Human environment interaction can be defined as interactions between the human social system and the ecosystem. These interactions show how humans adapt to their changing environment.
Humans are a part of the environment and rely on it for their life. Over time, the way people and the environment interact has changed and developed. Unfortunately, not necessarily to the better! We can see this, for example, by the example of climate change…
The effects of human-environmental interactions changed when civilization changed from a hunting and gathering to a farming culture and from nomadic to sedentary lives.
Humans benefit through interactions with the environment. They have interacted with the environment more than any other species on earth. Because of the way they have changed to live on the planet, people now possess supremacy over the environment and associated ecosystems.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the definition of human-environmental interactions and the importance of this subject.
So let’s get right into it!
Definition of Human Environment Interaction
Human environment interaction refers to human actions that have a direct effect on the environment. These behaviors may not necessarily have a negative effect, but unfortunately they have most of the time.
Since our survival is fully dependent on the world around us, we’ll show you in a moment how our interactions with the environment have a beneficial impact. But sadly, humankind has reached a point where our detrimental influence on the environment significantly surpasses the benefits.
Here is a more detailed explanation of how to classify human environment interaction!
Types of Human Environment Interaction
1. Environmental Dependence
Everything that lives on our world is reliant on the environment in which it exists. Living things require nature and its resources in order to exist, whether it be for air, water, food, or shelter.
However, in the case of humans, this dependency has increased to the point where a person in Boston may also be reliant on the environment in Central America for particular foods or on minerals mined in China for electronics. It’s all connected!
In essence, everything you see around you depends totally on materials from the environment that are often transported thousands of kilometers away.
Funnily enough, human have not always been aware about their dependence on nature, as can be seen in the dark history of zoos.
2. Environmental Modifications
Environmental change as a result of human activity occurs regularly and can have both beneficial and harmful effects.
More and more land is being used by people to construct their houses, workplaces, and educational institutions. We all get coal, wood, and oil from our surroundings and burn them when it becomes chilly in winter.
In addition, humanity has found ways to modify its environment in such a way that it is completely adapted to its needs. Crops are genertically modified to maximize yields, cities are built in such a way that citizens can live together in peace, and wildlife is managed in such a way that it cannot cause harm to humans.
When you take the time to pause and observe your phone, car, house, and everything else around you in this way, it’s both interesting and terrifying.
3. Environmental Adaptation
Because of our achievement in evolution, people continue to survive in the oddest places on earth. The better a species adapts to environmental changes, the more likely it is that it will survive. This is also a reason why climate adaptation will become crucial in the years to come.
You may see how much humans have adapted to our environment by seeing individuals who live above the arctic circle, in dense rainforests, in dry savannahs, or in big cities. All of these people are living compeletly different lifestyles because their local environments dictate how they should live in order to survive.
Why is Knowing about Human Environment Interaction Important?
Creating sustainable solutions to environmental problems requires a thorough understanding of human environment interaction. Local ecosystems have traditionally been greatly impacted by human action. For instance, human fire use during the Pleistocene Era led to a significant wave of extinction and ecological change. We can improve by seeing how our present activities could have comparable effects.
For example, looking at climate change, we know that we must do something to stay below a certain global average temperature, as otherwise there will be unstoppable ripple effects that we won’t be able to manage. As a result, millions of species, such as narwahls, will be on the brink to extinction.
Being aware of how the climate is changing might influence our decisions on how to adapt to our new environment. For instance, the frequency of extreme meteorological, climatic, and water occurrences has increased fivefold over the past 50 years. However, the number of fatalities has dropped as a result of advancements in early warning systems, which were created in response to human needs. As you can see, knowing how our planet’s changing climate may effect us may also help us prepare for the future.
Actually, there are even more good reasons why knowing about human environment interaction is important.
One way you can encourage your kids to learn about human environment interaction, for example, is to start vertical farming at home. It is an easy, cost-effective, and sustainable way to produce your own vegetables and teach your kids what it takes to grow food.
