IELTS VOCABULARY

ENVIRONMENT
1.Habitat - the natural environment where an animal or plant lives (natural habitat,
wildlife habitat, threatened/endangered habitat, damage/destroy a habitat,
conserve/protect a habitat, loss of habitat)
2. Biodiversity - the number and types of plants and animals in a specific area or in
the world (biodiversity loss, biodiversity conservation, global biodiversity, preserve
biodiversity)
3. Ecosystem - all the people, animals and plants living in an area and the way
they affect each other and the environment (forest ecosystem, healthy ecosystem,
maintain the ecosystem, benefit the ecosystem, damage the ecosystem, species in
an ecosystem)
4. Endangered species - a type of plant or animal that might stop existing (save
endangered species, critically endangered species)
5. Air quality - the cleanliness of the air we breathe (Due to the opening of a new
factory nearby, the air quality here went down).
6. Vegetation - plants in general (natural vegetation, green vegetation,
dense/lush/thick vegetation, native vegetation, destroy the vegetation)
7. Global warming - a gradual increase in the earth’s temperature caused by gases
surrounding the earth (contribute to global warming, combat/fight/tackle global
warming)
8. Pollute – to make air, water or soil dirty
9. Deforestation - the cutting down of trees in an area (mass deforestation, illegal
deforestation, reduce deforestation)
10. Climate change - changes in the world’s weather, in particular an increase in
temperature, caused by human activity (the impacts/results of climate change,
climate change talks, climate change sceptic/denier (someone who does not
believe in climate change)
11. Extinct - no longer existing (be extinct, become/go extinct, completely/totally
extinct, almost/nearly/practically/virtually extinct)
12. Sustainable - causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore
able to be continued over a long period of time (sustainable growth, sustainable
development, sustainable communities, sustainable energy sources)

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 IELTS VOCABULARY
ENVIRONMENT
13. Renewable energy - energy that is produced using natural resources such as
the wind, sun, etc. (renewable energy industry, renewable energy
projects/sources/technology, demand for renewable energy)
14. Conservation - the protection of animals, plants, natural areas and natural
substances (wildlife conservation, energy conservation, water conservation,
nature/environmental conservation, conservation area)
15. To go green (idiom) - to change one’s lifestyle to help protect the environment
16. Environmentally friendly - products that do not harm the environment.
17. Exhaust fumes - gases, ejected from an engine as waste products.
18. Fossil fuels - energy resources like gas and oil.
19. Greenhouse effect - heating of the atmosphere due to the carbon dioxide and
other gases.
20. Melting of glaciers - the process of icebergs' melting.
21. Natural disaster - an event like an earthquake, hurricane etc.
22. Paper recycling - reprocessing waste paper for reuse.
23. Reduce, reuse, recycle (Three R’s) - phrase used to encourage people to
waste less and use things again to protect the environment
24. Poacher - one who kills or takes wild animals illegally.
25. Toxic waste - poisonous rubbish, produced by industrial processes.
26. To be under threat - to be in danger of becoming extinct.
27. To dry up - to have all the water drained away.
28. To get back to nature - live a life that is closer to nature.
29. To litter - to throw rubbish in inappropriate places.
30. Environmentalist - a person who chooses a lifestyle that is designed to
minimise their impact on the natural environment and who campaigns for
environmental issues.
31. Environmental hazard – a substance or an event which has the potential to
threaten the surrounding natural environment.
32. Wildlife – animals that live in the wild in natural conditions. Birds, fish and
insects are often included in the definition.
33. Creature – any living thing that can move independently.

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 IELTS VOCABULARY
ENVIRONMENT
34. Fauna – the animals of a particular region or habitat.
35. Flora – the plants of a particular region or habitat.
36. Species – a group of animals or plants that have similar characteristics and
can reproduce together.
37. Rare species – an uncommon or scarce species
38. Delicately balanced ecosystem – an ecosystem where the loss of a key
species, or several significant species, can seriously affect it.
39. Fragile ecosystem – an ecosystem that does not adapt easily to change and is
easily destroyed by human or physical impact.
40. Thrive – to grow and develop well or quickly.
41. Marine – related to or found in the sea.
42. Nocturnal – active at night.
43. Migrate – to move from one region or habitat to another, usually when the
season changes.
44. Die out – to become increasingly less common, almost to the point of
extinction.
45. Rich in natural resources – having a lot of natural resources.
46. Ozone layer – a layer of the colourless gas ozone that exists high above the
Earth's surface and which prevents harmful ultraviolet light from the sun from
reaching the Earth.
47. Carbon dioxide – a gas formed when carbon is burned, or when people or
animals breathe out.
48. Carbon monoxide – a poisonous gas formed by the burning of carbon,
especially in the form of car fuel.
49. Erosion – the gradual wearing-away of something by the natural forces of the
wind, rain and water.
50. Coastal erosion – damage to the coastline caused mainly by waves.
51. Soil erosion – removal of the upper layer of the soil, mainly by water or wind.
52. Wind erosion – a process where soil or rocks are worn away by the wind.
53. Land clearance – the process of removing vegetation to create new areas of
land suitable for farming.
54. Logging – the activity or business of felling trees and cutting and preparing the
timber

