castings n.pl.— «The worm’s waste materials, delicately referred to as “castings,” or, indelicately, as “poop,” are eaten by microbes and fungi, allowing them to grow and reproduce and sequester minerals from the soil...
valley fill n.— «Mountaintop removal is just what the name suggests. Peaks are cleared of trees. Giant steam shovels then scrape away the topsoil. The rock beneath is blasted away until the coal is exposed. Some blasts have lopped as much...
off-off year n.— «The “off-off” year elections, as they are called, offer Fairfax County voters more choices than ever, as all 10 seats on the Board of Supervisors, 12 School Board positions, all the General Assembly positions (nine...