Negative Examples of Human Environment Interaction
It would be impossible to mention every single interaction that humans have with the environment. However, in order for people to understand all the negative impacts, here are some negative examples of human environment interactions.
1. Water Usage
The usage of water resources strongly symbolizes human environment interactions. There are many applications for water, including household, agricultural, and industrial ones. The relative amounts of the three groupings vary depending on the various locations around the world. However, water usage in agriculture is the highest and unsustainable usage of water resources is a result of the growing demand for water.
Water is refilled when it is recycled, but when excessive amounts are taken from lakes and rivers for home, agricultural, or industrial purposes, less water is available for both current and future generations. Finally, water withdrawals have increased threefold globally over the years as a result of both population growth and rising per-person consumption.
2. Deforestation
Deforestation is another example of overusage of natural resources and also illustrates human environmental interaction. It occurs when forests are cut down and the trees are either not replaced or are not allowed to regrow. To supply the need for food, fuel, and construction materials, nations like Ethiopia, Mexico, Brazil, America, Congo, and India have removed a significant amount of their forests for commercial and agricultural purposes.These practices have contributed to the ongoing, gradual decline of forested regions.
There are many undesirable effects of deforestation. A wide range of plant and animal species, including tiny insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles, may be found there. Turning forests into agricultural land is ultimately leading to biodiversity loss, which is a problem for people since they depend on other living things to meet a variety of needs.
Additionally, soil erosion is largely caused by deforestation too. When a tree is cut down, the ground below becomes exposed. Without trees to hold the soil together to prevent erosion, the soil is more likely to be swept away during wet seasons and the likelihood of floods is increasing. When there are trees around, their capacity to dig far into the soil and open up spaces between the elements boosts the soil’s permeability, allowing rainwater to soak in and replenish the groundwater. Ultimately, water supply is also significantly impacted by the loss of trees.
3. Energy Resources & Generation
Energy is another example for human environment interaction. Energy is utilized to power transportation and communication networks, electrical equipment, as well as our homes and businesses. However it seems that humanity has forgotten where all this energy is coming from… In fact, more than 70% of global energy is generated by the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were a crucial component of globalization, but as they deplete over time and cannot be replenished, their use is not sustainable in the long-term. Additionally, the use of fossil fuels to generate energy is the primary driver of climate change.
Numerous renewable energy sources, such as wind power, hydroelectric power, and solar power, which transform the energy of the wind, water, and sun into electricity, can be utilized in place of fossil fuels.
4. Plastic Pollution
You’ve probably heared it a thousand times before: “We should stop using plastic!”. And indeed, we should aim to reduce our individual plastic consumption as much as possile.
Humanity has started to use plastic only around 100 years ago. Yet, we can find it everywhere already. It’s in our streets, woods, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Plastic is a major issue in the most polluted rivers too. And ultimately, it is in our food too in the form of microplastics… Isn’t it bizzare that humanity has managed to pollute the entire planet within only 100 years out of the millions of years that the earth exists?
5. Natural Mineral Resources
In their daily lives, people use a variety of natural resources, including wood, metals, and oil. Of course, as humans we also strongly depend on the environment for food and water. Thus, making our dependance on natural resources another example for human environment interaction. In addition, people need energy for a variety of activities including household cooking and workplace operations. In order to be created, natural resources are required for everything from clothing to transportation services to buildings to technological equipment.
As the human population keeps expanding and consumption per person grows with socioeconomic improvement, the demand for natural resources keeps rising. Resources that cannot be replenished are especially concerned about the exhaustion of natural resources via extraction and exploitation.
6. Urban Expansion
While our population is growing, we can observe that cities and even smaller towns are expanding in size. Where there used to be woods only a couple of years ago, there are houses and factories today. This is the result of urban expansion, which is yet another example of human environment interaction. For example, more and more homeowners are starting to hardscape their properties instead of letting nature maintain itself. Some negative effects of urban expansion include: deforestation, habitat loss, water scarcity, and air pollution.