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 IELTS VOCABULARY
ENVIRONMENT

55. Carbon footprint – the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere
as a result of the activities of a particular individual or organization (I have
reduced my carbon footprint by cycling to work instead of driving).
56. Disposable products – items that are intended to be thrown away after use,
generally after just one or a few uses.
57. Dumping ground – a place where things that are not wanted are left
58. Acid rain – rain rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution caused by
burning fossil fuels that it causes environmental harm, especially to forests and
lakes.
59. To contaminate – to pollute, to make something poisonous as a result of
adding waste or chemicals.
60. Degradation – the process in which the quality of something is damaged or
destroyed.
61. Depletion – the reduction in the number or quality of something (depletion and
deterioration of available water resources).
62. Smog – a mixture of smoke, gases, and chemicals, especially in cities, that
makes the atmosphere difficult to breathe and harmful for health.
63. Air quality – the extent to which the air is free of pollution (“to improve air
quality”).
64. Poisonous – having chemical properties that can cause harm or kill.
65. Drought – a long period when there is little or no rain(“a severe drought”).
66. Flash floods – a sudden, local flood caused by very heavy rainfall.
67. To protect – keep safe from harm, injury or damage.
68. To preserve – to keep something as it is (to preserve the environment, wildlife
preservation)
69. Biodegradable – able to decompose naturally without harming or polluting the
environment (biodegradable packaging)
70. A reusable bag - a bag with handles that is specifically designed and
manufactured for multiple reuse
71. Livestock - animals such as cattle and sheep which are kept on a farm are
referred to as livestock(домашний скот)

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 IELTS VOCABULARY
ENVIRONMENT
72. Cattle - cows and bulls kept by farmers for their milk or meat (крупный
рогатый скот)
73. Irreversible change - cannot be changed back again
74. Water scarcity - the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the
demands of water usage within a region. Water shortages may be caused by
climate change, such as altered weather patterns including droughts or floods,
increased pollution, and increased human demand and overuse of water
75. A water crisis - a situation where the available potable, unpolluted water
within a region is less than that region's demand
76. Potable water - water fit for drinking, being free from contamination and not
containing a sufficient quantity of saline material to be regarded as a mineral
water
77. To prevent illegal logging – to stop the harvesting of wood that is in violation
of national regulations
78. To slow/halt deforestation – to stop the process of forest clearance
79. To fund sustainable agriculture/farming – финансировать устойчивое
развитие сельского хозяйства/фермерства
80. Air travel causes the destruction of ozone layer - авиаперевозки являются
причиной разрушения озонового слоя
81. To develop alternative energy sources – развивать альтернативные
источники энергии
82. Household waste - also known as domestic waste or residential waste, is
disposable materials generated by households. Non-hazardous waste can include
food scraps, paper, bottles, cans, etc. which can be recycled or composted.
Examples of hazardous waste include batteries and household cleaners.
83. Industrial waste – waste produced by factories, industries, mills, and mining
operations.
84. Landfill – a large deep hole in which very large amounts of rubbish are buried
(свалка, полигон, место захоронения отходов)

