1.
Topic 3
Human and Environment

2.
Contents
3.1. Relationship characteristics
3.2. Evolution of relationships
3.2.1. Human in nature
3.2.2. Human against nature
3.3. Social development and environment
3.4. Human, energy and environment
3.5. Relationships between population,
consumption rate, technology and
environmental problems

3.
3.1. Relationship characteristics
• The relationship between the man and the
environment has been established in the
early periods itself.
• Human beings live in the kingdom of
nature and interact with it constantly.
• The influence of nature in the form of the
air he breathes, the water he drinks, the
food he eats, and the flow of energy and
information.

4.
3.1. Relationship characteristics
(cont.)
Human-environment relationship:
• Human beings adapt to the environment
• Human beings modify the environment
• Human beings depend on the
environment.

5.
3.1. Relationship characteristics
(cont.)
Three aspects of the environment:
• Physical: air, water, soil, housing, climate,
geography, heat, light, noise, radiation,...
• Biological: man, viruses, microbial agents,
insects, animals and plants,...
• Psychosocial: cultural values, customs, beliefs,
habits, attitudes, morals, religion, education,
lifestyles, community life, health services, social
and political organization.

6.
Environmental Impact
Environment
(Physical, biological and psychosocial)
Human activities health of individual

7.
3.1. Relationship characteristics
(cont.)
• Any change in the environment can not only
result in devastating effects, but can also
pose a threat to the human race.
• The environment influences the life of human
beings and also human beings modify their
environment as a result of their growth.
• The interaction between environment and
human (society) depends largely on the
social and political system.

8.
Discussion
• What is the difference of
“interaction between human and
environment” and “interaction between
other organisms and environment”?

9.
3.2. Evolution of relationships

10.
3.2.1. Human in nature
• From the beginning man has existed in the
biosphere and other complex components
of the environment, man completely
depended on nature.
• Our distant ancestors floundered amid the
immensity of natural formations and lived
in fear of nature's menacing and
destructive forces.

11.
3.2.1. Human in nature (cont.)
• The process of struggle between man and
the elements was contradictory and
frequently ended in tragedy.
• Nature also changed its face through
interaction with man.
• Forests were destroyed and the area of
arable land increased. Nature with its
elemental forces was regarded as
something hostile to man. This was all
done in the name of civilization

12.
3.2.1. Human in nature (cont.)
• But as time goes on the interaction
between man and nature is characterised
by accelerated subjugation of nature, the
taming of its elemental forces.
• At present the interaction between man
and nature is determined by the fact that in
addition to the two factors of change in the
biosphere that have been operating for
millions of years.

13.
3.2.1. Human in nature (cont.)
• As a result, the previous dynamic balance
between man and nature and between nature
and society as a whole, has shown ominous
signs of breaking down and crises.
• One of the ways to deal with the crisis
situation in the "man-nature" system is to use
clean resources such as solar energy, the
power of winds, the riches of the seas and
oceans and other, as yet unknown natural
forces of the universe.

14.
3.2.2. Human against nature
• It involves man against some sort of
opposition from the world of nature.
• Every life form on the planet affects its
surroundings.
• We transform the environment to fit our
needs.
• Man against nature in many ways.

15.
3.2.2. Human against nature (cont.)
• The natural world is dangerous: that's why
we have civilisation.
• We wear clothes to protect our bodies, and
live in houses because most of us have the
sense to come inside when it's raining.
• Early man's life was one big fight against
nature, against being eaten by tigers,
gathering the wrong berries or being killed by
floods, fire and famine...

16.
3.2.2. Human against nature (cont.)
• Man is trying to conquer nature and control it.
• But the nature of the world, and man himself,
is far too powerful and unpredictable to be
controlled.
• Sometimes man conquers nature, or thinks
he has, but then he also knows nature is
much more powerful than him.
• Man tries to control nature as much as he
can.

17.
Discussion
• What has human done to control and
conquer nature?
• Some people said that: “Man can’t
control the nature”, how do you think
about this issue?

18.
3.3. Social development and
environment
• People have changed the environment in
unprecedented ways.
• In turn, these global environmental
changes - such as pollution, climate
change, biodiversity loss, and freshwater
decline - affect people worldwide.
• The human impacts of environmental
change are often social in nature.

19.
3.3. Social development and
environment (cont.)
• They affect family and community stability,
social relationships, health, and sometimes
survival.
• Consequences of global environmental
change range from minor inconvenience to
injury and death.
• Common effects are food and water
insecurity, respiratory illness and diseases,
mental distress and emotional health
problems, family separation, unemployment,
income disruption,…

20.
3.3. Social development and
environment (cont.)
• The consequences of environmental
change are much worse for some groups
than others.
• People with less social, economic and
political advantage are more likely to
experience negative effects from pollution,
resource shortages, severe weather
incidents and other environmental
problems.

21.
3.3. Social development and
environment (cont.)
• Along with social development is the
concern of people on sustainable
development.
• Sustainable development is defined as
development that satisfies the needs of
the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to satisfy
theirs.

22.
3.3. Social development and
environment (cont.)
• Sustainable development implies the
fulfillment of several conditions: preserving
the overall balance, respect for the
environment, and preventing the
exhaustion of natural resources.
• Sustainable development is the organizing
principle for sustaining finite resources
necessary to provide for the needs of
future generations of life on the planet.

23.
3.3. Social development and
environment (cont.)
• The aim of sustainable development is to
define viable schemes combining the
economic, social, and environmental
aspects of human activity.
• Sustainable development ties together
concern for the carrying capacity of natural
systems with the social, political, and
economic challenges faced by humanity.