7. Large-scale Agriculture & Overfishing
As already mentioned before, agriculture has a huge impact on the environment, which is why it is another case of human environment interaction. Because of an increased population, the demand for agriculture has also increased. Early agriculture allowed hunters and gatherers to settle in an area and cultivate their food.
The industrialization of agriculture led to the introduction of non-native species into new areas, the prioritization of certain crops and animals, and advances in genetic modification. In addition, the domestication of livestock and other animals altered the environment through grazing and emissions.
Also, fishing has been done for thousands of years. However, due to misuse and overfishing, it has turned into one of the most important factors in the decline of ocean animal populations. Fishing itself does not necessarily harm the ecology or the ocean. The issue arises, though, when populations are depleted faster than fish can be taken. Overfishing has effects that go beyond fish populations. When fishing is done on a large scale, undesired marine creatures, including dolphins and sea turtles, which are frequently caught and killed as a result. Ultimately, a lot of people rely on fish for survival all around the world, yet stocks have been decreasing as a result of commercial fishing activity.
8. Waste Production
Even though recycling efforts have increased significantly, there is still too much waste as a result of our consumption and industrial processes. Trucks pick up the trash, and then people stop worrying about it, almost as if there is a complete emotional disconnect. After the trucks came to pick up their trash, most people forget about their garbage. However, what they don’t know is that their trash usually ends up on landfills or is incinerated (=burned), releasing toxic gases and chemicals into the air. There are even some instances where cargo ships just release tons of trash into the ocean, so that they don’t need to pay for waste management. Clearly, we don’t seem to be much aware of the human environment interaction in this regard!
9. Transportation
Transportation is one of the other many areas where humans have a huge impact on the environment. It is not only that nature is destroyed to build roads, higways, and railways, but also that marine ecoystems are heavily impacted by the expansion of shipping routes and marine traffic. For example, there is so much underground noise in the water that whales cannot properly communicate anymore, making it hard for them to navigate through the oceans.
Moreover, the transportation sector is one of the most polluting sectors in terms of carbon emissions. Just think about how much gasoline, diesel, fuel, and oil is used everyday to transport humans and goods by cars, trains, ships, and planes.
10. Noise Pollution
You probably never really thought about this efore, but noise pollution is another good example for human environment interaction.
Humanity is the loudest species out there! No matter whether on land or on water. There is no other animal that is as loud as humans are. If you live in the city, you probably don’t even really know the “true” sound of nature, because there is so much noise from cars, trains, people, construction works, etc. This can already be quite annoying for us ourselves, but just imagine how animals must feel…
We often think that we are superior to other animals. For example, many people don’t even know that fish have brains, so they can’t hear us. But are we really superior considering that we are destroying our own habitat, the planet?
Positive Examples of Human Environment Interaction
There are also some positive examples of human environment interaction. These are actions we can take to have a positive impact (or at least reduce our negative impact) on our environment.
1. Renewable Energy
One solution to improve human environment interaction and reduce the negative impact that we as humanity have on our environment is through the heavy use of renewable energy. Solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources have become increasingly affordable for most people in recent years. This trend is going to continue, especially in those times where fossil fuels are getting more expensive.
As an individual, you can start by switching to a renewable energy provider or install solar panels on top of your roof. The great thing about this is that you can then even sell any surplus energy you will have, so that the solar panels will even have a financial benefits to you.
How cool is that?! Doing good to the environment while making money at the same time.
2. Green Cities
In order to improve in terms of human environment interaction, we will need to change the way we build our cities. In order to tackle the problem of urban expansion at the cost of nature, we will need to build higher houses, that are green at the same time. The roofs and walls of such building could even serve as infrastructure for vertical farming.
Furthermore, we will also need to develop more sustainable transportation solutions, which are based on green energy rather than on fossil fuels. This could significantly improve air quality, noise pollution, and quality of live for millions of citizens.
3. Protection of our Local Environment
While each of us cannot save the planet alone, there is something we can do as individuals to at least have a small impact. And this is by the protection of our local environment. Whether it is a nearby park, a sidewalk, a small forest, or a beach. By keeping our local surroundings clean and free of plastic, we can already achieve a lot.
