Man And His Environment

Man and the Environment were created to interact with each other on balance basis. Whiles the natural environment is to create a fair decent shelter and to provide food supplements including economic resources of gold, oil, and so on, man on other hand is suppose to care and protect the environment from destruction. Geographers in particular are interested in identifying and analyzing in detail the human and physical development interface. Both sides have directly or indirectly affected each other's potentials. In some instances, the original landscape is completely wiped off and replace with man-made cultural environment. Directly or indirectly, the physical environment has inevitably influenced man.

During the last 100 years, man has exceeded the powerful natural forces that have shaped the shape of the earth's surface. As a result, there are problems of global warming, sea-level change, acidification, salination, and environmental pollution, reduction in biodiversity, ecological imbalance, and endangering of human survival.

The biosphere is being destroyed through illegal activities of man. Through the activities of housing and construction, mining, agriculture, industry, fishing, and many more, man has inevitably produced thousands of pollutants discharged from factories, vehicles, incinerators, and engines. Pollutants of CO, CO2, hydrocarbons, nitrogenoxides, sulphur oxides and particles causing respiratory disorders, and spread of cardiovascular diseases. For instance, the WHO indicated that at least 3.0 million people die every year for illness caused by air pollution.

Also, pollutants of domestic waste, chemical waste, and animal droppings all cause environmental degradation. Aquatic life and the hydrolic circle are being greatly affected by human activities of urbanization, fishing, stream modification and channelization which produces biocides, cyanides, and radioactive substances.

Other the other hand, the environment either through natural processes or human recalcitrant activities has turn to affect the life of man through flooding, rainstorms, earthquakes, volcano, erratic rainfall, heavy winds, and crop failures. Environmentally related diseases such as malaria, cholera, diarrhea, and many others, are the influence of environmental pollution.

Perhaps, the proper understanding of human relationship with the environment is key to balancing this complex interaction. In any case, the pace of change in the context of any environment is accelerated by the growing populations, advanced and exploitative technology, and urbanization, and the characteristics of today are results of the continues changing conditions from the past. We must therefore, observe, study and understand the sophisticated relationship that exists between man and the environment and this might probably enable us re-design and restructure this relationship to facilitate a mutual benefit for both sides, otherwise, either side (man or environment) will be able contained the other in the near future.