24.
3.3. Social development and
environment (cont.)
• Sustainability is the ability of the earth’s
various natural systems and human
cultural systems and economies to survive
and adapt to changing environmental
conditions indefinitely.
• A critical component of sustainability is
natural capital-the natural resources and
natural services that keep us and other
forms of life alive and support our
economies.

25.
Four Scientific Principles
of Sustainability

26.
3.4. Human, energy and environment
• Energy is the capacity to do work or
transfer heat.
• Energy is tightly linked to the three
dimensions of sustainable development:
economic, environmental, and social.
• Energy services are obviously essential to
economic and social development.
• There are two major types of energy:
moving energy (called kinetic energy) and
stored energy (called potential energy).

27.
3.4. Human, energy and environment
(cont.)
• Energy services are essential for human
well-being, and contribute to strengthening
social stability thanks to the constant
increase in the standard of living.
• Energy is decisive for the development
and prosperity of economic players.
• Energy and the preservation of resources
are currently at the heart of the
international debate on sustainable
development.

28.
3.4. Human, energy and environment
(cont.)
• Energy occupies a major role in the
alleviation of poverty and the construction
of sustainable development.
• Energy constitutes a key factor to improve
living conditions and reduce poverty.
• Access to energy services is an essential
tool to improve the capabilities of poor
populations, thus promoting equality.

29.
3.4. Human, energy and environment
(cont.)
• The question of the development of
renewable energy sources is inseparable
from the question of sustainable
development.
• Sustainable energy is abundantly provided by
the sun, the wind, the earth’s heat, waterfalls,
tides, and the growth of plants, and it creates
little or no waste or polluting emissions.
• By using these sustainable sources, we
preserve the planet’s fossil resources, the
reserves of which are naturally limited and
will inevitably be exhausted.

30.
3.4. Human, energy and environment
(cont.)
• The steady rise in energy consumption is
one of the causes of climate change.
• Human activities are likely to have
immediately visible consequences on
other aspects of the climate.
• Like any human activity, the production
and consumption of energy can affect the
entire biosphere.

31.
3.5. Relationships between population,
consumption rate, technology and
environmental problems

32.
Population and environmental problems
• Population growth and distribution have
significant roles to play in the sustainability
of the world's vast resources.
• Not only the number of people, but also
the lifestyle, consumption patterns, and
regions people inhabit and use directly
affect the environment.
• More people demand more resources and
generate more waste.

33.
Population and environmental problems
(cont.)
• Clearly one of the challenges of a growing
population is that the mere presence of so
many people sharing a limited number of
resources strains the environment.
• High levels of consumption and
industrialization, inequality in wealth and
land distribution

34.
Population and environmental problems
(cont.)
• Many of the world's population live in
poor countries already strained by food
insecurity; inadequate sanitation, water
supplies and housing; and an inability to
meet the basic needs of the current
population.
• Meeting the increasing demand for food
is probably the most basic challenge and
the most salient population and
environmental crisis.

35.
Consumption rate and
environmental problems
• Consumption of products and services
impacts the environment in many different
ways.
• The things we buy contribute, directly or
indirectly through the product lifecycle, to
climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss
and resource depletion in the world.

36.
Consumption rate and
environmental problems (cont.)
• Consumption (and the production
processes that are required to fuel it) is the
biggest contributor to environmental
destruction.
• The primary contributors to environmental
issues caused by unsustainable
consumption; issues such as forest
destruction, ozone depletion, water and
grain shortages, and soil loss.

37.
Consumption rate and
environmental problems (cont.)
• Rising levels of greenhouse gasses come
from harmful chemicals such as carbon
dioxide, nitrous oxide,...
• These chemicals are produced from
processes necessary to fuel consumption,
including factories that create massive
amounts of smoke, forest destruction, and
soil erosion.

38.
Consumption rate and
environmental problems (cont.)
• Extensive destruction of forests is necessary
for fuel and, primarily, paper products.
• This prevents the Earth’s atmosphere from
cleaning itself.
• Almost all of the products we consume are
produced in a factory somewhere, and
factories don’t just emit smoke.
• Over 100,000 synthetic chemicals are used in
production, and almost none of these have
been tested for their effect on the
environment.

39.
Consumption rate and
environmental problems (cont.)

40.
Technology and environmental
problems
• Pollution was increasing at a much faster rate
than population or economic growth.
• Twenty-five years following the WWII, the
production of soft-drink bottles had increased by
53.000%, synthetic fibers by 5980%, and
mercury used for chlorine production by 3930%.
• During that same period, the production of food,
textiles, clothes and metals had only increased
at similar rates to population growth (42%); and
cotton fiber, wool and soap manufacture had
decreased.

41.
Technology and environmental
problems (cont.)
• The new production technologies had a far
greater environmental impact than the ones they
replaced.
• The use of pesticides enabled farmers to get
higher yields from smaller land areas, but at an
environmental cost.
• The replacement of soaps by detergents also
impacted on environment. The production of the
active agent of detergents required three times
as much energy as soap.

42.
Technology and environmental
problems (cont.)
• The manufacture of synthetic fibers, plastics
and detergents has required big increases
in the production of organic chemicals.
• Since mercury was used to manufacture
organic chemicals, this meant the load of
mercury in the environment increased.
• The new technologies also used more
electric power and other forms of energy
than those they replaced.

43.
Technology and environmental
problems (cont.)
• Technology positively affects the environment
through the application of environmental science
to solve problems caused by human
environmental impact.
• Technology has a positive human impact on the
environment when a person takes action to
improve society, nature and its resources.
• Renewable Energy Technologies produce clean
and renewable energy to replace traditional
energy we are using.

44.
Discussion
• From what we have learn about
relationships between population,
consumption rate, technology and
environmental problems, what can we
do to protect our mother earth?