extinction .
There are over 1,300 species in the United States that
are listed as
threatened or
endangered .
The
ozone layer - a belt of naturally occurring ozone gas that sits above the earth and serves as a
shield from the harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Unlike
pollution , which has many types and causes, the
ozone layer depletion has been pinned down to one
major human activity.
In this sentence we see the very nice phrase
ozone layer depletion. You will sound really smart if
you use it somewhere.
Our next word combination is
carbon footprint. It is the amount of
greenhouse gases emitted by
something during a given period of time. Let’s find an example.
A
carbon footprin t can be measured for an individual or
an organization and is typically given in tons of
CO2 .
There are two gases which people often confuse -
CO2 =
carbon dioxide and CO =
carbon monoxide. Their
names are similar, and they are both dangerous in high concentration. So our best
explanation is:
CO2 is produced by gasoline engines that use a catalytic converter.
CO is generated by gasoline engines that do NOT use a catalytic converter. I hope this clarifies the
difference for you.
In most cases you will need to say or write something like ‘
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions we
have to do something…'
Our next phrase is
hazardous waste. It’s essential that
hazardous waste is handled, stored,
transported, and disposed of properly. No one should
touch hazardous waste.
Another popular word when we talk about environment is
