Sustainable Vocabulary

6. The natural environment in which a particular species of animal or plant lives.
8. A community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment.
9. The production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation.
10. Warming A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
11. Layer A layer in the earth’s stratosphere at an altitude of about 10 km (6.2 miles) containing a high concentration of ozone, which absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the sun.
13. The process by which organic substances are broken down into simpler organic matter.
14. Referring to a species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
15. The process of clearing a wide area of trees.
16. Convert waste into reusable material.
18. The introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment.
19. Change A long-term change in the earth’s climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature.
21. Reef A ridged or mound-like structure built by tiny sea animals called corals.
22. Decayed organic material used as a plant fertilizer.
23. Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment.

1. Land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land.
2. The total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.
3. Effect The trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface.
4. Something that is not depleted when used, such as renewable energy sources.
5. The action of preserving natural resources
7. The variety of life in the world or in a specific habitat or ecosystem.
12. Fuels Natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.
14. No longer in existence.
17. A person who advocates or acts for the protection and preservation of the environment and wildlife.
20. The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.