environmentally costly

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "environmentally costly" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe actions, products, or processes that have a negative impact on the environment, often in terms of resource consumption or pollution. Example: "The production of plastic bags is environmentally costly, contributing to pollution and waste in our oceans."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

11 human-written examples

Sustainable food movements are focused on reducing meat consumption for one simple reason: meat is extremely environmentally costly.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Further expanding forestry into unmanaged forests is environmentally costly and increasing forest area via plantations will not immediately lead to increased wood supply.

Forest Ecology and Management

This is particularly important in cases where new and sustainable alternatives are considered to replace well-established, but environmentally costly products and solutions.

Procedia CIRP

Undertaking more finely tuned analyses — with even more precise data than what these researchers used here — can help to better target specific regions ripe for less environmentally costly conversion.

Princeton University

The livestock industry contributes more than 15percentt of global carbon emissions, according to the U.N, which means that when Americans throw out meat, they are wasting some of the most environmentally costly food available.

The Washington Post

The vast majority of plastic is produced from petroleum, which means that the long carbon chains that make up the material come from one of the most environmentally costly materials on the planet.

The Guardian

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

The trouble is, it is an environmentally-costly activity in terms of the creation of greenhouse gases and the usage of fuel resources.

WikiHow

A shift in the type of biomass substrate from starch-based food crops to ligno-cellulosic crops and wastes that are economically and environmentally less costly to produce, yet more difficult to chemically and biologically process, presents technical challenges that are shared by all emerging biofuel technologies.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

Replacing one potential menace with another — like an environmentally dirtier and costly natural-gas plant — would be a bad outcome.

The New York Times

Zeolites are generally synthesized with organic templates under hydrothermal conditions; however, this method is environmentally unfriendly and costly due to the formation of harmful gases and polluted water.

Engineering

Parliament also voted for a strict ban on discarding, the environmentally and economically costly practice in which fish are thrown back into the sea, often dead or dying, because they could not be legally caught.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing sustainability, use "environmentally costly" to emphasize the resources and energy consumed by a particular process or product, going beyond just pollution or damage.

Common error

Avoid using "environmentally costly" as a generic synonym for 'bad for the environment'. Reserve it for situations where you can specifically point to a high consumption of resources or energy as the key issue.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "environmentally costly" functions as an adjective phrase, modifying a noun to describe something that has a significant environmental expense, often in terms of resource depletion, pollution, or energy consumption. As evidenced by Ludwig, this phrase is used to qualify products, processes, and activities.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

40%

News & Media

40%

Academia

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "environmentally costly" is a grammatically correct and meaningful expression used to describe actions, products, or processes that have a significant negative impact on the environment in terms of resource consumption or pollution. As Ludwig AI confirms, this phrase is suitable for describing the environmental burden of something. While not as common as more general terms like "harmful to the environment", it offers a more precise and analytical perspective, often appearing in scientific, academic, and news contexts. Remember to use it when you want to emphasize the economic implications of environmental impact, and be mindful of overusing it in simplistic contexts.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

ecologically damaging

Focuses on the harm to the ecosystem rather than the resource expenditure.

environmentally destructive

Emphasizes the act of destruction to the environment.

resource-intensive

Highlights the high demand for natural resources.

unsustainable

Focuses on the inability to maintain current practices without depletion.

environmentally unfriendly

A more general term indicating harm to the environment.

ecologically unsound

Similar to ecologically damaging but less strong.

carbon-intensive

Specifically relates to high carbon emissions.

high-impact on the environment

A more descriptive and less concise alternative.

detrimental to the environment

Highlights the adverse effects on the environment.

environmentally unsustainable

Combines environmental impact with a lack of sustainability.

FAQs

How can I use "environmentally costly" in a sentence?

Use "environmentally costly" to describe activities or products that have a significant negative impact due to resource depletion, energy consumption, or pollution. For example, "The production of single-use plastics is "environmentally costly" because it relies heavily on fossil fuels and contributes to waste."

What are some alternatives to saying "environmentally costly"?

You can use alternatives like "ecologically damaging", "environmentally destructive", or "unsustainable", depending on the specific context and the aspect you want to emphasize.

Is "environmentally costly" the same as "environmentally damaging"?

"Environmentally costly" emphasizes the high consumption of resources and energy, whereas "environmentally damaging" focuses on the harm caused to the environment. While related, they are not interchangeable. For example, an activity could be "resource intensive" and "environmentally costly" without necessarily being immediately "environmentally damaging", though it may lead to damage in the long run.

When is it most appropriate to use the phrase "environmentally costly"?

It's best to use "environmentally costly" when you want to highlight the economic burden associated with environmental impact. This phrase is particularly useful when comparing the costs and benefits of different approaches, such as renewable energy versus fossil fuels, or sustainable agriculture versus conventional farming.