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 IELTS VOCABULARY
ENVIRONMENT
85. Oil spill – an accidental release of oil into a body of water, as from a tanker,
offshore drilling rig, or underwater pipeline, often presenting a hazard to marine
life and the environment
86. Man-made disasters - man-made disasters have an element of human intent,
negligence or error involving a failure of a man-made system, as opposed to
natural disasters resulting from natural hazards. Such man-made disasters are
crime, arson, civil disorder, terrorism, war, biological / chemical threat, cyber
attacks, etc.
87. Green taxes - tax paid by consumers for products or services that are not
environmentally friendly. Intended purpose of the green tax is to offset the
negative impact resulting from the use of non-green products and services (to
introduce green taxes).
88. Solar power – power obtained by harnessing the energy of the sun's rays.
89. Energy-efficient – using only as much energy as is needed without any waste.
90. Wind turbine – a tall structure with blades that are blown round by the wind
and produce power to make electricity.
91. Clean energy – energy produced from renewable energy resources and which
doesn’t produce emissions that contribute to global warming.
92. Organic farming – farming without the use of synthetic chemicals.
93. Afforestation – the action of planting trees on an area of land in order to make
a forest.
94. Urban – relating to, or characteristic of a town or city
95. Rural – in, relating to, or characteristic of the countryside rather than the
town.
96. Garbage - rubbish/litter
97. Animal sanctuary – a facility where animals are brought to live and to be
protected for the rest of their lives (приют для животных, заповедник)
98. Eliminate - to get rid of something
99. Animal rights activist – someone who believes in justice for all animals
100. To take measures - take action to achieve a particular purpose.

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 ADDITIONAL: A VERY INFORMATIVE ARTICLE ABOUT
CLIMATE CHANGE THAT YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL FOR IELTS

What Causes Climate Change?

There are many different factors that are contributing to the accelerated rate at which the climate is changing.
Some of these factors are out of our control and happen in nature without human influence. Volcanic eruptions and
meteor strikes in the past have contributed to climate change by quickly and drastically altering the conditions here
on earth. Other natural occurrences that have played a part in altering the climate include changes in the sun and
changes in the earth’s orbit.

But the main culprit, especially when viewed in the short timeframe of the past century, has been the explosion of
C02 released into the atmosphere due to human activities. A 2015 Oxfam report is one among many that stress the
linkages between carbon emissions and economic inequality, finding that 50 percent of global carbon emissions are
produced by a mere 10 percent of the population. People in wealthy nations, such as the United States, Australia,
and Canada have highly carbon-intensive lifestyles. Between driving personal automobiles, flying in airplanes, and
eating meat, people in these countries are driving anthropogenic climate change. In a twist of deeply unsettling
irony, it is the “have nots” who are already bearing the brunt of climate chaos effects.

Climate Change and Animal Agriculture

In 2006, a United Nations report sounded the alarm of animal agriculture’s impact on climate change with a report
titled Livestock’s Long Shadow, finding that greenhouse emissions from this sector were greater than all
transportation combined. Despite these warnings, the situation has only grown more serious as emission levels
have been stacking up.

Even a brief snapshot of greenhouse gas emissions paints a damning image of animal agriculture. Nitrous oxide,
packing 300 times more punch when it comes to heating the atmosphere, is produced in livestock manure.

Animal agriculture is responsible for an estimated 65 percent of anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions. Methane,
accounting for roughly 40 percent of agriculture emissions, is a potent greenhouse gas emitted from sources
including the digestive process of ruminants such as cows. Yet it is the rapacious demand for hamburgers, steaks,
and cheese that is the real culprit behind these emissions.

Is Climate Change Real? 9 Facts That Prove It Is.

Many people continue to believe climate change is real. And there are others out there who believe it exists but just
as an expected part of nature that doesn’t have any human influence behind it. And, unfortunately, many people in
high positions of power and media companies with huge influence push misinformation and false narratives to
discredit the science that proves humans are responsible for accelerated climate change.

The Pew Research Center found that people in high-emissions countries, such as the United States, Australia, and
Canada are far less concerned about climate change, whereas people living in lower-emissions areas of the world –
who are far less responsible for climate change in the first place – are much more concerned about it, not least
because these areas are already feeling adverse impacts. It’s estimated that nearly 500,000 people have died due
to extreme weather events between 1999 and 2018, with countries including Haiti, Pakistan, and the Philippines
affected by recurring disasters.

The Global Temperature is Rising

The average global temperature is rising, particularly in recent years. 2019 was the second warmest year on
record, with a global average temperature of 1.15 degrees celsius higher than pre-industrial averages. Nine out of
ten of the warmest years on record have occurred within the last fifteen years.

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 ADDITIONAL: A VERY INFORMATIVE ARTICLE ABOUT
CLIMATE CHANGE THAT YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL FOR IELTS

Warming Oceans
The world’s oceans have become a vast dumping ground for the world’s trash. Yet there is another thing the oceans
take in, in vast quantities: heat. A 2013 assessment found that oceans had absorbed 93% of the excess heat
generated by greenhouse gas emissions since 1970, contributing to the increased average global sea temperatures
rising by about 0.13 degrees Celsius per decade over the last century.

