Word Example sentence Meaning

acid rain noun Burning fossil fuels in rain that

one country can contains
cause acid rain in other harmful
countries. chemicals that
collect in the
atmosphere
when fossil
fuels are
burned

ban verb Our school to not allow

has banned plastic something (eg.
bottles because they're smoking,
so bad for the alcohol, plastic
environment. bags, protest
marches, etc.)

carbon-dioxide or carbon (collo Trees and plants a gas that's

q.) noun absorb carbon-dioxide  released by
and release oxygen into plants and by
the air. burning fossil
fuels

carbon footprint noun Travelling by air, driving a

a car or using coal- measurement
generated electricity will of the amount
make your carbon of carbon-
footprint bigger. dioxide a
person adds to
the
Word Example sentence Meaning

atmosphere

carcinogen noun Cigarette smoke a substance

contains a number that has been
of carcinogens. linked to
causing one or
more types of
cancer

carpool verb I carpool to work with to share a car

two of my neighbours instead of
who also work driving one
downtown. alone

clear-cut verb Forests never recover to destroy a

fully after being clear- forest by
cut. cutting down
all the trees

clearcutting (also clearfelling) n Did you know a forestry or

oun that clearcutting is the logging
worst way to use a practice in
forest's resources? which most or
all trees in an
area are cut
down

climate change noun Do you really think you global

Word Example sentence Meaning

know more changes in

about climate temperature,
change than a real wind patterns,
climate scientist? rainfall, etc.
mainly caused
by the burning
of fossil fuels
like coal and
oil

compost verb Since we to put organic

started composting we' waste like
ve reduced our garbage vegetable
by half. peels, uneaten
food, grass
clippings and
leaves into a
large container
that breaks it
down into
healthy soil

commute verb Imagine how much to travel from

pollution you cause home to work
by commuting by car and back
for two hours a day?

conservation noun Conservation wasn't a the protection

big issue until the and
book Silent Spring was preservation of
published in 1966. natural
Word Example sentence Meaning

environments
and resources

consume verb Americans consume m to use things

ore than their share of like energy,
the earth's resources. fuel, materials,
food, water,
etc.

contaminated adj. Their contaminated mil carrying

k powder made lots of harmful
babies really sick. bacteria or
toxins that can
cause disease
or death

developing country noun We moved our factory to a poor nation

a developing that's
country because of gradually
cheap labour and weak becoming
environmental laws. richer and
more
advanced

domestic How much domestic rubbish or

waste (also household waste does your family garbage from
waste) noun produce every day? a house or
apartment
Word Example sentence Meaning

donate verb If you donate money to give money

to Greenpeace, you'll be or goods to an
helping endangered organization
animals. you want to
help or
support

dump verb You can be sent to jail to put waste in

for dumping hazardous the wrong
waste, you know. place (eg. put
toxic waste
into a river)

eco-community or ecovillage n Our kids want to live in a community

oun that eco-community ne with
ar the forest. environmentall
y-friendly
buildings,
clean
technology
and renewable
energy like
solar and wind

endangered species noun Every year more animals or

animals are listed plants in
as endangered danger of
species. becoming
extinct or
disappearing
in the near
Word Example sentence Meaning

future

energy-efficient adj. Those energy-efficient  able to use

light bulbs are much less energy
cheaper these days. (esp. of
vehicles,
appliances,
buildings, etc.)

environmentalist noun Fossil fuel companies a person who

have tried to damage protects the
the image natural world
of environmentalists a and educates
nd climate scientists. others about
environmental
problems

ecosystem noun All those plants, insects the complex

and birds in your garden system of
are part of relationships
an ecosystem. between living
things and
their
environment

emit verb Cars emit harmful to release or

pollutants into the project
atmosphere. something (eg.
light, sound,
Word Example sentence Meaning

smoke, gas,
radiation, etc.)

extinct adj. Lots of Australian no longer

animals have existing or lost
become extinct since forever (of an
the British took control. animal, bird or
plant species)

fertilize verb If you are going to add

to fertilize your lawn, chemicals or
make sure to use an organic
organic fertilizer. material to soil
so that plants
grow better

food chain noun We need to know where the order in

each species fits in which
the food chain. organisms in
an ecosystem
eat one
another

fossil fuel noun Burning fossil fuels is a a fuel like oil

major cause of global or coal formed
warming. from very old
plant and
animal fossils
Word Example sentence Meaning

global warming (also climate Rising sea levels, higher air and

change) noun melting ice caps and sea
coral reef bleaching are temperatures
caused by global partly caused
warming. by man-made
increases in
greenhouse-
gas levels

