Browse
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 the lack of nature needed to sustain the form of an established environmental element
anarboralgia : loss of concentration due to lack of exposure to views of trees through windows
april dregs : garbage left behind after snow melt
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)
C
cleat mulch : goose poop on an athletic playing field
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)
dove slop : trash eaten by pigeons
E
envirolexicide : the act of removing from a dictionary a word that describes something in nature
F
fence-burl : chunk of tree trunk or branches remaining on a chain link fence after the rest has been cut away
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
G
ghost hall : the structure left behind inside an abandoned mineshaft
gold dust : coating of pollen on outdoor objects and infrastructure
H
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
L
log zap : a tree that has fallen on a power line
M
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)
N
nutnick : dent in a car made by a falling acorn
O
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
prismus lacu : rainbow sheen of oil on water
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
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 involving synthesizing plastic at home from everyday ingredients, and using to make everyday objects for regular use
sootwhistle : asthma caused by smog
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
T
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
U
unsettling the veil : the way an airplane changes the shape of a cloud as it moves through it
W
wet blaze : electrical fire caused by a rainstorm shorting the electricity in a building