64 Environmental Terms You Need to Know Now

Jaceybonavia/ Animals, Climate, Conservation, DIY, Lifestyle, Pollution

The environmental movement employs many often-misused environmental terms, with which you may or may not be familiar. Below is a glossary of these terms and how I will use them. In fact, unless there is an asterisk (*) before the word, they are definitions straight from Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, to which I link.

Activism – A practice that emphasizes vigorous, direct action, especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue
Apex predator – A predator at the top of a food chain that is not preyed upon by any other animal
Biodegradable – Capable of being broken down by the action of living things, such as microorganisms
Biodiversity – Biological diversity in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and animals
Carbon offset – An action or activity (such as the planting of trees or carbon sequestration) that compensates for the emission of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
*Circular economy – An economic system based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.
Climate Change – Significant, long-lasting anthropogenic changes in Earth’s climate and weather patterns (often associated with global warming)
Compost – A mixture that consists mostly of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land. It is also the process of converting materials into compost.
Learn more about composting and what can be composted.
Conservation – Careful preservation and protection of something, especially planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect
Consumerism – The theory that increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable, as well as a preoccupation with, and an inclination toward, buying consumer goods
Learn why and how to buy less, why it is hard to buy less, and better options for making ethical purchases.
Deforestation – The action or process of clearing of forests
Disposable – Designed to be used once or only a limited number of times and then thrown away
DIY – Do-it-yourself
Eco– – Ecological or environmental
Ecology – A branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environments
Endangered species – A species threatened with extinction
Environment – The complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (such as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival
Environmentalism – Advocacy of the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment
*Environmental (and climate) injustice – The disproportionately negative impact of climate change, pollution, and other environment-related issues on particular groups of people, such communities of color and low-income communities
Extinct – No longer existing
Fast Fashion – An approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers
Garden – A plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables are cultivated
Gray water – Household wastewater (as from a sink or bath) that does not contain dangerous contaminants (as from toilets or diapers)
Green – Concerned with or supporting environmentalism
Greenhouse gas – Any of various gaseous compounds (such as carbon dioxide or methane) that absorb infrared radiation, trap heat in the atmosphere, and contribute to the greenhouse effect
Greenwashing – Expressions of environmentalist concerns especially as a cover for products, policies, or activities
Gyre – A giant circular oceanic surface current
Habitat – The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows
Herbicide – An agent used to destroy or inhibit plant growth
Homestead – A home and the adjoining land occupied by a family
Insecticide – An agent that kills insects and other small pests
Keystone species – A species of plant or animal that produces a significant impact (as by predation) on its ecosystem and is considered essential to maintaining optimum ecosystem function or structure
Methane – A colorless, odorless, flammable gaseous hydrocarbon that is a product of biological decomposition of organic matter and the carbonization of coal
Microplastic – A tiny fragment or piece of plastic, specifically a piece of plastic that is five millimeters or smaller in size
Minimalism – A style or technique that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity
Monoculture – The cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism
Organic – Of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides
Permaculture – An agricultural system or method that seeks to integrate human activity with natural surroundings to create highly efficient self-sustaining ecosystems
Pesticide – An agent used to kill plants or animals that are deemed detrimental to humans or human concerns (such as agriculture or livestock production)
Petrochemical – A chemical isolated or derived from petroleum or natural gas
Petroleum – An oily flammable bituminous liquid that may vary from almost colorless to black, occurs in many places in the upper strata of the earth, is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons with small amounts of other substances, and is prepared for use as gasoline, naphtha, or other products by various refining processes
*PFAS – Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (i.e., chemicals used to make coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water)
*Plastic – A moldable polymer, primarily derived from petrochemicals and often containing toxic additives
Learn more about plastic pollution.
Pollinator – An agent, such as an insect, that pollinates flowers
Pollute – To contaminate an environment, especially with human-made waste
Polyculture – The usually simultaneous cultivation or growth of two or more compatible plants or organisms
Recycle – To process waste materials to regain material for human use
Learn more about the recycling symbol and the problems with recycling and recycling’s place in sustainability.
Reduce – To diminish in size, amount, extent, or number
Learn more about the six R’s of sustainability.
Refuse – To express oneself as unwilling to accept
Learn more about the six R’s of sustainability.
Regeneration – A renewal or restoration of a biological system
Read about my goals for integrating regeneration into my life.
Renewable – Capable of being replaced by natural ecological cycles or sound management practices
Reuse – To use again, especially in a different way or after reclaiming or reprocessing
Learn more about the six R’s of sustainability.
Rewilding – The planned reintroduction of a plant or animal species and especially a keystone species or apex predator (such as the gray wolf or lynx) into a habitat from which it has disappeared (as from hunting or habitat destruction) to increase biodiversity and restore the health of an ecosystem
Secondhand – Acquired after being used by another
Social justice – A state or doctrine of egalitarianism
Sustainable – Of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged
Toxic – Containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or severe debilitation
Vegetarian – A person who does not eat meat
Learn more about living a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
*Vermicomposting – worm composting
Waste – Garbage, rubbish, scraps, and byproducts of manufacturing
Wild – Living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame or domesticated
Wilderness – A tract or region uncultivated, uninhabited, and undisturbed by human beings
Wildlife – Living things, especially animals, that are neither human nor domesticated
Zero-waste – Generating little or no waste
Try some of these easy zero-waste ideas!

Please comment below to let me know what words I am missing that would be helpful!