Example: We once got stuck in a blizzard for six hours.
en: une tempête de neige
a bottle bank
noun
A large container that people put empty bottles in so that the glass or plastic the bottles are made from can be used again.
Example: We take the bottles to the bottle bank.
en: une borne de collecte du verre
a catalytic converter
noun
A device incorporated in the exhaust system of a motor vehicle, containing a catalyst for converting pollutant gases into less harmful ones.
Example: Yet, of the few car manufacturers so far offering any sort of catalytic converter, most are charging for it.
en: un pot catalytique
a crater
noun
A large bowl-shaped cavity in the ground or on a celestial object, typically one caused by an explosion or the impact of a meteorite.
Example: The blast left a crater in the car park.
en: un cratère
a cyclone
noun
A storm or system of winds that rotates about a center of low atmospheric pressure, advances at a speed of 20 to 30 miles (about 30 to 50 kilometers) an hour, and often brings heavy rain.
Example: Weather forecasters say the cyclone should move offshore, bringing dry conditions on Sunday.
en: un cyclone
a fault
noun
A fault is a large crack in the surface of the earth
Example: The continental crust has been thinned and faulted as a result of geological processes.
en: une faille
a flood
noun
An overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits, especially over what is normally dry land.
Example: Water defences that would be used in the event of A FLOOD.
en: une inondation, une crue
a forest fire
noun
A large, destructive fire that spreads over a forest or area of woodland.
Example: Much of the primary vegetation has been lost in forest fires.
en: un incendie de forêt
a hurricane
noun
A storm with a violent wind, in particular a tropical cyclone in the Caribbean.
Example: The effect of a hurricane covers a greater area and produces many gaps comprising multiple treefalls, and may therefore produce more noticeable or different effects.
en: un ouragan
a landfill
noun
The disposal of waste material by burying it, especially as a method of filling in and reclaiming excavated pits.
Example: 90 percent of American rubbish is dumped in landfill sites.
en: une décharge
a landslide
noun
A collapse of a mass of earth or rock from a mountain or cliff.
Example: The earthquake triggered a landslide.
en: un glissement de terrain
a lava flow
noun
A mass of flowing or solidified lava.
Example: A car is also seen driving over a lava flow and manages to drive clear of it!
en: une coulée de lave
a mudslide
noun
A large amount of wet dirt that moves down a hill or mountain and that can cause a lot of death and destruction.
Example: The vice president surveyed the damage today from flooding and mudslides.
en: une coulée de boue
a poison cloud
noun
A mass of airborne toxins, aerosolized bacterial pathogens chemicals, or fumes released by the burning of a hazardous substance.
Example: Officials have said that the poison cloud has dissipated.
en: un nuage toxique
a pollutant
noun
A substance that pollutes something, especially water or the atmosphere.
Example: Vertical distribution of A POLLUTANT was also calculated for each environment
en: un produit polluant
a sewage plant
noun
A place where sewage is treated so that it can be safely gotten rid of or changed into fertilizer.
Example: A sewage treatment plant in the area failed, contaminating the rainwater with raw sewage.
en: une usine de retraitement des eaux usées
a tidal wave
noun
An exceptionally large ocean wave, especially one caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.
Example: A massive tidal wave swept the ship up and away.
en: un raz-de-marée
a tornado
noun
A mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system.
Example: The town was hit by a tornado last night.
en: une tornade
a typhoon
noun
A tropical storm in the region of the Indian or western Pacific oceans.
Example: The dry typhoon may have affected the forest in other ways, as well.
en: un typhon
a volcano
noun
A mountain or hill, typically conical, having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour, and gas are or have been erupted from the earth's crust.
Example: The long-dormant volcano has recently shown signs of erupting.
en: Un volcan
a water table
noun
The water table is an underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock.
Example: The nodules below the water table showed a similar distribution of colour.
en: une nappe phréatique
a wind turbine
noun
A turbine having a large vaned wheel rotated by the wind to generate electricity.
Example: The working group is concerned only with wind turbine noise.
en: une éolienne
an act of God= an act of nature
noun
an extraordinary interruption by a natural cause (such as a flood or earthquake) of the usual course of events that experience, prescience, or care cannot reasonably foresee or prevent.
Example: There is no way to prepare for a sudden act of God like an earthquake.
en: une catastrophe naturelle
an earth tremor
noun
A relatively small or short-lived movement of the earth's surface caused by the same forces that produce earthquakes.
