What is the environment: definition and summary

As a 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 takes place, but culture and concepts as intangible as traditions are also the environment.

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 the 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 are modified by human action. The environment is the environment that conditions our way of life, however, our way of life also conditions and adapts it.

Unfortunately, for some decades, human activity has caused alterations 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: 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 few lines to discover more information about the environment and various related concepts.

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 plants, soil, water, air, or climate and, above all, the human being.

The human being 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 up negatively affecting the environment , for example, destroying its resources, causing the extinction of animals or polluting the environment.

Now that you know what the environment is, we can talk about the elements that make it up . 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 the 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 soil regeneration, water purification, 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 the 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 .

After knowing well what the environment is , its concept and various details, we are going to talk about pollution from 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 environmental pollution is everything that damages the air, soil, water, flora and fauna . Some 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, either 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 posed by the irresponsible consumption of natural resources that are not renewable and 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 AgroCorrn articles.

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 on the environment, it can even change the course of these large companies.

Do you wonder how to take care of the environment ? Below we leave you a series of actions that you can carry out and 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.

Discover more tips on How to take care of the environment here.

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. Such is the importance of the environment 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 we get everything we need from the environment so that we can live. Hence the need to find a way to develop sustainably, 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 .

Since 1972, the United Nations established that every June 5 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 useful to share these Environmental phrases . If you want to know more about why World Environment Day is celebrated, we recommend this other post.