green adj. If you want to save the concerned

planet, join one of with protecting
the green political the natural
parties. environment
and the planet

greenhouse gas noun The more greenhouse a gas in the

gases we produce, the atmosphere
worse climate change that stops heat
will get. from escaping
into space

habitat noun Lots of animals will the place in

become extinct if their which a
natural habitats are species
destroyed. normally lives

hazardous waste noun They increased their dangerous

profits by substances
dumping hazardous that need
Word Example sentence Meaning

waste into the ocean. careful

disposal (eg.
toxic or
nuclear waste)

minimize verb Taking public transport to reduce as

instead of driving a much as
car minimizes your possible
impact on the
environment.

pesticide noun Can't we find a chemical

a pesticide that's safe? that's sprayed
on crops to
stop insects
from
destroying
them

pollutant noun The Environmental a substance or

Protection Agency material that
checks levels damages the
of pollutants. natural
environment

pollute verb Fumes from to release

factories pollute our air. waste
substances
into the air,
Word Example sentence Meaning

water and soil

pollution noun All the pollution around the

here comes from contamination
factories and mines. of the
environment,
esp. by
industrial
waste
products and
chemicals like
pesticides

preserve verb We need stronger laws to keep

in order to preserve our something in
forests. its original
state

protect verb It's really important to keep from

to protect our water harm
supply.

protest verb Environmentalists to show you

will protest if the disagree with
loggers try to destroy something,
the forest. esp. as part of
a group of
protesters
Word Example sentence Meaning

recycle verb The green bin's for to make

things that can something
be recycled like paper new from
and glass. materials that
have been
used before

reduce verb You can reduce your to use less or

household waste by make
buying products with something
less packaging. smaller

reforestation noun Plant twenty trees in the planting of

our reforestation projec trees and
t and you'll get into our plants to help
dance party for free! a damaged or
destroyed
forest recover

renewable adj. We're producing can be used

cheaper renewable ene without
rgy these days. running out,
esp. of energy
sources like
solar and wind

renewables noun If you want to make forms of

money, invest energy that
in renewables. can be
Word Example sentence Meaning

replaced
naturally, such
as hydro-
electricity,
solar energy
and wind
power

rely on verb We won't have to rely to depend on

on power companies if (or need)
we use solar and wind someone or
power instead. something

reuse verb We try to reuse things to use again

like plastic bags and
bottles.

self-sufficient adj. We're going to live in able to

a self-sufficient farmin function, or
g community. produce all
that's needed,
without
outside help

smog noun The smog was so bad a thick dirty

that we had to wear air- cloud at
filter masks. ground level
caused by
pollutants
Word Example sentence Meaning

reacting to
sunlight

throw away verb Don't throw away your to get rid of

grass clippings; leave something you
them on your lawn. don't want

toxic adj. After the mine deadly or

released toxic waste poisonous (of
into the river, all the fish waste,
died. chemicals,
pollutants,
etc.)

toxin (toxic chemical) noun Smoke from factories a poisonous

often contains substance that
dangerous toxins. damages
health or the
environment

use up verb We are using up the to use

earth's natural something
resources faster than until there's
ever. none left

waste verb Don't waste toilet paper; to use more

use one or two sheets than
instead of three or four. necessary, or
Word Example sentence Meaning

to use
inefficiently

wildlife noun I love taking pictures animals, birds,

of wildlife in the forest. insects, etc.
living naturally
in the wild

zero-emission adj. Zero-emission vehicles releasing no

like electric cars are greenhouse
much cheaper now. gases like
carbon-dioxide
or methane

Some useful links:

https://www.englishclub.com/reading/environment/environment-vocab.htm

https://www.englishclub.com/reading/environment/environment-vocab-quiz.htm

https://eslflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Elements-of-the-contemporary-environment-
2020.pdf

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/worksheets-topic/Environment.pdf

https://eslflow.com/environmentlessonplans.html

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/worksheets-topic/Environment_TN.pdf

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TBW_Environment-Animals.pdf

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TBW_Environment-Animals_TS.pdf

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TBW_Environment-Pollution.pdf
https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TBW_Environment-Pollution_TS.pdf

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TBW_Environment-Rubbish.pdf

https://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/TBW_Environment-Rubbish_TS.pdf

https://www.eslflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/realWorldSci_trash.pdf

http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/Impact/Articles/Global_Warming/Global_Warming.html

https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-worksheets/vocabulary/environment/how-green-are-youquiz/
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