The environment is an essential but sometimes tough and weighty concept to grasp. This engaging nonfiction book takes readers back to the basics, offering an accessible overview of what makes up our environment, how those parts work, and why they matter. Divided into five sections—water, air, soil, energy, and climate—the book uses facts, figures, and simple language to give an overarching survey of our environment.
Questions run throughout the text, creating a spirit of inquiry. Where does the water we use every day come from? What is the atmosphere? How does pollution affect soil? What is renewable energy? What influences climate? And how do we protect our planet for the future?
With an appealing design and simple drawings and diagrams to support comprehension, this book takes a positive spin on the environment, reinforcing the importance of taking care of each element. Informational text features include a table of contents, sidebars, diagrams, and glossary.
What is the Environment?
An Environment is everything that is around us, which includes both living and nonliving things such as soil, water, animals and plants, which adapt themselves to their surroundings. It is nature’s gift that helps in nourishing life on the earth.
The environment plays an important role in the existence of life on the planet earth. The word Environment is derived from the French word “Environ” which meaning “surrounding.” An ecosystem refers to all the living and the non-living things present in the environment and it is a foundation of the Biosphere, which determines the health of the entire planet earth.
Ecology and Environmental science are the branches of life science, which mainly deal with the study of organisms and their interactions among organisms and their environment.
There are two main types of ecosystem. Listed below are the types and examples of the ecosystem. Natural ecosystem – It is a naturally produced biological environment found in nature. It includes deserts, forests, grasslands, lakes, mountains, ponds, rivers, oceans, etc. Artificial ecosystem – It is an artificial environment which is created and maintained by man. It includes an aquarium, crop fields, gardens, parks, zoo, etc. The components of the environment are mainly divided into two categories. Biotic environment–It includes all living organisms such as animals, birds, forests, insects, reptiles and microorganisms like algae, bacteria, fungus, viruses, etc. Abiotic environment– It includes all non-living components such as air, cloud, dust, land, mountains, rivers, temperature, humidity, water, water vapour, sand, etc. Also refer: Biotic and Abiotic components Importance of Environment Environment plays an important role in healthy living and the existence of life on planet earth. Earth is a home for different living species and we all are dependent on the environment for food, air, water, and other needs. Therefore, it is important for every individual to save and protect our environment. Impact of Human Activities on the Environment There are different types of human activities which are directly attributed to the environmental disasters, which include- acid rain, acidification of oceans, change in the climate, deforestation, depletion of an ozone layer, disposal of hazardous wastes, global warming, overpopulation, pollution, etc. Also read: Environmental Issues and Solutions Important Questions What is a Natural Ecosystem? Why is the ecosystem important? Why should we conserve biodiversity short answer? This was a brief introduction to Our Environment. Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more about Environment, Environmental Issues, Ecosystem, Components of the Environment and other related topics at.
Our environment - An Introduction.
The Environment is our basic life support system and is composed of living beings, physical surroundings, and climatic conditions. It is derived from a French word, “Environner”, that means “to surround”. The term environment includes all biotic and abiotic entities around us. Biotic refers to the world of living organisms, whereas Abiotic refers to the world of non-living elements. The Environment provides us the basic elements – air, water, food, and land which are essential for life to flourish on the Earth.
Our Environment comprises of three components – natural components (air, water, land & living things), human components (individual, family, community) and human-made components (roads, monuments, industries), and is a combination of natural and human-made phenomena. The Natural Environment could be further classified into four different domains- lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere. These are also called the domains of the environment. The top layer of the Earth or the solid crust is called the lithosphere. It is covered by a thin layer of soil and is formed of rocks and minerals. It supports life on Earth and provides forests, grasslands for grazing, has various landforms – plains, valleys, mountains, and also makes available land for agriculture and human settlements. The hydrosphere is referred to as the domain of water. It includes different types of water bodies – lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, etc., along with various sources of water. The thin layer of air surrounding the Earth is the atmosphere, it consists of water vapor, gases, and dust particles.
The upper layer of the atmosphere has the ozone layer. It protects life on Earth from the ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the Sun. The Earth’s gravitational force holds the atmosphere around it, this is an essential process for life to thrive on the planet. The biosphere is also called the living world, the plant and the animal kingdom together constitute the biosphere. The interaction between land, water, and air takes place in this narrow zone of the Earth to support life.
Humans form an integral part of the environment. They interact with the environment and modify it as per their needs and requirements, thus forming the human-made environment. With time, as humans evolved, their interaction with the environment also revolutionized, resulting in global environmental impact. Early humans used to adapt to the natural surroundings, however, contemporarily, as the human needs grew and became varied, the pressure on the environment also spiked and more emphasis was given on judiciously using our environmental resources for meeting the needs of both present and future generations, to safeguard biodiversity and to protect life on Earth.
Our Environmental resources are finite, living in harmony, and maintaining a perfect balance between the natural and human environment is of utmost importance and is the only way forward to a sustainable future.