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How many times have you heard the concept of environment? Surely thousands of times, but would you be able to explain exactly what it is? Many people confuse concepts such as nature, environment or ecosystem, but we want to explain that completely and in detail what is the environment: definition and summary.
Besides talking about the definition of the environmentAt Ecologist Verde, we will explain the importance of the natural environment, the actions you can take to take care of it and the main causes of its contamination. Read on and find out!
What is the environment - simple definition and summary
What summary of what the environment is we can say that it is the set of all those chemical, physical and biological elements with which living beings interact. In addition, in the case of the human being, it also includes all those cultural and social elements that influence their life. Thus, the environment is not only the physical place in which life develops, but culture is also the environment and concepts as intangible as traditions.
Many people fall into the error of believing that the environment is only the elements that we find naturally in nature, but the reality is that so are artificial elements that are created from the first. That is why, within the environment, we can distinguish between:
- Natural environment: the climate, geography, fauna, flora and everything that we find naturally.
- Cultural environment: those objects made by man or his socio-economic activities.
Thus, the definition of the environment is that of a system that is formed by natural and cultural elements that interrelate with each other and that they are modified by the action of man. The environment is the environment that conditions our way of life, however, our way of life also conditions and adapts it.
Unfortunately, for a few decades, human activity has caused disturbances in the environment that have ended with the extinction of species, the contamination of water and the displacement of animal and human populations due to the destruction of their habitat.
That is why we must talk about another concept related to the environment and what we have just explained: the ecology. Ecology is the study of the relationship between living beings and the environment, that is, their environment, so that the subsistence of the former is done by ensuring the protection and respect of natural resources. Keep reading the next lines to discover more environmental information and various related concepts.
What is the environment for children
The environment is the union of elements that are nature, life, society, culture, and all those created from them, which occur at a given time in a given space. The environment is made up of the following elements:
- Physical
- Chemicals
- Biological.
- Social.
- Cultural
All these elements, both those that we see -a mountain- and those that we do not see -tradition-, are related to each other and create the typical characteristics in which life develops -or not- in a specific place. Some of the factors that create the environment are the plants, the soil, the water, the air, or the climate and, above all, the human being.
The human being it is the living element that intervenes with the greatest intensity in the environment. First he has explored and traveled it, then he has used the resources it offered to improve his well-being and, finally, he has modified it to make his life more comfortable.
However, on many occasions this human activity has ended negatively affecting the environment, for example, destroying their resources, causing the extinction of animals or polluting the environment.
What are the elements that make up the environment - examples
Now that you know What is the environment we can talk about the constituent elements. Next, we explain the parts of the environment and the elements that make it up:
- The atmosphere, air and space.
- The water, whatever state it is, be it marine, fresh or estuarine, maritime or continental, underground or surface, lakes or rivers.
- The land -soil and subsoil-, the seabed, the beds, and so on.
- All flora, both aquatic and terrestrial, in any of its species.
- The fauna, both aquatic and terrestrial, in any of its species.
- The microfauna, both aquatic and terrestrial, in any of its species.
- The microflora, both aquatic and terrestrial, in any of its species.
- The primary sources of energy.
- The topographic slopes with the capacity to generate energy.
- The underground heat sources.
- The climate and all the factors that determine it.
- All mineral deposits, whether metallic or not, surface clay, salt flats, and any of the materials used for construction.
- The ecological processes of the earth, such as the regeneration of the soil, the purification of water, the recycling of nutrients or photosynthesis.
- All ecosystems on the planet.
- The human species and all the ways in which it intervenes on the planet.
However, we can distinguish between two types of environment; the natural environment and built environment. The difference is that the first occurs naturally, while the second is the environment that humans have modified. In this sense, we can speak of natural landscapes and cultural landscapes.
Pollution
After knowing well What is the environment, its concept and various details, we are going to talk about the contamination of this and other aspects. Pollution of the environment are all those elements that are present in it and that damage, harm and endanger the safety, living conditions, well-being and the characteristics of the ecosystems and the flora and fauna that inhabit them.
In summary, we could say that the environmental pollution that's it that which damages the air, soil, water, flora and fauna. A part of this pollution is natural, for example, when a volcano erupts it releases a large amount of gases and products that can damage the ecosystem, however, most of the pollution of the environment occurs as a result of activities human beings, whether with plastics in the sea, waste in the mountains or the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.
On the other hand, it should be noted the problem represented by the irresponsible consumption of natural resources that are not renewable and the global overpopulation, which causes habitats to be destroyed, more and more spaces are occupied and economic, social, political and, obviously environmental.
Find out more about What is environmental pollution and its types and about How pollution affects the environment in these other Green Ecologist articles.
How to take care of the environment - tips for its protection
Usually, when we think about how to take care of the environment, we tend to think that it is the task of large corporations, companies and the governments of each country. The reality is that these actors must do much more to try to take care of the environment, minimizing CO2 emissions that cause the destruction of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect, deforestation and the extinction of species caused by this pollution. However, each of us has in his hand the ability to measure their actions and the impact they have in the environment, it can even turn the tide of these big companies.
You ask yourself how to take care of the enviroment? Here are a series of actions that you can carry out that will help conserve the environment and the ecosystems that we find in it:
- Use clean or renewable energy.
- Do not use the car if you have other cleaner options.
- Always recycle and reuse when possible.
- Consume organic products whose companies respect the environment.
- Don't waste water.
- Buy only the products you need.
- Make people around you aware to imitate you.
Find out more tips on How to take care of the environment here.
Why the environment is important
We could go a long way to explain the importance of the environment, but it could be summed up in a key question: the environment is the source of life for any species. The environment is the environment that makes life possible, from it we obtain water, food, fuel and any raw material that we use to build and improve our life.
The environment is our home, but not only of the human being, but of all the animal and plant species that inhabit this planet. However, it increasingly depends on our actions, so that the harmful uses we make of our environment negatively affect its survival. The importance of the environment is such that ensuring its continuity is ensuring ours, while the more damage we do to it, the more damage we are doing to ourselves and to all the ecosystems around us.
The importance of the environment is not simply about maintaining nature, but it means being able to continue living on this planet since from the environment we get everything we need so that we can live. Hence the need to find a way to develop in a sustainable way, combining our economic needs with the health of the planet.
To expand this information on the environment, you can read this other article of ours on Why it is important to take care of the environment.
World Environment Day
Since 1972 the United Nations they established that each June 5 will be celebrated World Environment Day. The objective of this celebration is for the population to become aware of the importance of protecting the environment and the need for initiatives to be taken so that both citizens, companies and politicians take action on the matter.
During this day, in thousands of schools, workplaces and cities around the world, information sessions, cleaning of contaminated areas or tree plantations are organized to educate the population about the importance of conserving the environment.
In addition, to celebrate this day, apart from carrying out actions to improve the environment, it may also be helpful to share these Environmental Phrases. If you want to know more about why World Environment Day is celebrated, we recommend this other post.
Finally, here below you can see a video from our YouTube channel about what the environment is and much more.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is the environment: definition and summary, we recommend that you enter our category of Other environment.
