| 1. waste |
the often toxic by-product produced by various industrialized activities that are usually very harmful to the environment and cause contamination |
| 2. sustainable |
to use a resource via methods that do not deplete the supply of the resource |
| 3. renewable |
a natural resource that can be replenished via natural processes |
| 4. recycle |
to create new products by reusing and processing used materials |
| 5. preservation |
the act of protecting the environment and its resources by removing all human influence or interaction |
| 6. pollution |
the harmful, often toxic, human produced contaminates that disrupt or destroy an ecosystem or natural resource |
| 7. organic |
any substance relating to or originating from a living organism |
| 8. industrialization |
the process by which a society is transformed from a pre-industrial state to an industrial one, often causing a rise in pollution and ill effects on the environment |
| 9. extinction |
causing a plant or animal species or organism to no longer exist, usually due to over-hunting or destruction of an ecosystem |
| 10. exploitation |
the over-consumption and misuse of the environment and its natural resources |
| 11. ecosystem |
the beneficial, balanced interaction and interdependency of the environment and the organisms that live within it |
| 12. desertification |
the effect of altering the natural environment, mostly by overpopulation, over-cultivating, altering the natural flow of water, and introduction of non-native plant life; degrading the soil to the point it can no longer sustain life causing dry |
| 13. contamination |
when the environment or an ecosystem has been damaged by the introduction of a harmful, often toxic substance destroying a natural resource and the dependant plant and animal life |
| 14. consumption |
the act of using, often to the detriment of the environment, the planets natural resources |
| 15. conservation |
the act of promoting the responsible, renewable consumption of the natural resources of the earth to protect the environment and its natural resources from contamination or depletion |
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