Environment encompasses everything around living or nonliving things. This can include natural and artificial elements as well as physical or chemical attributes of their location. Furthermore, environmental influences include biological and nonbiological forces which influence an organism or ecological community and determine its form and survival.
Environmental issues we humans face today include species extinction, climate change, deforestation and pollution. Some individuals are concerned with these issues and participate in movements such as environmentalism aimed at eliminating or mitigating any negative effects caused by human technologies on natural environments.
Many areas of science study the environment and its components, including ecology and environmental studies. Definitions of “the environment” differ depending on which discipline examines it; for instance, some scientists focus more on ecological interactions within ecosystems while others study human influence over nature.
Physical or natural environments encompass all elements found within a specific geographical region, including all living and nonliving organisms, natural resources such as water, soil and minerals, as well as being subject to external forces like temperature change or pollution. They can be divided into several distinct types such as terrestrial (land), aquatic and polar environments.
An environmental problem occurs when humans interact with nature in ways that threaten human health. Pollution, for instance, poses serious threats to air and water quality as well as ecosystems in which people reside. Some environmental issues can even worsen as nature itself changes constantly – this makes matters even more urgent!
Environmental conditions in an area are determined by several factors, including its biotic and abiotic aspects. Biotic aspects refer to living organisms while abiotic features include air, soil and minerals in an area. Living organisms interact with the abiotic aspects of their environment to form complex relationships which help them survive and flourish, using energy from these resources for metabolic activity before dissipating it as heat or other forms of energy into its surroundings.
Alongside physical or natural environments, there is also a range of other environments. These can include social environments, system environments and cultural environments – each distinguished by factors and influences that impact daily lives of their inhabitants.
Environment derives its meaning from Latin preposition enviro, meaning around. Homeostasis refers to an organism’s internal environmental conditions remaining constant enough for its survival, including homeostatic regulation of homeostasis in its entirety. Environment may be used metaphorically as well, for instance when discussing one’s emotional or psychological environment or when referring to specific circumstances of computer systems such as timesharing or networked systems.
