Geography of world’s natural resources
Any interaction involves binding consequences for those interfaces. These effects can be both positive and negative. That’s about it, unfortunately, “forgot” society implicitly exploiting nature. The depletion of deposits of mineral resources and huge quarries and pits, reducing the area of forests and desertification, pollution of surface and underground water, “water famine”, loss of soil fertility and the threat of food shortages… Here is a partial list of “A” on the environment foolish moves society in the course of nature. Society’s needs for natural resources are growing steadily. Consequently, the exploitation of nature and its consequences cannot be avoided. However, the facts show that generally extracted resources are used irrationally. In addition, high consumption of natural resources not only causes their depletion, but also has losses to the environment during production and processing. The problem of interaction between society and nature the last few decades is one of the most pressing. Learn closer and you with this problem. It is not possible that you will have to take part in its decision.
The geographical environment
The whole history of human society is the story of his relationship with nature. Many millennia, nature is the main source of natural resources and environment that uses a person and their needs that affect their health. However, the nature, direction, extent and consequences of natural transformations at different stages of development of society were different.
According to evolutionary teachings of Charles Darwin, the man descended from apes that ever lived on Earth. The first people, in his opinion, were in Africa. Until this question is not clear until the end. Religious people believe that God created man. Whatever it was, but each person has something of the monkey God. Well, if the latter prevails.
Early man was limited to the surrounding area and affects only the environment – part of nature, which contacted directly. Traditionally, old people, hunting wild animals and collecting the gifts of nature, it was in perfect harmony. However, as we now know, as early as the Stone Age man changing natural systems. After all, for making weapons and tools began to use certain natural resources – stone, wood, bone. In the future, the development of agriculture and animal husbandry scope modifications unpoint increased.
The first major event in the life of people began mastering fire. The next decisive step in human development – the transition to growing crops and breeding animals. This made it possible to control the production of food. Now, zoom, change, improvement has depended only on intelligence and capacity of people. Since then, mankind is not just using the gifts of nature. It begins to increasingly changing environment, adapting it to their needs. Having first agricultural settlements. For 4 millennium BC appears farming in northern China, Mexico, Peru.
With the advent of the first developed countries people began to transform the environment in an increasingly larger scale, built forts, palaces and huge temples erected city paved canals, forests cut down, threw open new ground. Intensive economic activity was accompanied by depletion of fertile lands and desertification large area territories. Besides numerous interstate conflicts often have caused wars, causing suffering not only people, but also nature. Getting all new “victory” over nature, humanity gradually impoverished environment. Began to appear more acute environmental crisis. Some scientists believe that through the death of most ancient civilizations lie just environmental factors.
In the Middle Ages exploitation of nature increases. Was rapidly growing population.
The gradual development of civilization led to the formation anthroposphere – part of the geographical envelope covering all of humanity, as a set of organisms. And this set very quickly became more influential on the environment.
One of the crucial steps in the transformation of wilderness began over 200 years ago. It is associated with technological progress, the development of machine production, the rapid growth in population and in accordance with its needs. The development of technology, the appearance of manufactories and factories, rapid industrialization caused significant depletion primarily mineral and forest resources. Thus, technology gave a new impetus to the process of intense transformation of nature in order to maximize its resources.
But the XIX century. Large areas of the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Russia remained still unsettled. People mostly settled on the shores of oceans and seas. Scientific and technological progress, recent technological advances have enabled people to successfully develop areas with extreme natural conditions. It began intensive economic development of the north, the arid and semiarid regions of Africa, America, Asia and Australia. There is new scientific station in Antarctica. Rapidly accustomed wealth of the oceans, mountain areas, etc. Amazon rainforest. In some regions of the world energy produced by man began to significantly exceed solar energy.
The conflict between man and nature especially intensified in the second half of the XX century. It was then devastating human activities began to compare with the action of geological forces of the Earth as it gained global scale.
The result of the long relationship between man and nature was the emergence of the geographical environment human exploration of and involved in its production of geographic shell. Today, human economic activity is observed in virtually all geographic zones of the Earth. With the further expansion of the geographical environment of human activity begins to cover most of the geographical envelope, and therefore it is possible that in the future it can absorb it completely. Part of the biosphere, which forms the totality of all the people of our planet, called anthroposphere.
What are the prospects for further development of the humanity of the planet? Many features of the future are already brewing in the present. Probably people will continue as both creator and destroyer of his environment. And smart, creative prevail.
According to scientists at the beginning of the XXI century. Intensify the contrast of landscapes and the impact of human activity on the Earth’s climate, especially in some of its regions. Will continue global warming caused by the greenhouse effect. This will force mankind to seek ways environmentally safer management. Perhaps in the middle of the XXI century. Begin a new stage in the development of civilization. Mankind still armed with unprecedented technical means, will distribute evenly across the planet, water, forest, land and other resources. In arid areas transported huge icebergs. The new scientific and technical basis territory, now unsuitable for living and business.
Perhaps exhausted by the possibility of further natural development of civilization. The development of our planet can occur due to continual increasing consumption of natural resources, environmental pollution, under constant Damocles sword of nuclear war.
Similar crises occurred in the past. Killing even civilizations like the Maya civilization in America disappeared large and small nations.
But humanity has never had the possibility to destroy all life on the planet. It is therefore necessary to develop a new world order that will help solve various problems peacefully. Moreover, no countries are not able to overcome the environmental crisis and many other problems.
We can assume that in the XXI century. A new era will begin equipping man’s home – planet Earth.
Given the above, it is essential until it is too late to change the relationship between man and nature. It is meant our outstanding scientist, developing the idea of the noosphere – “the sphere of reason.” She is intelligent activity, has finally become a decisive factor in the “man-society-nature.” For geographical environment is a necessary condition for the existence of society. Here comes directly human activity, which is largely determined by the availability of natural resources.