Thenatural environment ornatural world encompasses allbiotic andabiotic things occurringnaturally, meaning in this case notartificial. The term is most often applied toEarth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses the interaction of all livingspecies,climate, weather and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity.The concept of thenatural environment can be distinguished as components:
Completeecological units that function as natural systems without massive civilized human intervention, including all vegetation,microorganisms,soil,rocks, plateaus, mountains, theatmosphere andnatural phenomena that occur within their boundaries and their nature.
In contrast to the natural environment is thebuilt environment. Built environments are where humans have fundamentally transformed landscapes such as urban settings and agriculturalland conversion, the natural environment is greatly changed into a simplified human environment. Even acts which seem less extreme, such as building a mudhut or aphotovoltaic system in thedesert, the modified environment becomes an artificial one. Though many animals build things to provide a better environment for themselves, they are not human, hencebeaver dams and the works ofmound-building termites are thought of as natural. (Full article...)
Thenatural environment ornatural world encompasses allbiotic andabiotic things occurringnaturally, meaning in this case notartificial. The term is most often applied toEarth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses the interaction of all livingspecies,climate, weather and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity.The concept of thenatural environment can be distinguished as components:
Completeecological units that function as natural systems without massive civilized human intervention, including all vegetation,microorganisms,soil,rocks, plateaus, mountains, theatmosphere andnatural phenomena that occur within their boundaries and their nature.
In contrast to the natural environment is thebuilt environment. Built environments are where humans have fundamentally transformed landscapes such as urban settings and agriculturalland conversion, the natural environment is greatly changed into a simplified human environment. Even acts which seem less extreme, such as building a mudhut or aphotovoltaic system in thedesert, the modified environment becomes an artificial one. Though many animals build things to provide a better environment for themselves, they are not human, hencebeaver dams and the works ofmound-building termites are thought of as natural.
There are noabsolutely natural environments on Earth. Naturalness usually varies in a continuum, from 100% natural in one extreme to 0% natural in the other. The massive environmental changes of humanity in theAnthropocene have fundamentally affected all natural environments including:climate change,biodiversity loss andpollution from plastic andother chemicals in theair andwater. More precisely, we can consider the different aspects or components of an environment, and see that their degree of naturalness is not uniform. If, for instance, we take an agricultural field, and consider themineralogic composition and thestructure of its soil, we will find that whereas the first is quite similar to that of an undisturbed forest soil, the structure is quite different. (Full article...)
Environmentalism is a broadphilosophy,ideology, andsocial movement about supportinglife,habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses on the environmental and nature-related aspects ofgreen ideology and politics,ecologism combines the ideology ofsocial ecology and environmentalism.Ecologism is a term more commonly used in continental European languages, whileenvironmentalism is more commonly used in English, but the words have slightly different connotations.
... thatHitomi Tohyama, who was raised primarily in an English-speaking environment, did not learn Japanese until she began performing professionally in Japan?
... thatMycobacterium bacterial species constantly remodel theircell wall layers to survive in stressful environments and avoid their host's immune defenses?
... thatEnriqueta Legorreta, who was the first Mexican woman to appear as Sieglinde in Wagner'sDie Walküre, became an award-winning environmental activist?
... that German social media personalityMaya Leinenbach became vegan after completing a school project on the influence of nutrition and consumption on the environment?
... that environmental journalistGloria Dickie wrote her thesis on how cities in Colorado changed garbage laws to prevent bear incursions?
On a fundamental level, Harkin's philosophy had two dominant components: the economic, which saw park lands in commercial terms, and the humanitarian which saw parks as being integral to the well-being of the human spirit on a physical, mental and moral level. In successfully bringing these two principles together in a symbiotic way, Harkin was able to facilitate the incredible growth of Canadian tourism and, at the same time, justify his conservationist goals. (Full article...)
Jungle burned to clear land for agriculture in southern Mexico.
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is anenvironmental organization based inSan Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes andMike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a grassroots organizing campaign that in 1987 succeeded in convincingBurger King to cancel $31 million worth of destructive Central American rainforest beef contracts. Protecting forests and challenging corporate power has remained a key focus of RAN’s campaigns since, and has led RAN into campaigns that have led to transformative policy changes across home building, wood purchasing and supplying, automobile, fashion, paper and banking industries. (Full article...)
Image 3Biodiversity of a coral reef. Corals adapt and modify their environment by formingcalcium carbonate skeletons. This provides growing conditions for future generations and forms a habitat for many other species. (fromEnvironmental science)
Image 6Climbingferns overtakecypress trees in the Everglades. The ferns act as "fire ladders" that can destroy trees that would otherwise survive fires. (fromRestoration of the Everglades)
Image 7Wetland habitat types in Borneo (fromHabitat)
Image 10A team of British researchers found a hole in the ozone layer forming over Antarctica, the discovery of which would later influence theMontreal Protocol in 1987. (fromEnvironmental science)
Image 11Cattails indicate the presence ofphosphorus in the water. Cattails are an invasive species; they crowd outsawgrass and grow too thick to allow nesting for birds and alligators. (fromRestoration of the Everglades)
Image 12Aerial view of stormwater treatment areas in the northern Everglades bordered by sugarcane fields on the right (fromRestoration of the Everglades)
Image 13Few creatures make theice shelves ofAntarctica their habitat, but water beneath the ice can provide habitat for multiple species. Animals such as penguins have adapted to live in very cold conditions. (fromHabitat)
Image 14Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World (Olson et al. 2001, BioScience) (fromEcoregion)
Image 21Proportion of forest area by forest area density class and global ecological zone, 2015, fromFood and Agriculture Organization publication The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief (fromEcoregion)
Image 23View of Earth, taken in 1972 by theApollo 17 crew. Approximately 71% ofEarth's surface (an area of some 361 million square kilometers) consists ofocean (fromEcoregion)
Image 24A false color composite of the greater Boston area, created using remote sensing technology, reveals otherwise not visible characteristics about the land cover and the health of the surrounding ecosystems. (fromEnvironmental science)
Image 31Compartments established by C&SF projects that separated the historic Everglades into Water Conservation Areas and the Everglades Agricultural Area. One-fourth of the original Everglades is preserved inEverglades National Park. (fromRestoration of the Everglades)
Image 33Sequence of a decomposing pig carcass over time (fromEcosystem)
Image 34Global oceanic and terrestrial phototroph abundance, from September 1997 to August 2000. As an estimate ofautotroph biomass, it is only a rough indicator of primary production potential and not an actual estimate of it. (fromEcosystem)
Image 43Loch Lomond inScotland forms a relatively isolated ecosystem. The fish community of this lake has remained stable over a long period until a number ofintroductions in the 1970s restructured itsfood web. (fromEcosystem)
Image 46The Paris Agreement (formerly the Kyoto Protocol) is adopted in 2016. Nearly every country in the United Nations has signed the treaty, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (fromEnvironmental science)
There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I seewaste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.
... that the globalecological footprint is 1.8 global hectares (gha) per capita?
... that the averageUnited States citizen consumes 119pg (10−12 g) ofdioxin per day?
... thatLiberian lawyerAlfred Brownell won the "Green Nobel" prize for his efforts to protect more than 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) of tropical forest land?
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