create power from the wind
clean energy energy that does not create pollution
Pollution
pollution remember “air and water pollution”: other forms of the word include “pollute” and
“pollutants”
smog an extreme form of air pollution almost like fog
air/water quality this can be affected by pollution
(industrial) waste we also talk about waste products
chemicals and fertilisers useful examples of products that cause wáter pollution
fumes/emissions these are the gases that are produced by cars and
factories that cause pollution
carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide names of two gases useful for discussing acid rain and the green house effect
factories and power
stations two examples of sources of pollution
acid rain rain that is “poisonous” because of the poor air quality
dump waste if factories dump waste, they illegally deposit (normally dangerous) waste
Global warming
green (issues) a very common synonym for “environmental”
global warming an example of man’s effect on the environment
the greenhouse effect connected to global warming

Useful verbs
harm cause or do harm to/ harmful
endanger the verb of “danger”/endangered species
impact “have an impact on”
contaminate almost the same meaning as poison: another form of the word is “contaminated”
threat a threat to/be under threat/ to threaten/to be threatened by