environment

Everything that surrounds us is called Environment. The environment includes both living and non-living things. It is made by all the living things, like plants, animals; and non-living things like water, air, soil, etc. The environment plays an important role in the existence of life on the planet Earth. The environment is where humans live and satisfy their basic needs of food, air, water, shelter, sunlight. The environment is extremely important for humans.

In this lesson, we are going to learn more about ENVIRONMENT, and we will try to better understand:

• What the environment is.
• Components of the environment.
• Types of environment.
• Functions of environment.
• Environmental problems.

What is the Environment?

The term environment has been derived from the French word “Environner” which means to surround. The term “environment” refers to all elements of the physical and biological world, as well as the interactions between them.

Everything that surrounds us represents the environment. It can be either living, for example, organisms, such as plants and animals, or non-living, such as water, rocks, wind, sun, temperature, soil, air.

The environment also includes physical, chemical, and other natural forces.

Living things live in their environment. They constantly interact with it and adapt themselves to conditions in their environment.

 

What are the basic components of the environment?

The environment consists of two parts, the living part, and the non-living part. The living part is the part where life happens and it is called the biosphere. The non-living part consists of the atmosphere (the layer of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases that surround Earth), lithosphere (which includes the crust and the solid outermost layer of the upper mantle and includes the rocks and soil on the surface of Earth), and hydrosphere (oceans and other bodies of water on Earth, including the water in the air). Living things rely on the nonliving parts of the environment to survive. Human beings interact with the environment more vigorously than other living beings. The environment also includes the places where people live, the culture and social interaction that exists in people, as well as all the other components that make up the world.

Now, we can make a conclusion of what are the basic components of the environment. The basic components of the environment are:

• the atmosphere, or the air
• the lithosphere, or the rocks and soil
• the hydrosphere, or the water
• the biosphere, or the living component of the environment

 

Types of environment

When we are looking into the diversity of the world, we can conclude that is not so easy to make a proper classification of the environment. There are known several classifications of the environment. We will mention some of them.

Classification	Types of environment
I	Micro-environment, which refer to the immediate local surrounding of the organism. Macro-environment,  which refers to all the physical and biotic conditions that surround the organism externally.
II	Physical environment, which refers to all abiotic factors or conditions like temperature, light, rainfall, soil, minerals, and comprises of atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Biotic environment, which includes all biotic factors or living forms like plants, animals, microorganisms.
III	Physical environment, where individuals live, learn, work, and play. Social environment, which refers to society and all surroundings influenced in some way by humans and includes all relationships, institutions, culture, and physical structures. Culture, which refers to the collective beliefs, values, principles, norms, customs, and behaviors of a particular group, community, or nation.
IV	Geographical environment, called ‘natural environment’ for it consists of things that are provided by nature and includes the surface of the earth, natural re­sources, land, water, mountains, plains, fertile lands and deserts, oceans, storms, and cy­clones, weather and climatic factors, seasons, etc. It also includes biological conditions such as plants, animals with all their complexities. A man-made environment, referred to as the surroundings made by humans to provide facilities for satisfying human needs. It includes permanent human settlements like villages, towns, cities, and transport and communication facilities, besides various other communities.

 

Environmental functions

The functions of the environment support human life and economic activity. There are four functions.

• Source function, or production of raw materials from the natural resources of soil, water, forests, minerals, and marine life
• Sink function, which refers to the safe absorption (through breakdown, recycling, or storage) of the wastes and pollution produced by production and human life 
• Service function, or provision of the environmental or ecosystem services that support life without requiring human action, for example, climatic stability, biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, and protection from ultraviolet radiation
• Spiritual function, which refers to the intrinsic recreational, psychological, aesthetic, and spiritual value of environments

 

What are the biggest environmental problems?

A clean, healthy environment is important for people's physical and emotional well-being. But, humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered some big environmental problems. Some of the biggest environmental problems are deforestation, air pollution, global warming, watter pollution, land pollution, natural resource depletion, climate changes, and more. Let's see what do they mean:

Deforestation	occurs when forests are destroyed by cutting trees (logging) and not replanting them
Air pollution	release of pollutants into the air that is detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole
Global warming	gradual heating of the Earth's surface, oceans, and atmosphere
Water pollution	contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities
Land pollution	deterioration of the earth's land surfaces, at and below ground level
Natural resource depletion	consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished
Climate change	changes in the usual weather found in a place

 

The protection of the environment is our moral responsibility for the continuation of life on earth. Each of us should respect the environment, making rational use of natural resources, and taking steps to prevent pollution. Some ways we can protect the environment are by reducing plastic usage, saving electricity, using solar power, and planting more trees in our surroundings. 

 

Summary:

• Everything that surrounds us is called Environment.
• The environment includes everything living and everything non-living.
• The environment includes physical, chemical, and other natural forces.
• The environment consists of two parts, the living part, and the non-living part.
• The basic components of the environment are the atmosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere.
• There are known several classifications of the environment.
• The environment has many important functions.
• A clean, healthy environment is important for people's physical and emotional well-being.
• The environment plays an important role in the existence of life on the planet Earth.
• Humans impact the physical environment in many ways.
• Some of the biggest environmental problems are deforestation, air pollution, global warming, watter pollution, land pollution, natural resource depletion, climate changes.
• The protection of the environment is our moral responsibility for the continuation of life on earth.