Vocabulary Explanation Translation accountability a position where people have the right to critisize you or ask you why something happend acid rain rain that contains a high level of acid that can demage the environment. The acid forms when harmful gases from industry and vehicles mix with water in the atmosphere afforestation the process of planting many trees on an area of land biodegradable decaying naturally in a way that is not harmful to the envrionment biodiversity the variety of types of living thing in a particular region biome a region that is classified by its climate and the types of animals and plants that are living in it. Tha rainforest and the tundra are biomes. cancer a serious illness caused by a group of cells in the body increasing in an uncontrolled way. canopy the highest leaves and branches in a forest carbon dioxide gas without colour or smell, produced when you braethe out or when substances containing carbon are burnt. chemical dumping the process of getting rid of used or waste chemicals in a particular area, or the illegal activity involved in this process climate change important and possibly harmful changes that some scientist believe are taking place in the world's weather because of increased pollution in the atmosphere. concentrated concentrated liquids or substances have been made stronger by having water removed consequence a resultor effect of something contaminated made dirty, polluted, or poisonous by the addition of a chemical, waste or infection. damage physical harm caused to something so thet it is broken, spoiled, or injured/ negative effects on something or someone deadly able or likely to kill people decommission to stop using something such as weapon, ship, or nuclear power station deforestration the process of cutting down and removing trees, especially from large areas of land. Defosretation is bad for the environment, as there are fewer trees to také in carbon dioxide and this can lead to an increase in global warming. It also involves the destruction of habitats and can cause soil erosion. degradation the process by which the land or the environment becomes damaged or polluted desertification the process of land becoming so dry that it cannot be used for farming. This is often the result of human activities such as overgrazing and deforestration. destry to damage something so severely that it no longer exist or can never return to its normal state. devastate to seriously damage or completely destroy something dioxin a poisonous chemical produced during the process of making chemicals for killing plants disposal the process of getting rid of something ecological relating to the environment and the way organism affect each other ecology the study of the environment and the way organism affect each other ecosystem all the plants, animals, and other organism in a prticular area considered in relation to the environment that they live in and the way they all depend on each other. ecotourism the business of creating and selling holidays that give people the chance to learn about a natural environment, and cause as little damage to the environment as possible. effluent liquid waste such as sewage or waste from a factory emit to send something out into the air, especially gas, light or heat endangered species a type of animal or plant that may soon become extinct, for example because its habitat is being destroyed or because it has been hunted or gathered far too much in the past environment the place in which people live and work, including all the physical conditions that affect them/ the natural world, including the land, water, air, plants, and animals environmental relating to the natural world and the effect that human activities has on it. environmentalist someone whu wants to protect the environment environmentally friendly not harming the natural environment exhaust gases or steam produced by an engine as it works flooding a situation in which water from river or from rain covers large areas of land forested covered with trees forestry the science of caring for forest, and the trees and other plants that grow in them fossil fuel a fuel such as coal, oil, or natural gas made from decayed material from organism that lived many miliions of years ago fumes smoke or gas that has an unpleasant smell, especially harmful smoke or gas greenhouse effect the process by which the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere is getting warmer as a result of pollution by gases such as carbon dioxide. The heat from the sun cannot escape, leading to general increase in the Earth's temperature called global warming greenhouse gas a gas that stops heat from escaping from the Earth's atmosphere and causes the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. The lvel of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased in recent years mainly because of the burning of focssil fuels and also because of deforestration habitat the type of place that a particular organism usually lives in, for example a desert, forest, or lake. hazardous dangerous, especially to people's health or safety illness the state of feeling ill or having a disease incinerate to burn something completely interfere deliberately become involved in a situation and try to influence the way that it develops, although you have no right to do this intervene to become involved in a situation in order to try to stop or change it lead a soft heavy gray metal used especially in the past for making pipes, covering roofs, and in paint leakage the process of leaking a liquid or gas logging the act of cutting down trees for wood, usually in order to sell it at a profit. natural disaster something that happens in nature and causes a lot of damage or kills a lot of people, for example a flood or an earthquake non-biodegradable not able to decay naturally, and therefore harmful to the environment non-renewable non-renewable energy, fuel, or other raw materials exist in limited amounts only and cannot be replaced once they have been used. Oil is an example of a nonrenewable resource. nuclear radiation a from of energy produced during nuclear reaction that is used for making electical power but can also kill or harm humans who receive too much of it. oil slick a layer of oil on the surface of a large area of water, for example after a ship has sunk organic used for describing methods of farming and food rpoduction that do not use artificial chemicals organism a living thing such as person, animal, or plant, especially extremely small living thing. overgrazing a situation in which land is damaged because of the cows or other animals in it have been allowed to eat too much of the grass there, or have been allowe to feed on it for too long. overheat to become too hot, or to make something too hot, sometimes causing damage ozone hole a hole in the ozone layer thought to be caused by light reacting with some chemicals such as cfcs ozone layer a layer of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere that protects the Earth from some of the harmful effects of the sun penetrate to get inside an object or body by getting through something permanent happening or existing for a long time or for all time in the future pesticide a chemical used for killin insects that damage crops phosphate a chemical that contains phosphorus, used especially for making plants grow planet the planet Earth and everything on it pollutant a substance that is harmful to the environment, especially a chemical. Large amouts of noise, heat etc can also be pollutants pollution the process of damaging the air, water, land or organisms with chemicals or other substances. Pollution is almost always caused by human activity, for example during the process of getting rid of chemical waste from factories and the production of carbon emissions from cars. preservation the process of working to protect something so that it is not damaged or destroyed protect to keep someone or something safe from harm, injury, damage, or loss rainfall the amount of rain that falls in a particular area during a particular period of time rainforest a forest in a tropical region of the world where it rains a lot. Rainforests are considered to be important environmental areas with large numbers of different fast because of land neing cleared for development and the activities of logging companies. reclaim to improve an area of land so that it can be used. recycle to treat waste materials so that they can be used again. reduce to make something smaller or less in size, amount, importance etc. reforestation the act of putting new trees into a place where the original trees have been cut down. renewable renewable energy and natural materials replace themselves by natural processes, so that they are never completely used up. reserve an area of land where wild animals or plants are officially protected run off a flow of water or chemicals from one place to another, especially when this damages the environment sanctuary a place where you can be safe and comfortable. sewage waste substances, especially waste from people's bodies, removed from houses and other buildings by a system of large underground pipes called sewers solar energy energy that uses the radiation of the Sun's light and heat. sustainable development the development of a country or region that does not use more natural resources than can be replaced and so does not harm the environment. transpiration the process in which water that has travelled from the roots of a plant up to its leaves passes out into the air as vapour. urbanization the process by which towns and cities grow bigger and more and more people go to live in them.