ENVIRONMENTALLY

adverb (Environment) As regards the conservation of the environment (see environment°); used especially to qualify an adjective, as in: environmentally aware, of a person or group: informed about contemporary concerns for the environment; sensitive to the effect upon the environment of a product, activity, etc.; environmentally friendly, environment-friendly (see -friendly); environmentally sensitive, of a geographical area: officially recognized as containing a habitat for rare species or some other natural feature which should be protected from destruction; environmentally sound, of a product: having no harmful effects on the environment; environment-friendly. Etymology: Most of these formations use environmentally in a way which can be predicted from the developments in the use of environment (see above); the exception is environmentally friendly, which involves a grammatical development as well. The original term environment-friendly, modelled on user-friendly in computing, implies a dative construction: 'friendly to the environment'. Once the hyphen was dropped and the free-standing adjective friendly also acquired the meaning 'harmless', it had to be qualified by an adverb--hence environmentally friendly. History and Usage: Work on environmentally sensitive areas (abbreviation ESA) began in Canada in the mid seventies and soon spread to other industrialized countries; government regulations ensured that economic development, agricultural practices, etc. were not allowed to destroy the natural beauty of these areas. Environmentally friendly, by far the commonest of the other combinations, was first used in the US during the mid eighties; it owes its popularity in part to the enthusiasm with which manufacturers began labelling their products with it, sometimes with little foundation--a practice which in the UK led to calls for government regulation of eco-labelling. New formations with environmentally are cropping up all the time: the ones mentioned here are some of the more important and lasting. One has to be reasonable. The factory means jobs. There is no factory without emissions. It just has to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Christian Science Monitor 6 Apr. 1984, p. 9 Under new proposals from the European Commission, member states are empowered to pay farmers to continue with or revert to traditional farming methods in environmentally sensitive areas. New Scientist 15 May 1986, p. 30 Nobody can deny that there are occasions on which the careful guiding of a river along its course requires some bank reinforcement. However, there are plenty of sensible materials to hand for the environmentally aware river engineer. Jeremy Purseglove Taming the Flood (1989), p. 191 Environmentally friendly household products are big news on the shopping front. Health Shopper Jan./Feb. 1990, p. 7