Geography has long been regarded as a science of the relationship between man and the environment. Even Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese and Arab geographers tried to establish a connection between man and the natural environment. Kant at the end of the 18th century came up with the idea that the geographic environment is something that may well have an impact on the lifestyle and physical constitution of people. According to Kant, the inhabitants of the hot belt were characterized exclusively as a lazy and timid people, while the Mediterranean population living in mild temperature conditions was hardworking and progressive.
Geographical environment and people
Throughout the 19th century, there has been a search for an ecological causal relationship between humanity and its environment. Humboldt argued that the lifestyle of the Andes is different from the lifestyle of the people of the Amazon, coastal plains and islands such as Cuba. Ritter tried to establish the reason for the difference in physical parameters, physique and health of people living in different physical environmental conditions.
The idea of defining geography from the point of view of man and his environment was developed on a scientific basis at the end of the 19th century, after the publication of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859). In this fundamental work, a new direction in the discipline of "geography" was indicated. According to the theory of evolution, all living species evolved from pre-existing forms. In his geological observations and theories, there was one general idea that the natural-geographical environment, like everything in nature, changes over time. Species evolve from more primitive to developed, adapted to certain environmental conditions through natural selection.
Darwin's concept of man and the environment
1. Organisms differ, and these differences are inherited in whole or in part by subsequent generations.
2. Organisms produce more offspring than are necessary for the survival of the species.
3. On average, the offspring, which is the most adapted and capable of rapid adaptation in changing environmental conditions, are more likely to survive and reproduce well.
The relationship of the geographical environment and human lifestyle
Having studied the history of peoples in various regions of the world, we can say that there is a close relationship between the environment and people's lifestyle. It is undoubted that landscapes, topography, temperature, precipitation, natural vegetation and soils have a direct impact on culture, the economy and human society as a whole. Nevertheless, the role of man as a transformer of his physical environment cannot be ignored. In fact, he is also able to influence such seemingly uncontrollable things as nature and the geographical environment. At the same time, the appearance of two interrelated problems is obvious: the first is related to the rational use of natural resources, the second global problem relates to environmental pollution.
Man is a product of the earth's surface
Man is not just one of the biological products of the planet, it is a child of the Earth that gave birth to him, fed, directed his thoughts, faced difficulties that strengthened his body and hone his mind. Along with the difficulties of shipping or irrigation, tips came to solve them. The earth entered his bones and tissues, his mind and soul. Man cannot be scientifically studied separately from the earth, in isolation from his environment. The geographic environment and people are connected to each other at an even more complex level than the most highly organized plants or animals. Is it safe to say that people managed to tame and conquer nature? Perhaps, despite the enormous influence of the so-called owners of the Earth, it is not necessary to omit the powerful geographical factor in the equation of human development.
Characteristics
The geographical environment is a natural environment that has its own characteristics, which can be either natural or artificial, created by human hands. Natural and geographical features include various landforms and ecosystems, such as terrain types and physical environmental factors. Settlements or other engineering results are considered as artificial geographical features.
Ecosystem
Unlike biomes, ecosystems occupy large areas of the earth's surface, including many diverse geographic features, including water bodies and mountain ranges. An ecosystem is any space containing all the organisms in a given area that are in close interaction with the environment. The trophic structure is defined as the way in which microorganisms use food resources and, therefore, where energy is transferred in the ecosystem, where the geographical environment is developed by the huge biological diversity that inhabits the planet.
Landforms
The concept of "geographical environment" includes the features of relief forms and landscapes. These include height, slope, orientation, stratification, rockiness, as well as soil types. These include embankments, mounds, hills, rocks, valleys, rivers, and many other elements. Oceans and continents are the highest relief forms. A pond is any significant accumulation of stagnant or with reduced runoff water in natural or man-made depressions covering the ground (lake, reservoir, pond, etc.). In a broad sense - the designation of the seas and oceans.
Rivers, streams, canals where water moves from one place to another are not always considered water bodies, despite this, they are nevertheless included in the composition of water geographical objects. The geographic environment is an active zone that focuses on the processes that form the physical characteristics of the landscape. Climate, geology and biology interact with each other, building complex geographical relationships. The surface of the Earth, as we see it today, is the result of a gradual change over many millions of years.
Geography and the environment
The concept of "geographical environment" includes the following ways of interaction between man and the environment: environmental changes, economic development, globalization, population growth, migration, changes in land use and geopolitics. Geographers also develop sophisticated technological tools to study the diverse landscapes and environments of the Earth.
Scientists are looking for specific answers and practical solutions to help reduce environmental pollution, increase energy efficiency, introduce alternative forms of energy, and increase environmental awareness and sustainable development. This is an extremely practical science, which in the global sense of the word is called to save the Earth. Focusing primarily on the understanding of natural and technogenic environments, environmental science requires serious knowledge in more traditional disciplines: biology, physics, chemistry, geography, ecology and sociology.
The geographical environment is an environment that is able to influence everyone who is in it, except that it is a necessary condition for social life and activity. In simple words, this is the world in which we live. The term “ecosystem” may also include anthropogenic ecosystems, as well as the relationship between living organisms and their environment.
Currently, there are very few places on the surface of the Earth that are inaccessible to humans, although such areas of truly wild nature continue to exist without any form of human intervention. The geographic environment undergoes a lot of changes every year, of course, not without the participation of people, so the modern world exists not only in the natural environment. There was such a thing as a “technogenic environment”, which is no longer created by the forces of nature, but by one of her perfect creations - man.