I.Our environment is the sum total of our surroundings A photograph of Earth reveals a great deal, but it does not convey the complexity of our environment. Our environment (a term that comes from the French environner, “to surround”) is more than water, land, and air; it is the sum total of our surroundings. It includes all of the biotic factors, or living things, with which we interact. It also includes the abiotic factors, or nonliving things, with which we interact. Our environment includes the continents, oceans, clouds, and ice caps you can see in the photo of Earth from space, as well as the animals, plants, forests, and farms that comprise the landscapes around us. In a more inclusive sense, it also encompasses our built …show more content…
III. Natural resources are vital to our survival An island by definition is finite and bounded, and its inhabitants must cope with limitations in the materials they need. On our island, Earth, human beings, like all living things, ultimately face environmental constraints. Specifically, there are limits to many of our natural resources, the various substances and energy sources we need to survive. Natural resources that are virtually unlimited or that are replenished over short periods are known as renewable natural resources. Some renewable resources, such as sunlight, wind, and wave energy, are perpetually available. Others, such as timber, food crops, water, and soil, renew themselves over months, years, or decades, if we are careful not to use them up too quickly or destructively. In contrast, resources such as mineral ores and crude oil are in finite supply and are formed much more slowly than we use them. These are known as nonrenewable natural resources. Once we use them up, they are no longer available. We can view the renewability of natural resources as a continuum (Figure 1.1). Some renewable resources may turn nonrenewable if we overuse them. For example, overpumping groundwater can deplete underground aquifers and turn a lush landscape into a desert. Populations of animals and plants we harvest from the wild may be renewable if
The article Environments That Inspire complied by Susan Friedman was a fantastic piece. I learned that having a stick building area for children will encourage children to explore their imagination and create something for either dramatic play or make different kinds of structures. Another thing I have learned was how important it can be to have low tables and chair for toddlers. Allowing the children to sit in these chairs where their feet can rest on the floor give them a feeling of independence. Lastly, something that I learned and found quite interesting was having the All About Me Books. The child and parent can work together to create these and then bring them to class. The books celebrate each child’s uniqueness, encourage literacy,
According to Deborah McGregor, the term “environment” encompasses many different aspects of nature. From a contemporary perspective, the environment means the components of the earth such as: land, all layers of the atmosphere, all organic and inorganic material, and interacting natural systems. However, for indigenous populations, “environment” is more than the surrounding physical attributes of nature. The term “world view” emerges from the intense bond between indigenous populations and the environment. As a result environment also encompasses how one views and experiences the world (McGregor, 2015). Unfortunately, McGregor (2004) finds that traditional ecological knowledge surrounding environmental
The relationship between humans and their environment is a topic that engenders much debate. Humans are intellectual. They can think, reason, feel and make deductions or hypothesis and seek to solve or prove their deductions or theories. The environment on the other hand is inanimate and exists by means of natural laws and principles that govern the universe. It cannot prevent man’s exploitations; it cannot take up arms and fight. However, in its own way, by natural laws, it makes efforts to purge and renew itself from the effects of man’s endeavors. Mangor (2002) argues that like the ocean that
Ecosystems is the dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment that work together to form a functional unit and they are constantly changing due to the fluctuating equilibrium from natural stress and human action which has had adversarial impacts on ecosystems. This is evident in Minnamurra rainforest as human induced modifications and environmental stresses had resulted in a vulnerable ecosystem. Furthermore, the removal of factors that contribute to the vulnerability of an ecosystem is important as it affect the functioning of the ecosystem as processes are accelerated, biodiversity is decreased which greatly affects humans. Despite the negative effects caused by humans, they have discovered that ecosystems are susceptible from harm caused by natural environmental factors or human impacts and realised the importance of protecting and managing ecosystems therefore have implemented management strategies that are supposed to prevent further detriment and as a consequence may induce resiliency.
