Environment As Causer Of Human History
Environment As Causer Of Human History
“Enviro” is derived from the Spanish word “envir” which means “of the environment”. In its most general form the environmental environs covers all living and non living things existing naturally, therefore in this instance not man made. The word is most commonly applied to the Earth itself or any specific portion of the Earth. A vast majority of the Earth’s surface is covered with soils, lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. The natural environs is generally composed of plants, animals, and mankind.
The primary force keeping the environment in its present condition is the sun. It causes global temperatures to rise and cooling to occur. It also causes ozone layer depletion that results in harmful UV rays being emitted into space that is harmful to the living beings on Earth. Global warming is the result of the excess heat absorption in the Earth’s atmosphere caused by the Sun.
Some of the effects of the Sun’s rays and resultant changes in climate are: global warming, changes in rainfall, and atmospheric weather changes. These changes occur as a direct result of the activities of human beings. The changes in the environment are a direct result of man’s activity and civilization.
Civilization is the life of human beings and their activities. It is a result of their interaction with nature and their adaptation to it. Some of the ways civilization has adapted to its surroundings are: hunting and gathering, cultivation of crops, and construction of cities and infrastructure. All these actions are necessary for humans to exist in a state of equilibrium with nature.
Without man and his inventions everything in the environment would be gone. This is why, it is essential to preserve the current changes in the environment. A well thought out plan is necessary for people to adapt to the changes.
Nature provides benefits that man can use. Man has taken everything from nature. Nature can give man many advantages if he will only make use of them. The balance between man and nature is essential. Man should take part in maintaining this equilibrium.
The changes in the environment have occurred because of man. He has changed the environment and people living in that environment have changed. The ability of man to affect his environment through his actions has created different kinds of species.
The differences among human beings are mainly found in their thinking and actions. Humans have adapted to the changes in the environment in order to survive. These changes were created by the actions and thought of people. Therefore, human civilization is not actually a single event but the accumulation of small, often insignificant events over a period of time.
The changes in the environment have affected man’s thinking. Through this thinking man has created new environments for himself, modified his thinking so that he can understand the changing environment, and established a variety of relationships with other organisms. This has made the environment an interactive system.