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 imbalance in nature of conditions 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
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)
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
florapportunist : weeds growing out of cracks in sidewalk, as in purslane or dandelion
G
ghost hall : the structure left behind inside an abandoned mineshaft
gold dust : coating of pollen on outdoor objects and infrastructure
H
heap what you throw : (saying) creating mountains of garbage
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
snowfelled : early spring flowers toppled by a heavy snow
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
terramour : Today was so wonderful. I smelled the air: 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 the very merry birdsong. What do I call that? Terramour. Love the earth.
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