Pollution, resources, recycling and the climate, and what people do about them.
Practise this list
From these 40 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
Two kinds of word meet here. The scientific ones are kanji compounds that read like a textbook — 温暖化, 二酸化炭素 — and are easier than they look once the single kanji are known. The everyday ones come from rubbish day: in Japan household waste is sorted by type, and 分別, 燃える and ペットボトル are words every resident needs in the first week, long before the climate is discussed.
The words
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Verb (2)
守るto protect; to keep (a rule, a promise)VerbN4
美しい海を守るために、何ができるだろう。What can we do to protect the beautiful sea?
減らすto reduce; to cut down onVerbN3
レジ袋を使わないで、ゴミを減らしています。I cut down on rubbish by not using plastic carrier bags.
Transitive: you 減らす something, and it 減る by itself.
Noun (37)
環境environment; surroundingsNounN3
この会社は環境に優しい商品を作っている。This company makes environmentally friendly products.
Also the surroundings you live or work in: 職場の環境.
汚染pollution; contaminationNounN3
この川は昔、工場の排水でひどく汚染されていた。This river was once badly polluted by waste water from the factories.
資源resourcesNounN3
日本は資源の少ない国だと言われる。Japan is said to be a country with few natural resources.
リサイクルrecyclingNounN3
古い服はリサイクルに出しています。I take my old clothes to be recycled.
Also a verb: リサイクルする.
温暖化global warmingNounN3
温暖化のせいで、桜の咲く時期が早くなっている。Because of global warming, the cherry trees are flowering earlier.
In full 地球温暖化; in conversation the short form is enough.
自然nature; naturalNounN3
週末は自然の中でゆっくり過ごしたい。At the weekend I want to spend some quiet time out in nature.
Also 自然な, natural, unforced, and 自然に, of its own accord.
地球the earth (the planet)NounN3
地球の未来について子供たちと話し合った。We talked with the children about the earth's future.
The planet; the ground under your feet is 地面, soil is 土.
空気air; atmosphere (of a room)NounN4
山の上は空気がきれいで気持ちがいい。The air is clean at the top of the mountain, and it feels good.
空気を読む, to read the air, is to sense what a group expects without being told.
二酸化炭素carbon dioxideNounN2
車を減らせば、二酸化炭素も減る。Fewer cars would mean less carbon dioxide.
分別sorting (rubbish)NounN3
この町はゴミの分別がとても細かい。This town is very strict about how rubbish is sorted.
Also a verb: 分別する. Read funbetsu, the same kanji mean good sense.
保護protection; conservationNounN3
この島では珍しい鳥が保護されている。Rare birds are protected on this island.
Also a verb: 保護する.
破壊destructionNounN2
森の破壊が動物の住む場所を奪っている。The destruction of the forests is taking away the places where animals live.
絶滅extinctionNounN2
この魚は絶滅のおそれがあるそうだ。Apparently this fish is in danger of dying out.
Also a verb: 絶滅する.
生き物living thing; creatureNounN3
この池には色々な生き物がいる。All sorts of creatures live in this pond.
森林forest; woodlandNounN3
日本は国土の大部分が森林だ。Most of Japan is covered in forest.
The written, larger-scale word; a wood you walk in is 森.
砂漠desertNounN3
雨が降らなくなって、畑が砂漠のようになった。It stopped raining, and the fields became like a desert.
気候変動climate changeNounN2
気候変動は農業にも大きな影響を与えている。Climate change is also having a big effect on farming.
The climate itself is 気候; the weather today is 天気.
異常気象extreme weather; abnormal weatherNounN2
最近は異常気象が増えているように感じる。It feels as if extreme weather has become more common lately.
上昇rise; increaseNounN2
海の水温の上昇が心配されている。There is concern about the rise in sea temperatures.
Also a verb: 上昇する, the formal version of 上がる.
水不足water shortageNounN3
雨の少ない夏は水不足になりやすい。Summers with little rain easily lead to water shortages.
大気the atmosphere; the airNounN2
工場の煙が大気を汚している。The smoke from the factories is polluting the air.
The air of the whole planet; the air in a room is 空気.
処理disposal; processing; dealing withNounN3
町のゴミは全部ここで処理されている。All the town's rubbish is dealt with here.
Also a verb: 処理する.
再利用reuseNounN3
空いた瓶は洗って再利用しています。I wash empty jars and use them again.
Also a verb: 再利用する.
使い捨てdisposable; throwawayNounN3
使い捨てのコップはなるべく使わないようにしている。I try not to use disposable cups.
レジ袋plastic carrier bag (at the till)NounN3
レジ袋は有料ですが、お使いになりますか。Carrier bags cost extra. Would you like one?
ペットボトルplastic bottle (for drinks)NounN3
ペットボトルはキャップを外してから捨ててください。Please take the cap off plastic bottles before you throw them away.
プラスチックplasticNounN3
海に流れたプラスチックは何百年も残る。Plastic that ends up in the sea stays there for hundreds of years.
廃棄disposal; scrappingNounN2
まだ食べられる食品が毎日廃棄されている。Food that could still be eaten is thrown away every day.
Also a verb: 廃棄する. A word for notices and reports; at home you say 捨てる.
生態系ecosystemNounN2
外来種の魚が湖の生態系を変えてしまった。Fish brought in from elsewhere have changed the lake's ecosystem.
公害pollution (caused by industry)NounN3
この町は昔、工場の公害に苦しんだ。This town once suffered from pollution from the factories.
Damage to people's health or lives from industry, noise or traffic; 汚染 is the contamination itself.
海面sea level; the surface of the seaNounN2
海面が上がると、この島は危ない。If the sea level rises, this island will be in danger.
排出emission; dischargeNounN2
工場からの排出を減らす法律ができた。A law has been passed to reduce emissions from factories.
Also a verb: 排出する.
野生wild (animals, plants)NounN2
この山では野生の猿を見ることができる。You can see wild monkeys on this mountain.
酸素oxygenNounN3
高い山の上は酸素が少ない。There is less oxygen at the top of a high mountain.
天然natural (not man-made)NounN3
この店では天然の材料だけを使っている。This shop uses only natural ingredients.
Made by nature rather than by people, against 人工.
人工artificial; man-madeNounN3
この湖は人工のものだと知って驚いた。I was surprised to learn that this lake is man-made.
Sounds exactly like 人口, population.
海洋ocean; marineNounN2
海洋の汚染は一つの国だけでは解決できない。Ocean pollution cannot be solved by one country alone.
na-adjective (1)
有害harmfulna-adjectiveN2
この薬品は人の体に有害です。This chemical is harmful to the human body.