Companies can take a particularly prominent role here, as they can drive the innovations of tomorrow, for example by employing biomimicry.
4. Waste Reuse & Recycling
Furthermore, it is clear that we need to recycle more and reuse resources and goods as much as possible. For example, instead of putting your food waste into the bin, try to composte so that it can serve as food for new plants. Furthermore, with a proper support network to reuse as much as possible and making recycling easy, it’s entirely possible to get to a stage where minimal amounts of waste end up in landfills.
5. Water Management
There are many ways we can save water! For example, we can install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. These don’t cost much, and can even save you lots of money on your water bill. Furthermore, as droughts are likely to increase in the future as a result of climate change, we will need to find ways to store much more water than we do now, so that we are not running into water shortages.
6. Local & Eco-Tourism
Eco-tourism is possibly one of the fastest-growing tourism segments, and it involves more than just buying some carbon credits for getting on a plane. For example, many countries are now offering ways for tourists to directly reduce their overall impact on the environment by contributing preservation and reforestation projects.
Next eco-tourism, local tourism is booming too recently. In fact, there is a true hype around enjoying vacations close to your home. Actually, there is often a lot to explore in your local environment. And the cool ting is that you might see your surroundings differently after a local vacation.
7. Alternatives to Animal Products
Let’s be honest! It unfortunately won’t be possible for humanity to stop eating animal products from one day to the other. However, you should try to consider buying alternatives to animal products the next time you do your groceries. This is not only because this will help in reducing our envirnmental footprint, but also because switching to a vegan diet has many health benefits.
8. Transparency about Environmental Impacts
What is the environmental impact of the computer that you are using to read this article? Or of the chair that you are sitting in? There is a high likelihood that you won’t be able to answer these questions. But why is that?
It is because there is a huge lack in transparency about the impact that the products we buy have on the environment. One solution to solving this problem is by the use of certificates which can help in identifying products that are more eco-friendly than others.
9. Environmental Education
Ultimately, the actions you take to save the environment are only as good as your knowledge about it. This makes environmental education an absolute necessity to solve our environmental issues and improve human environment interaction again.
We should be teaching kids in schools about environmental topics, such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. However, we should also teach them how to solve these issues. For example, we could teach them how to transform our economic system into a more sustainable one and let them try to come up with own ideas on how to adapt to climate change.
Since future generations will be the ones most affected by our actions today, they are also the ones who should possess all the knowledge necessary to save the planet or at least know how to deal with environmental challenges.
How to Have Positive Human Environment Interactions
There are many ways to live more sustainable and have a more positive human environment interaction. However it all starts with education! The more educated you are about the environment and sustainability, the better and the more concious will be your choices. Plus, you can then also share your knowledge, teach others about the environment, or become an activist to increase your overall eco-impact that way.
Sustainability education is exactly what we do at EcoCation. Our mission is to educate the world about the environment and what we can do to protect it. By providing information, such as this article, we hope that we can give back to our beloved planet that we can call our home.
Of course, only educating yourself won’t be enough to save the planet. We need to use the knoweledge that we have to take smart decisions and high-impact actions.The below articles might help you to act yourself:
50 Ways to Save the Planet
50 Ways to Save Water
100 Ways to Save Energy at Home
10 Examples of Green Innovation
5 Ways to Encourage Sustainability at Work
Should Zoos be Banned?
Sustainable Living Books – Top 15
What is Environmental Activism?
Sustainable Business Models
Conclusion
Humanity needs to realize that all human actions have an influence on the environment in some manner. As a species, we must stop misusing and abusing the natural resources on which we rely so heavily.
New legislative guidelines and methods for a more sustainable use of natural resources will be required to implement some of the changes. But we can do far more if we start in our homes and neighborhoods.
Now it’s your turn! Try to come up with new ideas on how to have a bigger good influence while having less of a negative impact on the environment.
