VOCABULARY Page

Acid rain - Rain, snow, hail, sleet, and fog polluted by chemicals in the air.

Air quality – The measure of purity of invisible, odourless, and tasteless gases that surround the earth.

Biodegradable – Able to be broken down by bacteria or other living organisms.

Biodiversity – The variety of plants, animals, and ecosystems in the world. For a more detailed look at this topic, click here.

Carbon dioxide - A heavy colourless gas that is produced by burning fossil fuels (oil, gas, & coal) which forms carbonic acid, which is formed in animal respiration and in the decay or combustion of animal and vegetable matter, and is absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis

CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) – Contribute to climate change created by humans in the late 1920’s for use in refrigeration systems, solvents to clean electronic components, plastic foams and in air conditioners.

Climate – The average weather (usually taken over a 30-year time period) for a particular region and time period. Weather describes the short-term state of the atmosphere. Climatic elements include precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms, and other measures of the weather. To learn more about climate and weather, click here

Compost – A natural fertilizer that provides plants with nutrients and increases water retention in soil.

Composting – The practice of collecting organic wastes such as grass clippings, leaves and food wastes and allowing them to break down to produce the soil-like product humus or compost. This can be used to nourish new plant growth.

Conserve – To reduce or to save.

Conservation - The preservation and efficient use of water, forests, and other natural resources so they will not be unnecessarily damaged or wasted.

Consume – To use or to buy.

Consumer - 1: one that consumes; a person who buys and uses up goods;
2: a plant or animal that requires complex organic compounds for food which it obtains by preying on other living things or eating particles of organic matter

Deforestation – When many trees are cleared from a large area.

Ecological Footprint - Measures human impact upon the environment - how much space or productive land is needed to support an individual's lifestyle. The larger the footprint the more impact the individual has on the Earth.

Ecology – The study of the relationships between organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem – A community of animals and plants and their relationships with each other and their environment.

Electricity or Electric Current - a form of energy that is found in nature but that can be artificially produced by rubbing together two unlike things (as glass and silk), by the action of chemicals, or by means of a generator

Energy – The ability to do work. Energy is never created or lost but only changed from one form to another.

Environment – The living things, climate, soil, air, and other factors that surround an organism. OR The complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism (a living thing) or an ecological community (a collection of living things) and ultimately determine its form and survival. The circumstances, objects, and conditions that surround each of us.

Extinction - The disappearance of a type (species) of plant or animal from Earth. Some species become extinct because of non-human forces - like the dinosaurs! - but many others are becoming endangered or threatened with extinction because of human activities.

Food chain - The way each living creature depends on another living thing as a source of food. Humans eat animals, bigger animals eat smaller animals, smaller animals eat even smaller ones, and so on, down to the tiniest living creatures. See 'Web of life' term this list.

Fossil Fuel - Fossil fuels are the non-renewable remains of plant and animal life that are used to provide energy by combustion; coal, oil, natural gas.

Global warming – Global warming is the phenomenon in which the density in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide rise and in turn cause the air temperature to rise. Want to know more about this trend, click here

Greenhouse gases – Some gases, like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, & CFC’s, trap heat in the atmosphere by absorbing long wave radiation while letting the Sun’s energy pass through. The transparent roof and walls of a greenhouse allow the sunlight in while trapping the heat. Since these gases work similarly in the atmosphere, we call them greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse effect - The effect produced as greenhouse gases allow incoming solar radiation to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, but prevent most of the outgoing infrared radiation from the surface and lower atmosphere from escaping into outer space. This process occurs naturally and has kept the Earth's temperature about 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would otherwise be. Current life on Earth could not be sustained without the natural greenhouse effect. Find out more about this effect, click here

Groundwater - Water in the ground that flows in the spaces between soil particles and rocks. Groundwater supplies water for wells and springs.

Habitat – The place where an animal or plant naturally lives, grows, eats and drinks.

Household hazardous waste - A product that is discarded from a home that is either ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic (e.g. used motor oil, oil-based paint, auto batteries, gasoline, pesticides, etc.)

Individual Actions - Knowledge should lead to action. This term discusses what students, teachers and other members of society might do in order to better assure a healthy environment.

Landfill – A carefully designed structure built into or on top of the ground in which trash is isolated from the surrounding environment such as ground water, air and rain.

Litter - Waste that is improperly disposed of on the street, sidewalk, lakes and other bodies of water, and in the general environment. Methane – As a contributor to climate change, methane is second only to carbon dioxide. Methane emissions are created in society through agriculture, energy, and waste management.

Nature – The external world in its entirety.

Nitrous Oxide – A long lived greenhouse gas with emissions created by industrial production such as in the making of nylon.

Organic – Coming from plants or animals; generally pertains to compounds formed by living organisms.

Ozone layer – A thin layer in the atmosphere surrounding the Earth that shields us from most of the sun’s ultraviolet light rays.

Pesticide – Chemicals used for killing insect and weed pests.

Pollutant – A substance that doesn’t normally belong somewhere and upsets the surroundings.

Pollute – To make unclean or unpure.

Pollution - Environmental contamination with man made waste.

Recycle – To use again; to crush, melt down, or change something that has already been used to make a new item instead of throwing the used item away. For example, glass bottles can be crushed and made into pavement, and old paper can be used to make more paper.

Recycled - Describes material that has been separated from garbage waste, reprocessed into a new product, and then bought back by the consumer as a new item.

Reduce – This means using less material in the production of an item. It also refers to consuming less energy and generating less waste in making, using, and disposing of products ranging from automobiles to milk jugs.

Reforestation - Planting and growing new trees where other trees have been cut down.

Reuse - To find a new function for an item that has outgrown its original use; use again (e.g. wash and reuse dishes).

Soil erosion - The washing or blowing away of topsoil. Trees and other plants hold the soil in place and help reduce the force of the wind. Soil erosion happens when trees and plants are cut down.

Sustainability - Resources are sustainable if they cannot be used up. For instance, oil resources are gradually decreasing whereas the wind can be harnessed to produce energy continuously.

Toxic - poisonous

Vermicomposting - The process whereby worms feed on slowly decomposing materials (e.g., vegetable scraps) in a controlled environment to produce a nutrient-rich soil product.

Web of life – The extraordinary variety of living creatures and ecological communities growing and interacting with each other all over the world. It is the richness and complexity of species and ecosystems throughout the planet.
See 'Biodiversity' term on this list.