Save the earth with these eco-friendly English phrases!

The environment is a common topic of conversation around the world. After all, it’s something that affects all of us and it surrounds us every day. Being able to talk about the environment in English is a useful skill and let’s get started with some vocabulary and tips that will help you be more eco-friendly in English.

‘Green’ is a popular word in English to describe a process or something that consumes little energy, or produces little waste. Green is the color of nature; a universal symbol for life and renewal. Just think of a healthy, green leaf!

You can drive a hybrid car instead of a gas guzzler! Hybrids are vehicles that usually combine a gasoline engine and an electric motor in order to generate power. A gas guzzler is a car that is inefficient and uses a lot of gas. Hybrids are neat because you get to have the latest, cutting-edge technology, and you produce less harmful waste while zipping around.

Many people see organic food as being more eco-friendly. ‘Organic’ is a term used to describe a more natural way of farming vegetables and fruits, as well as raising livestock. Organic methods use fewer chemicals, and therefore generate less harmful waste into the earth and the atmosphere. Eating organic foods means you are putting less of these substances into your own body, too.

Packaging creates a lot of waste, but if it’s biodegradable, it means that it was made from natural plant or animal material. This allows it to decay rapidly, returning to nature. Some synthetic materials such as plastics take a much longer time decay. Plastic takes 450 years!

When possible make sure to recycle. Most governments now support recycling programs, which is a method of reusing the same material for other things. If something is made of reused material, we can say it is recycled and if it possible to recycle something, we say it is recyclable.

Buying local food with a low carbon footprint means that you will contribute less to climate change, which will help people all over world. A carbon footprint is how much carbon is released into the environment in order to make a product and get it to the shop for you to buy. In terms of being eco-friendly, a low carbon footprint is good and a high carbon footprint is bad.

How about you? Do these phrases describe things you already do to help the environment? If not, are there any you would like to try? If this is a topic you feel strongly about, why not share this article with your friends?