Enivronment

Environment

The place, people, things and nature that surround any living organism is called environment

It is a combination of natural and human made phenomena. While the natural environment refers to both biotic and abiotic conditions existing on the earth human environment reveals the activities, creations and interactions among human beings.

Natural Environment

Land, water, air, plants and animals comprise the natural environment.

Lithosphere is the solid crust or the hard top layer of the earth. It is made up of rocks and minerals and covered by a thin layer of soil. It is an irregular surface with various landforms such as mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys, etc. Landforms are found over the continents and also on the ocean floors.

Lithosphere is the domain that provides us forests, grasslands for grazing, land for agriculture and human settlements. It is also a source of mineral wealth.

The domain of water is referred to as hydrosphere. It comprises various sources of water and different types of water bodies like rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, etc. It is

essential for all living organisms.

Plant and animal kingdom together make biosphere or the living world. It is a narrow zone of the earth where land, water and air interact with each other to support life.

The lithosphere is broken into a number of plates known as the Lithospheric plates. You will be surprised to know that these plates move around very slowly – just a few millimetres each year. This is because of the movement of the molten magma inside the earth. The molten magma inside the earth moves in a circular manner. The movement of these plates causes changes on the surface of the earth. The earth movements are divided on the basis of the forces which cause them. The forces which act in the interior of the earth are called as Endogenic forces and the forces that work on the surface of the earth are called as Exogenic forces (Fig. 3.1).

Human Environment

Human beings interact with the environment and modify it according to their need. Early humans adapted themselves to the natural surroundings. They led a simple life and fulfilled their requirements from the nature around them. With time needs grew and became more varied. Humans learn new ways to use and change environment. They learn to grow crops, domesticate animals and lead a settled life. The wheel was invented, surplus food was produced, barter system emerged, trade started and commerce developed. Industrial revolution enabled large scale production. Transportation became faster. Information revolution made communication easier and speedy across the world.