English · B1 · vocabulary · 5 minutes
Environment and climate
Discuss causes, consequences, and realistic environmental action.
Understand the choice
Environmental discussion becomes clearer when it separates a pressure, its consequence, and a response. These nouns support that three-part structure without making every claim sound absolute.
Core rule: Use cause/effect verbs precisely: emissions contribute to warming; drought results from low rainfall; conservation protects habitats.
Notice it in context
Renewable energy can reduce emissions, but conservation also matters.
La energía renovable puede reducir las emisiones, pero la conservación también importa.
Can reduce expresses possibility rather than certainty; but contrasts technological action with conservation.
A severe drought damages the habitat and increases water waste.
Very low rainfall harms the natural home and causes more water to be discarded.
Drought, habitat, and waste form a cause-and-effect chain.
After the flood, the city invested in renewable energy and lower emissions.
Following the excess water, the city supported clean power and less atmospheric pollution.
Flood gives context; renewable energy and emissions name policy targets.
What to remember
- Climate is a long-term pattern; weather is the condition at a particular time.
- Waste can be a noun or verb: household waste; do not waste water.
Common trap: Do not use contamination for every kind of pollution; contamination often stresses an unsafe substance in something.