574 vocabulary
Drainage the way water is carried
away from a place or seeps into the
groundwater.
Drug resistance when certain medicines
no longer work to cure an illness.
E
Ecological, Ecology the relationship among
living things and their environment.
Something is ecological if it is good
for the environment or if it acts like a
natural system.
Ecotourism a project to earn money by
bringing tourists to see the natural
beauty of a place without harming the
environment.
Emphysema a serious lung disease caused
by smoking cigarettes, mining, and air
pollution.
Endometriosis a serious illness that causes
the womb’s lining to grow outside of
the womb.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) a
study that shows what changes are
expected to happen if a project such as
a mine, a dam, or a road is built.
Enzyme a substance produced in living
things that causes chemical changes to
occur, such as digesting food.
Epidemic a disease that spreads quickly
from one person to another, making
many people sick.
Epilepsy a disease in which a person has
convulsions (“fits,” seizures) and loss of
consciousness.
Ephedra a medicinal plant used to relieve
asthma attacks. Also called Ma Huang
in China.
Ephedrine a medicine used to help
breathing.
Equator an imaginary line that divides
the northern half of the planet Earth
from the southern half.
Erosion when soil and rock are worn away
and carried away by wind and water.
Estrogen a hormone in women’s bodies
that controls reproduction, along with
progesterone.
Evaporation when water dries up into the
air.
Excess having too much of something,
such as pollution or waste.
Exotic plant or tree a plant or tree not
native to the local area.
Exploit to use for profit without care for
long-term health.
Exposure when a person comes in contact
with something. People are exposed
to pesticides and other chemicals by
breathing, swallowing, and touching.
Extraction taking oil, minerals, or other
resources out of the earth.
F
Fair trade buying and selling things for a
price that is fair to both the seller and
the buyer.
Fair trade certification lets people who buy
things know that fair labor practices
were used to produce them. It can
result in higher and more stable prices
for the producers. See also certification.
Farmer field school teaching programs
that help farmers learn to solve
problems themselves and to share those
solutions with other farmers.
Ferment when food or other organic
matter rots and becomes sour. This
happens because bacteria enter and
change the nature of the substance.
Fertile, fertility how well soil grows
plants or how well animals and people
reproduce.
Fertilizer material used to make the soil
richer so more crops can be produced.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012