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Natural environment

The natural environment comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, mat... 

 on Earth Earth

Earth is the third planet [i] in the solar system [i] in terms of distance from the Sun [i], and the fi ... 

. In its purest sense, it is thus an environment that is not the result of human Human

Humans, or human beings, are biped [i]al primate [i]s belonging to the mammal [i]ian species ... 

 activity or intervention. The natural environment may be contrasted to "the built environment."

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The natural environment comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, mat... 

 on Earth Earth

Earth is the third planet [i] in the solar system [i] in terms of distance from the Sun [i], and the fi ... 

. In its purest sense, it is thus an environment that is not the result of human Human

Humans, or human beings, are biped [i]al primate [i]s belonging to the mammal [i]ian species ... 

 activity or intervention. The natural environment may be contrasted to "the built environment."

Terminology


For some, there is a difficulty with the term "natural environment" in that nearly all environments have been directly or indirectly influenced by humans at some point in time. In order to address this concern, some level of human influence is thus allowable without the status of any particular landscape Landscape

A landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including physical elements such as landform [i] ... 

 ceasing to be "natural." The term's meaning, however, is usually dependent more on context than a set definition. Many natural environments are the product of the interaction between nature and humans. For this reason, the term ecosystem has been used to describe an environment that contains nature, and includes people. It follows then that environmental problems are human or social problems. Some also consider it dangerously misleading to regard "environment" as separate from "people."

Challenges


It is the common understanding of natural environment that underlies environmentalism—a broad political, social Sociology

Sociology is the study of society and human social action.... 

, and philosophical Philosophy

[i]
... 

 movement that advocates various actions and policies in the interest of protecting what nature remains in the natural environment, or restoring or expanding the role of nature in this environment. While wilderness Wilderness

Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment [i] on Earth [i] that has not been modified by ... 

 is increasingly rare, wild nature can be found in many locations previously inhabited by humans.

Goals commonly expressed by the environmentalists include: reduction and clean up of man-made pollution Pollution

Pollution is the release of chemical, physical, biological or radioactive contaminants to the environment [i]... 

, with future goals of zero pollution; reducing societal consumption of non-renewable fuels Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon [i]s formed from the remains of dead plants and animals. ... 

, development of alternative, green, low carbon or renewable energy Renewable energy

Renewable energy sources, or RES, capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-go... 

 sources; conservation Energy conservation

Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy [i] used while achieving a simi... 

 and sustainable use of scarce resources such as water Water

Water is a taste [i]less, odor [i]less substance that is essential to all known forms of life [i] and i ... 

, land and air; protection of representative or unique or pristine ecosystems; preservation and expansion of threatened or endangered species Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms , which because it is either few in number or threa... 

 or ecosystems from extinction; the establishment of nature Nature reserve

*Biosphere Reserve [i]
  • Conservation designation [i]

... 

 and biosphere reserves under various types of protection, and, most generally, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems upon which all human and other life on earth depends.

More recently, there has been a strong concern about climatic changes Climate change

Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth [i]'s global climate [i] or in regional climates ove ... 

 caused by anthroprogenic releases of greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound [i] composed of one carbon [i] and two oxygen [i] atoms. ... 

, and their interactions with human uses and the natural environment. Efforts here have focused on the mitigition of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes , and on developing adaptative strategies to assist species, ecosystems, humans, regions and nations in adjusting to these climatic changes.

External links


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  • - click to save the rainforest and wildlands for free
  • - Independent news about environment issues from around the world
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  • Photo exhibit created by the State Archives of Florida

See also

  • Built environment
  • Ecology Ecology

    Ecology, or ecological science, is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms [i] ... 

  • Environment Environment

    An environment is a complex of surrounding circumstances, conditions, or influences in which a thing is ... 

  • Environmentalism
  • The Gaia theory
  • List of environment topics
  • Megaproject
  • Nature Nature

    Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, mat... 

  • Natural capital
  • Natural disaster
  • Natural history Natural history

    Natural history is an umbrella term [i] for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines [i] ... 

  • Timeline of environmental events
  • Wilderness Wilderness

    Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment [i] on Earth [i] that has not been modified by ... 

  • Wildlife Wildlife

    The term wildlife refers to living organism [i]s that are not in any way artificial or domesticated [i] ... 








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