Human Environmental Interaction

Human Environmental Interaction is related to the interrelationship that has always existed between human beings and the environment. Human beings are dependent on the environment. We adapt to it, modify it based on our necessities, i.e., we interact with the environment in several ways. Human beings cause transformation of the environment to be able to easily adjust with it and have thus created so many locations in the world. Just as humans make a difference to the environment, the environment also affects human beings. To gain a good understanding of the world we live in, it is important to study in detail its environment. Most of the contemporary changes that have been caused in the environment did not employ deliberate efforts and were not planned. Rather they were just not anticipated nor were these changes actually experienced in the places where they originated. Such changes affect other locations that tend to be more vulnerable environmentally. Consider for example, the connection between chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), the ozone layer and polar zones. The excessive consumption of CFC in the mid latitude has resulted in the weakening of the ozone layer more at the poles than any other zone. The high latitudes have been severely affected.

Geography teaches us that we live in a single environmental system which is always affected by the activities of its inhabitants. Each and every individual is accountable for the changes caused in the earth’s environment. Due to our carelessness major climatic changes have resulted which in turn contribute to global warming, melting of glaciers, and so on. Use of CFC has resulted in ozone depletion which is a major cause for concern as the harmful Ultra-Violet rays were prevented from reaching us by the ozone layers. It is important to understand that our environment cannot meet all demands. So it is important to interact with it wisely in order to improve living conditions rather than causing damage to it because harming the environment means indirectly harming ourselves. Human Environmental Interaction is based on three factors. They are the environment’s nature, culture and traditional values of the people living in the environment and the amount of usage of technology.

Some examples of Human Environmental Interaction are: the enormous increase in lobster population due to overfishing of cod fishes who actually eat on lobsters, mid-West floods, mudslides and earthquakes in California and the Emily Hurricane.

Questions:

• What are the harmful effects of ozone layer depletion and what are its causes?
• What are the factors on which Human Environmental Interaction depends?