Example: Somehow we never felt the earth tremor which shook the island during the morning!
en: une secousse tellurique
an eruption
noun
An issuing forth suddenly and violently; outburst; outbreak.
Example: The first indicator of an eruption is greater than average seismic activi meteorology
en: une éruption
an oil spill= an oil leak= an oil slick
noun
An escape of oil into the sea or other body of water.
Example: We can therefore conclude that there is a mobilizing effect in the earthquake and oil spill domains.
en: une marée noire
biofuels
noun
A fuel derived immediately from living matter.
Example: He needs to find an alternative biofuel to replace conventional petroleum products.
en: les biocarburants
clean energy
noun
Clean energy is energy generated from sources that do not emit air pollutants.
Example: Hydropower was adopted throughout the world as a CLEAN ENERGY solution
en: l'énergie propre
conservation
noun
The protection of plants and animals, natural areas, and interesting and important structures and buildings, especially from the damaging effects of human activity.
Example: Conservation efforts can in principle be evaluated according to the value of the environmental resources they save.
en: la défense de l'environnement
degassing = oil dumping
verb
Make or become free of unwanted or excess gas.
Example: The summit craters were degassing freely
en: le dégazage en mer
drought
noun
A period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area.
Example: Forecasters warn of big drought after big freeze
en: la sécheresse
energy-saving
adjective
Designed to make economical use of electricity, gas, or other forms of energy.
Example: We aim to sell a wide range of energy saving and CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp).
en: les économies d'énergie
Exhaust fumes
noun
Exhaust fumes are the gas or steam that is produced when the engine of a vehicle is running.
Example: Sometimes exhaust fumes escape into the vehicle.
en: les gaz d'échappement
lava
noun
Hot molten or semi-fluid rock erupted from a volcano or fissure, or solid rock resulting from cooling of this.
Example: These conglomerates are composed of clasts of basalt, volcaniclastic sandstone, alkaline lava and sub-rounded chert.
en: la lave
nuclear waste
noun
A byproduct from nuclear reactors, fuel processing plants, hospitals and research facilities.
Example: To conclude, there is one topic that has been consistently neglected: nuclear waste.
en: les déchets nucléaires
Radioactive fallout
noun
Airborne radioactive particles that fall to the ground during and after an atomic bombing, nuclear weapons test, or nuclear plant accident.
Example: proliferation and examines the harmful effects of radioactive fallout an issue particularly prevale
en: les retombées radioactives
scoriae= cinders
noun
Basaltic lava ejected as fragments from a volcano, typically with a frothy texture.
Example: The scoriae fragments are of all sizes from huge blocks down to minute granular dust.
en: les scories
seismic
adjective
Relating to earthquakes or other vibrations of the earth and its crust.
Example: After a few days of seismic activity the volcanic eruption started.
en: sismique
soil erosion
noun
Soil erosion refers to the erosion of the top layer of dirt known as topsoil, the fertile material vital to life.
Example: This also creates a greater threat of SOIL EROSION through a loss of soil structure.
en: l'érosion du sol
the earth's crust
noun
Earth's crust is Earth's thin outer shell of rock, regarding for less than 1% of Earth's radius and volume.
Example: Earthquakes leave scars in the earth's crust
en: la croûte terrestre
the Richter scale
noun
An open-ended logarithmic scale for expressing the magnitude of a seismic disturbance (such as an earthquake) in terms of the energy dissipated in it.
Example: The Torino scale is similar to the richter scale for earthquakes, it is a set of physics
en: l'échelle de Richter
to erupt
verb
(of a volcano) become active and eject lava, ash, and gases.
Example: Mount Pinatubo began erupting in June
en: entrer en éruption
to flood
verb
An overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits, especially over what is normally dry land.
Example: The villagers had been cut off by floods and landslides
en: inonder
to lift a ban
verb
The action of ending a rule or law.
Example: Government urged to lift ban on BBC's local broadcasts.
en: lever une interdiction
to overflow
verb
(especially of a liquid) flow over the brim of a receptacle.
Example: The milk overflowed when I poured it into the jug.
en: déborder
unleaded petrol
adjective
The term unleaded is short for unleaded petrol and it refers to the fact that the fuel comes without lead compounds.
Example: Cars these days all use unleaded petrol.
en: l'essence sans plomb
waste sorting
noun
The waste sorting process is where waste is sorted into categories, according to material or recyclability.
Example: Despite waste-sorting initiatives, the amount of waste to be incinerated has led to a significant increase in treatment costs.
