The term ‘environment‘ originated from the French word environner or environment meaning ‘to surround’. From this etymology, environment means the things or events that surround something else.
In other words, environment means the area in which something exists or lives.
Environment is defined as the social, cultural and physical conditions that surround, affect and influence the survival, growth and development of people, animals or plants. Environment includes everything around us. It encompasses both the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the Earth.
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Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behaviour and ecosystems in order to live sustainably.
Segments
The environment consists of four segments. These are briefly discussed below:
(i) Atmosphere:
It is the blanket of gases surrounding the earth.
(ii) Hydrosphere:
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It is composed of various water bodies on the earth. It includes the oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.
(iii) Lithosphere:
It contains various types of soils and rocks on earth.
(iv) Biosphere:
It is composed of all living organisms and their interactions with the environment, viz. atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.
The biosphere is Earth’s zone of air, soil, and water that is capable of supporting life. It is a zone which is reaching about 10 km into the atmosphere and down to the deepest ocean floor.
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Processes in the biosphere include life and death, evolution and extinction. Within the biosphere the basic unit of analysis or study is the ecosystem. Thus, the biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems.
The atmosphere forms a protective shell over the earth. The troposphere is the lowest layer and is only Illustration of atmosphere around earth 12 kms thick. It is the only part warm enough for us to survive in. The stratosphere is 50 km thick and contains a layer of sulphates which is important for the formation of rain. It also contains a layer of ozone, which absorbs ultra-violet light’ known to cause cancer.