glossary

Click on a word to find its definition!			Glossary Challenge!
Atmosphere	Biodegradable	Community	Conserve	Damage
Derelict	Disposable	Drought	Energy	Environment
Environmentally friendly	Erosion	Facilities	Features	Flooding
Fossil Fuels	Global	Greenhouse effect	Impact	Improve
Incineration	Landfill site	Land use	Local	Manage
Non-renewable resources	Pollution	Quarry	Recycle	Reduce
Renewable resources	Repair	Resources	Respect	Responsibility
Restore	Reuse	Rural	Sustain	Sustainable
Urban	Waste


Atmosphere	This is the layer of air surrounding the earth. The two main gases in the atmosphere are oxygen and nitrogen, there are also small amounts of carbon dioxide.


Biodegradable	Describes something which will rot naturally through the activity of decay organisms (e.g. decomposers). For example a fallen tree will biodegrade but a plastic bag will not.

Community

The people and groups within an area who have something in common with each other. For example you are part of a school community, but you may also be part of other communities such as a religious group or a neighbourhood group.


Conserve	Saving something like a building, endangered animal or an old woodland from being spoilt, lost or wasted.


Damage	To spoil something.


Derelict	Describes a building that isn't looked after and is run-down or in ruin.


Disposable	Describes something which is designed to be used once and then thrown away, e.g. a plastic drinks cup.


Drought	A long period of dry weather which often means that crops can't grow and people may suffer through lack of food.


Energy	Something that makes activity happen. A good example is using the wind to power a windmill. We need energy to power all the electrical equipment in our homes.


Environment	Our surroundings, which may be natural or human-made. It may be on a small scale, such as the classroom or school, or include a whole area such a town or the countryside. It can even include the whole planet!


Environmentally friendly	If you are described as this, you are making positive steps to try to look after your surroundings. For example you might be trying to cut down the amount of waste you create.


Erosion	The gradual wearing away of the land by the sea, wind, rivers and glaciers.


Facilities	The facilities of an area describe the sorts of services available for people to use. Facilities could include shops, schools, buses, sports centres etc.


Features	Features are specific things that stand out and can be used to recognise a place or a person. Geographical features may include natural landform patterns, such as a meander in a river or a mountain, or a human created settlement pattern, such as the layout of a village.


Flooding	An overflow of water onto the land from rivers or the sea.


Fossil Fuels	These are natural sources of energy such as coal, oil and natural gas. They have formed over thousands of years from dead plants and animals. They are found deep in the earth. When they are burned, energy is produced. Fossil fuels will eventually run out because they are not renewable.


Global	Describing the whole world. For example global warming refers to the gradual heating up of the whole planet.


Greenhouse effect	Harmful gases, produced by burning fossil fuels, build up in the atmosphere. The gases act like a huge greenhouse, keeping the sun's heat inside and stopping it from escaping naturally. The greenhouse effect is warming the earth, causing problems such as droughts. The sea level is rising because polar ice caps are melting.


Impact	The effect that something has on something else. We impact on our environment with every action we take. We need to reduce our negative impacts and increase our positive ones!


Improve	To make something better.


Incineration	Instead of putting rubbish into landfill sites, waste can be burned. Energy can be produced from burning waste, but harmful gases released can cause air pollution and contribute towards the greenhouse effect.


Landfill site	An area where solid waste is dumped. This is normally a huge hole in the ground.


Land use	How land is used. It might be for: · buildings, such as a housing estate, · industrial purposes, such as factories, · leisure, such as a sports centre, · agriculture, such as an orchard.


Local	A small nearby area, for example, your local shop is probably a short distance from your home.


Manage	How an area is looked after by people. If a woodland is 'managed' some trees may be cut back or cut down to encourage new, young and healthy growth. It also allows the sun to reach the ground to help flowers grow.


Non-renewable resources	There is a limited amount of these resources and they will eventually run out.


Pollution	Anything that damages or spoils our environment. Pollution can spoil the air, water or land.


Quarry	This is a huge open hole in the ground where a useful material such as gravel is dug out.


Recycle	A circle of events turning waste materials into new materials that can be used again. Old glass bottles can be recycled to new glass bottles and used again.


Reduce	Decreasing the amount of something. We need to try and reduce the amount of waste we produce.

Renewable resources

A resource that can be used over and over again such as energy from the sun or the power of the wind.


Repair	Mending or fixing something that is broken.


Resources	Anything that is useful for plants and animals (including humans). Natural resources include the soil, water, air, fossil fuels etc.


Respect	When we respect things we want to look after them because we like them and care for them.


Responsibility	If you care for someone, somewhere or something, it is your responsibility to look after that person, place or object.


Restore	Improving something like a piece of furniture or an area of your garden.


Reuse	Using something again for the same or different purpose.


Rural	Describing a countryside area that does not have many buildings in it. The land use will be mostly be agricultural.


Sustain	To make something last for a long time. If a forest is managed 'sustainably' it will not all be cut down at the same time.


Sustainable	Getting as much out of something as you put in to it. For example by putting your vegetable waste into a compost bin to create compost for your garden, you will be able to grow more vegetables. This is a sustainable activity.


Urban	Describing a built-up area, such as a town or city.


Waste	Usually means things thrown away which are unwanted, used or broken. Unfortunately a lot of the 'waste' that is thrown into landfill sites could be reused or recycled.