One of such resources that are exploited by a human being is south Florida ecosystem in the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades ecosystem is water resource. Most of the water in the river the Kissimmee and Lake Okeechobee have been converted to the canal of agricultural water. As a result, ecosystem within the river and lake- terrestrial ecosystem was destroyed as some of the surrounding wetland were destroyed and this destruction had an impact on the survival of the ecosystems without sufficient flowing water to support it. The result of this destruction was the loss of 20,000 acres of the wetlands. Another exploitation that occurs in this ecosystem is clearing of forest for timbers used for construction and agricultural land (Kiker, C. F., Milon, J. W., & Hodges, A. W.
As we continue to grow and have a greater impact on the Earth’s systems, it is essential that we address our role and relationship with nature. The separation of humans from nature encourages environmentally irresponsible behavior because it allows us to take on the conqueror role, giving us the ability to manipulate the landscape with the duty to provide and proliferate. Throughout human history, we have made advancements in technology and agriculture, resulting in the imbalance and overuse of land. The ability of humans to manipulate the landscape and recognize the consequences of doing so makes us an invasive species. Our dependency on Earth’s resources and services put us at competition with the environment. In order to understand our role
There are different sorts of environments scattered over the earth, but what and where are they? In World Biodiversity Expedition, the reader is to collect data about these organisms and the environment they are settled at. A biome is often mistaken as an ecosystem, however, it is defined by non-living factors such as climate, soils, and vegetation. This unit helped me understand more clearly that there are so many organisms that I did not know anything about. I learned a lot from this specific unit when it comes to discoverying animals and organisms that I did not know exist.
Human beings sometimes fail to understand the important role that the environment plays in ensuring our survival and well-being because they have little knowledge about the environment, which makes them have less concern about it. The concept of deep ecology, which refers to a more
In this text, William Cronon analyzes the perspective of nature in today’s society. The author elaborates on the concept of nature and the environment; Cronon challenges popular ideas related to these concepts. According to the text, there are many perspectives of nature throughout society. These different perspectives influence how we react and view the environment. A prominent view that is mentioned in the text is nature as something that is “out there.” In short, this perspective perceives nature as something separate from humanity. For example, a person might take a trip into nature and return back to their home that is separate from the nature they experienced. Cronon challenges this perspective by implying that nature might not be disconnected
What are we doing to our environment? This is a question many people have asked but never quite been able to answer in the fullest way. How do we find out the answer then you ask? By multiple sources. There’s the ‘scare’ tactic, saying what could happen in the future if we don’t change our ways. There’s the ‘inspirational’ tactic which spreads the word of all good that we can, should, or maybe even have done to our environment. And last but not least, the ‘fiction transformation’ tactic which turns something that we would read ourselves or maybe to our children to open up our eyes of what’s going on. Why is this important to even know? Many different ‘eco enthusiasts’ express their research on the environment, this general tactic is called ecocriticism. Ecocriticism is where authors analyze texts that embellish environmental concerns and study the various
The customary idea of the environment is human focused, with everything that encompasses (surrounds) us characterized as the environment. Then again, science characterizes the earth as a mind boggling arrangement of living things and natural processes and the human species only one player in this web- albeit with significant impacts to the environment (Maxwell, 2014). Environmental health encompasses chemical, biological, and physical hazards and thus is not limited to industrial pollution as many often associate environmental health with.
This paper uses the terms natural resource(s), resource(s), and reserve(s) in many different contexts. Please use care when interpreting their usage and context.
We are taught about the relation of human beings with their environment from the early days of our schooling. But what we have achieved is failure in protecting our environment.We have not, as a species, come to grips with the explosive events that have changed our relationship with the planet. For most of human existence, we lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers whose impact on nature could be absorbed by the resilience of the biosphere. Even after the Agricultural Revolution 10,000
We are a part of nature however we are its greatest enemy. Since the dawn of time humans starting inventing. We strive to make our lives easier but at what cost? Our connection to the world we live in has become increasingly distant because there is not a close connection between humans and nature. By neglecting our relationships with nature we suffer personal consequences such as missing out on earth's beauty, activities, and living a healthy life.
Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.