Shrinking Ice Sheets

Ice sheets contain vast amounts of frozen freshwater and cover such a large surface area that they influence global
weather patterns. NASA satellites have been tracking shrinking ice sheets for decades, documenting significant
losses since 2002. The Greenland ice sheet – the biggest in the world – has been of particular concern to scientists
after documenting a 30 percent decline in total mass between 1979 to 2006. 2019 saw record melting, with the
sheet losing a whopping 197 gigatonnes.

Glacial Retreat
Around the world, glaciers are in retreat – meaning they are shrinking and disappearing before our very eyes. The
Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas, including the Himalayas, has the densest concentration of glaciers outside
of the polar regions – at least, it once did. Studies have shown many glaciers enduring negative mass balance,
meaning they are losing more ice than they are accumulating, leading to glacial retreat. Glaciers in the Garhwal
Himalaya in India are retreating so quickly that researchers believe that many – if not most – Himalayan glaciers
could essentially disappear by 2035. These findings are especially concerning given that these glaciers feed major
rivers such as the Indus, providing vital water sources for millions of people downstream.

Decreased Snow Cover

Snow cover is an important cooling agent thanks to its albedo effect – the ability to reflect the sun’s rays,
preventing heat from being absorbed into the earth. Globally, snow reflects up to 90% of the sun’s energy. Climate
change has seen significant decreases in snow cover around the world; in the U.S., average snow cover in April was
observed to have declined 21 percent since 1915.

Sea Level Rise

Ocean levels are rising at a rate of 3.3 millimeters per year. In the last century, levels have risen between four and
eight inches. Though this may sound infinitesimal, the cumulative effects are going to have devastating
consequences if these trends continue, as millions of people live in dense urban areas along coastlines. Sea level
rise is driven by two factors caused by climate change. As ice sheets and glaciers melt, they pour extra water into
the oceans. The less obvious factor contributing to sea level rise is the expansion of ocean water, caused by
warming temperatures.

Declining Arctic Sea Ice

Over the last two decades, arctic air temperatures have gradually increased, thanks to a vicious cycle of warming
air, which melts ice, which warms the air, ad infinitum. Warming air and ocean temperatures have caused sea ice in
Arctic regions to decline by roughly 10 percent in the last three decades.

Extreme Events
The number of extreme events in recent decades is truly mind-boggling, and unfortunately is one of the ways
people can get a taste of the climate emergency first-hand. In recent years, fire seasons in California and Australia
have been unprecedented. Changing temperatures in the Indian Ocean created the perfect storm of conditions for
locusts, which swarmed part of East Africa and the Middle East, spurring food security issues as the insects
devoured crops. In the Bay of Bengal, super cyclone Amphan killed hundreds of people and caused widespread
flooding. As of 2020, Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, three years after the devastating
hurricane hit.

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 ADDITIONAL: A VERY INFORMATIVE ARTICLE ABOUT
CLIMATE CHANGE THAT YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL FOR IELTS

Ocean Acidification
When atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed by the world’s oceans, these vast bodies of water become more
acidic. Acidified ocean water inhibits calcification, a process that animals such as snails, oysters, and crabs rely
upon in order to build shells and skeletons. Already, some animals are essentially dissolving, as the oceans have
become 30 percent more acidic in the last two centuries, with the ocean’s pH dropping from 8.2 to 8.1 in the last
hundred years alone. These changes are occurring at faster rates than has occurred in the last 300 million years.

What Are The Future Effects Of Climate Change?

The outlook for the world’s climate, and the effects climate change will have in the future, is fairly grim. Greenhouse
gas emissions continue to rise as many countries push for the development of “dirty” energies such as coal and oil.
The Trump Administration withdrew from the Paris Accord in 2019, effectively proclaiming to the world that no
serious action will be taken. This is despite the fact that nearly 200 other countries signed onto the agreement in
2015, with higher-income nations pledging to provide financial support to help mitigate the disasters of the climate
emergency. Even so, critics say that the Accord isn’t going to do enough to stave off worst-case scenarios. Because
climate science is so complex, and given that the world still has time to make significant changes to lifestyles and
curb emissions, there is no way to divine exactly what will occur over the next few decades. Below are some general
examples that will occur should global emissions not be drastically curbed.

