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Human-Environment Interaction. Human-Environment Interaction: The study of the interrelationship between people and their physical environment. Why study Human-Environment Interaction?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Human-Environment Interaction
Human-Environment Interaction:
The study of the interrelationship between people and their physical environment.
By understanding how the Earth’s physical features and processes shape and are shaped by human activity, geographers help societies make informed decisions.
Why study Human-Environment Interaction?
1. How Does the EnvironmentInfluence Human Behavior?
2. How Do Humans Influence Their Environment?
Two Important Questions?
Adapting to the environment
Modifying the environment
Humans respond to their environment in 2 ways:
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Adapting or Modifying?
Settlement patterns Housing materials Agricultural activity Recreational activity Transportation patterns
Adaptive Behaviors:
Diverting water: dams, canals, polders Changing the landscape: terrace
farming, deforestation, desertification Changing the environment: acid rain,
pollution
Modifying Behaviors:
Aswan High Dam
FACTS:Built in 1979
Control FloodingNile River
Aswan, Egypt
Lake Nasser
Helped with Irrigation
Decreased soil fertility
Aral SeaFACTS:
Located in Central Asia
Between the countries of UzbekistanKazakhstan
Formerly USSR: Diverted water to grow cotton/rice on nearby farms.
Water for irrigation and poisonous runoff from the fields have caused the sea to shrink and increased desertification.
Colorado RiverFACTS:
1450 miles
Through SW U.S. and NW Mexico
Source – Rocky Mtns.
Mouth – Gulf of California
More than 20 dams
Water diverted to the Imperial Valley for farming and growing population
No longer reaches the Gulf of California
Polders in the NetherlandsFACTS:
Located in Northern Europe
Most of the country is below sea level.
Sea walls/dunes protect it from the sea.
Can you see the reclaimed land?
DeforestationRainforest FACTS:Contain more than ½ the world's 10 million species of plants, animals and insects
One-fifth of the world's fresh water
20 percent of the world’s oxygen
Areas of DeforestationBrazil – SANepal – AsiaMalaysia - Asia
Once covered 14 % of earth.
Now cover 6%
1-1/2 acres lost every minute
Desertification
Spread of desert-like conditions
Greatest Areas of Impact:
Africa – Sahara DesertAsia – Gobi DesertCentral AsiaSW United States
CAUSES:
Overgrazing
Drought
Poor Farming Techniques
Overpopulation
Natural Climate Patterns
Acid Rain
Given the causes, where might you find acid rain the most?
Acid Rain
Developed Countries: US, Europe, China
Coniferous forests in the Appalachian Mountains destroyed by acid rain.
Forms of Pollution:
AIR
LAND
WATER
Mexico City, Mexico Buenos Aires, Argentina Beijing, China Cairo, Egypt Seoul, South Korea Karachi, Pakistan Jakarta, Indonesia Los Angeles, California USA
Most Polluted Cities:
Mexico City reports unhealthy ozone emissions nearly 85% of the year. Mexico's geographical location--in the center of a volcanic crater and surrounded by mountains-- locks in the air pollution, causing smog to sit above the city.
Mexico City
Chernobyl, Ukraine
Chernobyl, Ukraine - Chernobyl is now infamous for the 1986 nuclear disaster that killed 30 people, forced 35,000 to evacuate their homes, and left a 19-mile radius around the plant that is still uninhabitable to this day.