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Follow links for a more in-depth look at each word's origins and images. (In-depth pages are in progress and still being added!)

A

absentshaping : the result of a lack of conditions needed to sustain the form of an established environmental element

act of man : an extraordinary weather event generated by the impact of human activity on the earth’s biosphere

anarboralgia : loss of concentration due to lack of exposure to views of trees through windows

anthropodenial : "the a priori rejection of humanlike traits in other animals or animallike traits in us." Frans de Vaal, NYTimes, April 2016

april dregs : garbage left behind after snow melt

arbormunch : when a tree grows to engulf a statue or sculpture

arborphoria : the benficial effect of looking at trees on mood and mental performance

B

barge bums : barnacles living on the side of a boat

bitterchoke : damage done to vegetation by the invasive vine Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

bodhisizing : when a group of people resonate or communicate in a way that transcends language or words

C

candefic nex : a human-made substance unintentionally ingested by an animal which then become deadly. E.g. bleach or oil.

churum : a creature that lives exclusively in urban puddles

cleat mulch : goose poop on an athletic playing field

crowdpathing : extra paths that people make in parks

D

dauthus plasticus : death by plastic ingestion

digital jungle : the way in which nature is becoming more an engineered object and technology is becoming more complex, more like nature (Danny Hillis)

directree : when a tree grows to engulf a street sign

Disney's Law of Evolution : the process by which animals found cute by humans experience population growth and habitat protection

dove slop : trash eaten by pigeons

E

enscorcle : the act by an animal or bird of incorporating a human-made substance into a nest, den, or other object

envirolexicide : the act of removing from a dictionary a word that describes something in nature

F

fauxtotropism : a plant that grows towards artificial light, or light reflected by a mirrored building

fence-burl : chunk of tree trunk or branches remaining on a chain link fence after the rest has been cut away

filthtration : water that becomes polluted when filtering through layers of city ground-covering, rather than purified when filtered through soil

fishluv : the curiosity, affinity, and anxiety that seals and people have for each other when playing in the surf

floral confusion : when you mistake a real plant for a fake plant

florapportunist : weeds growing out of cracks in sidewalk, as in purslane or dandelion

frondlebath : the way the color of new leaves highlight the patina on a bronze statue in the spring

G

ghost hall : the structure left behind inside an abandoned mineshaft

gobsprout : to generate new words and otherwise fiddle with language

gold dust : coating of pollen on outdoor objects and infrastructure

gravenant : a man-made material being reabsorbed by a tree, rock, or dirt

gravening : tree bark wrapping around a man-made material, e.g. the remnant of a wire once used to hang a wind-chime or bird-feeder, barbed wire a plastic cord

greenfluence : green spaces are more numerous in affluent areas

H

heap what you throw : creating mountains of garbage

heir conditioning : turning on the air conditioning so you can use the fireplace in the summer

high bunk : a bird's nest on a tall building

hominal conflagration: wild fires caused by matches

hoop sag : how car tires get flat when the weather gets colder

hubcap lap : the way an animal runs from car traffic, darting

human work : a structure you come across in the woods that could only have been made by a human

K

killit : a group of wild turkeys walking around a city neighborhood at Thanksgiving time

kinderpluck : the instinctive grasping and picking of plant material, especially flowers, by children aged twelve months to 7-8 years

L

log zap : a tree that has fallen on a power line

M

maliptution : an inability or shame in communicating your natural self

Mamalite : plastic synthesized from human breast milk

mary-ding : dent in a car made by hail

melt-down break : a genetic mutation in a plant or animal caused by nuclear power plant disaster

metrocones : stalagmites and stalactites in a subway system

Milkaline : plastic synthesized at home from milk (see Slow Plastic)

mistaken trash can : litter thrown in flower pots

moshnoshing : when a vegan is eaten by another animal

N

natspeak : when a human makes any sound or gesture to imitate any sound in nature - or - the sound a human makes when they natspeak - or - any sound or gesture made by a human that is like natspeak

nutnick : dent in a car made by a falling acorn

O

origin amnesia : sense of separateness from the star dust we're made of. You are a product of thousands of loves. your one-celled elders. see also: unicellular estrangement

other air : air that arrives to your living or workspace inside inflatable packing material

P

pan-nature : all of nature including animals, plants, and humans and the objects and results of animal, plant, and human activity

petrol mortis : corpse of an animal killed by oil spill

plasmat : a mixture of garbage, leaves and dirt forming a mat on the ground

polyflor : a discarded plastic bag on natural ground, dirt, or plants

prismus lacu : rainbow sheen of oil on water

prosthetic irony : when an animal loses a limb due to human industrial activity, and is outfitted with an artificial limb

R

reanimalia : animals living in abandoned vehicles or buildings

roadwort : ivy on traffic lights and signs

root-kilter : a slab of sidewalk forced out of place by a growing tree root

rubbish kill : animal death from ingesting human garbage

S

saver culture : a lifestyle of conscious, sustainable use of materials and objects, in opposition to consumer culture

screenaxed : the way trees look on video

skreek : the sound made when a branch scrapes against the side of a building

solastalgia : "people's emotional distress when their home landscapes become unrecognizeable through environmental change"

Slow Plastic : a movement of people synthesizing plastic and plastic objects from food ingredients, to reclaim an awareness of and responsibility for plastic production and use

snowfelled : early spring garden flowers toppled by snow

sootwhistle : asthma caused by smog

spamm : when an animal ingests inorganic human-manufactured waste that can't be digested

spectrum of influence: the spectrum whose poles are: no human influence (untrammeled wilderness) to all human influence (fully manufactured cityscape)

station-weed : weeds growing in an underground subway station with minimal water and light sources

sticky rime : frost on a car windshield that's hard to wipe off

stuckwood : tree that has grown through a metal chain link fence

sunscream : the sound produced when sunscreen is applied to a 4-year old at the beach

T

terramour : smelling moisture emanating up from the earth through mud and soft soil, meeting the wafts of fragrant first blossoms someplace about chest height, very subtle, augmented by very merry birdsong

the entanglement : the way in which nature and technology are becoming more and more entangled, the distinction between the two is becoming meaningless (Danny Hillis)

the murks : feeling of unwellness produced in city residents by high levels of smog

the whole anthill : the whole earth as a site of human activity

third-floor visitor : plastic bag stuck and billowing in the branches of a tree

timbercake : property squashed under a fallen tree in extreme weather

track-flaque : rain puddles in a road

transatmosphobia : worry about climate change

tuarne : the act of putting nature in a museum in order to experience nature

U

unicellular estrangement : sense of separateness from the star dust we're made of. You are a product of thousands of loves. your one-celled elders. see also: origin amnesia

Universal Declaration of Earth Rights : a resolution proposed for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly insuring the fundamental, inalienable rights of the earth and its resources

unsettling the veil : the way an airplane changes the shape of a cloud as it moves through it

V

volksunder : lying about your emissions standards

W

wet blaze : electrical fire caused by a rainstorm shorting the electricity in a building

Z

zooicide : when an animal or human is killed during an encounter at a zoo

zygoat : animals born from artificial insemination