|
Read the text and get ready to a test work
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
1. The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth or some part of it. This term includes a few key components:
· Complete landscape units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all plants, animals, rocks, etc. and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries.
· Universal natural resources and phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water and climate.
· Natural features which occur within areas heavily influenced by man (such as wild birds in urban gardens).
2. “Natural environment” that underlies environmentalism is a broad political, social, and philosophical 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.
3. Goals commonly expressed by environmentalists include reduction and clean up of man-made pollution, with future goals of zero pollution; reducing societal consumption of non-renewable fuels; development of alternative, green, low-carbon or renewable energy sources; conservation and sustainable use of scarce resources; protection of unique ecosystems; preservation and expansion of threatened or endangered species or ecosystems from extinction; and, most generally, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems upon which all human and other life on earth depends.
4. More recently, there has been a strong concern about climate change such as global warming caused by anthropogenic releases of greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, and their interactions with humans and the natural environment. Efforts here have focused on the mitigation of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes (e.g. through the Kyoto Protocol), and on developing adaptative strategies to assist species, ecosystems, humans, regions and nations in adjusting to the Effects of global warming.
From Wikipedia
Test
|
|