Temperatures Will Continue To Rise

Polluting greenhouse gasses from activities such as electricity generation and transportation collect in the
atmosphere. When heat from the sun is reflected off the earth’s surface, it is normally sent back out to space.
However, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere capture and collect this heat, causing global temperatures to rise.
This is what’s known as the greenhouse effect. And as long as fossil fuels continue to be burned, this effect will only
continue to magnify.

Frost-free Season Will Lengthen

The lengthening of frost-free seasons means that springtime will arrive sooner and fall will be delayed. While this
might sound appealing, this can be severely disruptive for plants and animals. Plants and trees will bloom sooner,
and migration and hibernation patterns of animals, birds and insects will be disrupted. In the mountain ridges of the
West coast of the continental U.S., the frost-free season is predicted as lengthening by 80 days by the end of the
century – causing potential disruptions with agriculture and the natural rhythms of ecosystems.

Changes In Precipitation Patterns

Changing weather patterns can bring drought to vast areas of land, where once agricultural cultivation was taking
place, causing potential food security issues. Desertification is another threat caused by the absence of rain, where
desert-like conditions move into once-lush areas. Conversely, more severe storms and shifting jet streams may
cause increased precipitation, resulting in serious flooding.

More Droughts And Heat Waves

In the United States, serious heat waves are expected to become more common in California and the Southwest in
particular. Regarding the latter, even nighttime will be much hotter, making it more difficult for fauna and flora to
adjust, given the absence of respite normally expected during nocturnal hours. Hotter temperatures reduce
snowpack and evapotranspiration, leading to drier soils. Droughts could become more frequent, longer and severe.

Hurricanes Will Become Stronger And More Intense

According to one model, there could be a 40 percent increase in hurricanes of category 3 or higher. These storms
may take place in the North Atlantic as well as the North Pacific, which puts major cities in Asia at serious risk.

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 ADDITIONAL: A VERY INFORMATIVE ARTICLE ABOUT
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Sea Level Will Rise

One study estimates that a billion people currently live on land within less than 10 meters above high tide lines, and
predicts that around 190 million people will be displaced by the year 2100 – and this is providing that action is
taken to curtail emissions. Within high emissions scenarios, where little to no action is taken, up to 630 million
people could be affected in that same time period. Islands in the South Pacific such as Tuvalu, and megacities
including Jakarta, Tokyo and New York are all at risk.

Arctic Likely To Become Ice-free

The Arctic is projected to continue losing ice and snow on both land and sea, including ice sheets and glaciers.
Many guesses have been made as to when the Arctic will become entirely ice-free; some estimates put it as early as
the 2020s, with others predicting somewhere around 2040. Regardless, the consensus appears to be that this is a
question of when not if.

Climate Change Solutions

Carbon mitigation efforts often focus on the world’s poorest people, partly because they will be the most severely
impacted. Lower-income people tend to have less mobility in order to escape natural disasters, and less able to
recover economically and otherwise. Lower-income countries can also be the focus of some climate solutions when
it is pointed out that as these places become more wealthy, their lifestyles will increasingly consume more fossil
fuels, demanding they take action to mitigate these future effects. However, in many ways, this is tantamount to
victim-blaming and directs the focus away from where the problem largely originates: with wealthy Western
lifestyles.

Some argue that more policies are needed that target people at the opposite end of the social ladder. One paper
points out that the super-rich have long escaped criticism for their lifestyles, yet the top 1% of income earners
could have a carbon footprint 175 times larger than low-income individuals.

Regardless, implementing solutions within a framework of economic justice can offer some of the most promising
solutions. For example, a gasoline tax fund could be established that not only discourages personal cars but would
fund mass transit. A carbon tax on industrial polluters would incentivize them to make their operations more
efficient. Perhaps the biggest, and most obvious, solutions would be to end government subsidies to fossil fuel
companies, funneling this money instead into things like affordable housing within urban areas in order to reduce
sprawl.

And of course, one can’t discuss climate change solutions without mentioning green technologies. Things like wind,
solar, and geothermal energy are increasingly viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Although their production currently
requires the expenditure of fossil fuels and other harmful industrial processes, these technologies are improving
rapidly in the hopes of creating energy sources that require relatively minimal damage to the planet.

Conclusion
The dangers presented by the climate emergency are real and can paint a gloomy picture of what the future holds
for subsequent generations of people and all other inhabitants on earth. Already, undeniable effects are being felt
throughout the world. Yet it isn’t too late to turn things around. Countries like the United States bear an outsized
responsibility to curb emissions, being among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. The incentive to create a
viable future grows more each year.

@madinalingua