Environmental Problems and Solutions Vocabulary
1. Development –the construction of buildings, roads, bridges, dams and other structures
2. Litter-the layer of dead leaves and grass on top of the soil
3. Topsoil-the upper layer of soil consisting of rock fragments nutrients, water, air, and decaying
plant and animal matter
4. Subsoil- the layer of soil below topsoil that has less plant and animal matter than topsoil
5. Bedrock-rock that makes up Earth’s crust
6. Erosion- the process by which water, wind or ice moves particle of rock or soil
7. Nutrient Depletion- the situation that arises when more soil nutrients are used than the
decomposers can supply
8. Fertilizer- a substance that provides nutrients to help crops grow better
9. Desertification- the advance of desert- like conditions into areas that previously were fertile
10. Drought- a period of less rain that normal
11. Land Reclamation – the process of restoring land to a more natural state
12. Industrial Revolution- the transition from hand made to machine made products
13. Municipal Solid Waste-waste produced in homes, businesses and schools
14. Incineration- the burning of solid waste
15. Leachate- polluted liquid produced by water passing through buried wastes in a landfill.
16. Sanitary Landfill-a landfill that hold nonhazardous waste such as municipal solid and
construction debris
17. Recycling- the process of reclaiming and reusing raw materials
18. Biodegradable-capable of being broken down my bacterial & other decomposers
19. Composting- the process of helping biodegradable wastes to decompose naturally
20. Hazardous Waste- a material that can be harmful if it is no properly disposed of
21. Groundwater- water stored in underground layers of soil and rock
22. Pollutant- a substance that causes pollution
23. Sewage- water and human waste that is washed down sinks, showers, toilets
24. Pesticide- a chemical that kills crop-destroying organisms
25. Sediment- particles of rock and sand
26. Emissions- pollutants that are released into the air
27. Photochemical Smog- a thick, brownish haze formed when certain gases react with sunlight
28. Ozone- a toxic form of oxygen
29. Temperature Inversion- a condition in which a layer of warm air traps polluted air close to
earth’s surface
30. Acid Rain- precipitation that is more acidic than normal because of air pollution
31. Radon-a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas
32. Ozone Layer- the layer of the atmosphere that contains a higher concentration of ozone that
the rest of the atmosphere
33. Chlorofluorocarbon- human-made gases containing chlorine and flouring (CFCs)
34. Greenhouse effect- the trapping of heat near Earth’s surface by certain gases in the
atmosphere
35. Global Warming – the theory that increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will raise
Earth’s average temperature