General
environment
place where people, plants,
and animals live
environmental
relating to the environment
wildlife
animals, birds, and plants living magnificent wildlife.
in their natural habitat
carbon footprint
amount of carbon dioxide
produced by a person or
company’s activity
Problems
endangered species
animals or plants that may
soon become extinct
become extinct
to longer exist (plants and
animals)
extinction
a situation where an animal or
plant does not exist
flood
when a place is covered with
water
greenhouse effect
the gradual warming of the
Earth due to pollution and
gases
greenhouse gases
gases, especially carbon
Petrol cars are having a
negative effect on the
environment.
Petrol cars are causing huge
environmental damage.
We must protect our country’s
I try not to fly too much in order
to keep my carbon footprint
low.
Because of hunting, rhinos are
now an endangered species,
Scientists are worried that
Rhinos could become extinct
very soon.
Rhinos are facing the threat of
extinction.
The city flooded because of the
heavy rain.
The greenhouse effect is one of
the major causes of global
warming.
The level of greenhouse gases
has been rising for many years.
dioxide, that cause the
greenhouse effect
fumes Cars and factories give off
gas or smoke which is usually many fumes.
dangerous
unsustainable Unsustainable farming is
using more of something than causing huge damage to the
can be replaced naturally environment.
traffic We can reduce traffic by driving
lots of cars, lorries etc using our cars less.
roads
congested roads Traffic is moving slowly
roads which are blocked with because all the roads are
traffic congested.
overpopulation The government is worried
too many people in a place for about overpopulation in some
the amount of food, space and parts of the country.
resources
climate change If we act now we can stop the
changes in the planet’s effect of climate change.
weather, particularly causing it
to get warmer
global warming Scientists believe that global
the gradual increase in the warming is the biggest threat
earth’s temperature caused by to our lives.
greenhouse gases
emissions Carbon dioxide emissions have
gas that is sent out to the air increased this year.
pollution Fumes from cars are causing
release of harmful materials huge levels of pollution.
into the environment
ozone layer We must do more to protect
protective layer in the Earth’s the ozone layer.
atmosphere that protects from
UV radiation
hole in the ozone layer Emissions of certain gases have
caused the hole in the ozone
layer
rising sea levels Sea levels have been rising for
the increasing level of the sea’s the past decade.
surface
carbon dioxide levels Carbon dioxide levels are
increasing every year.
deforestation The rainforest has seen mass
process of cutting down trees deforestation due to
in a large area development.
toxic waste It is illegal for factories to dump
poisonous waste their toxic waste in the sea

Energy
fossil fuels We need to rely less on fossil
fuel that comes from the fuels in order to save the
ground, such as oil or coal planet.
solar energy Solar energy is a growing
energy from the sun industry.
solar panels Many people these days are
a special panel which convert installing solar panels on their
sunlight into electricity roofs.
solar farm New solar farms will mean less
a large installation of solar dependence on fossil fuels.
panels for generating
electricity
wind energy Wind energy is a very cost-
energy from wind effective way to produce
electricity.
wind turbines Some people complain about
large constructions which the site of wind turbines.
convert wind into energy
wind farm The government are investing
a large installation of solar more in wind farms
panels for generating
electricity
nuclear energy/power Scientists are aware of the risks
energy produced by a nuclear of nuclear power.
reactor
natural resources The country’s natural resources
materials from nature which are running out.
we can use such as wood, coal,
minerals, water

Solutions
environmentally friendly Nowadays I only buy
not harmful to the environment environmentally friendly house
products.
renewable resources People are becoming more
natural sources of energy aware of renewable resources.
which don’t run out, e.g. solar
and wind
organic More people are switching to
free from artificial chemicals, in organic food these days.
food and animals
sustainable Sustainable farming methods
able to continue over a period are becoming more popular
of time and not harmful to the because of climate change.
environment
sustainability The company is focusing more
on sustainability for the long
term.
recycle / recycling
use waste materials again
biodegradable
able to break down naturally
green energy
energy that is clean and
doesn’t pollute the
environment
conserve energy
save energy
cut down (on)
reduce, use less of something
reduce
do less of something
reuse plastic bags
reforestation
planting lots of trees to replace plant thousands of trees as part
ones that have been cut down
switch off electrical equipment I try to switch off all my electric
We can all recycle our paper,
glass and plastic.
Many supermarkets now use
biodegradable bags instead of
plastic bags.
The government are going to
invest more money in green
energy.
Conserving energy saves
money and is good for the
environement.
We are trying to cut down on
our use of plastic bags.
The company want to reduce
its emissions next year.
It’s better to reuse your plastic
bags instead of throwing them
away.
The government is going to
of their reforestation project.
equipment before I go to bed.