Man and Environment

BBA Part1_1 (Gajaseni, 2001) 1

Man and Environment

Asst. Dr. Nantana Gajaseni<[email protected]>


What is environment?

Q. What is environment? A. It depends!

Q. Depends on what? A. Depends on "Environment

of whom?"


Q. How about “environment of human”?

A.Wait and see!


Q. Who is "human"? A. Wait until the next section!

Q. Is human a living object? A. ?

BBA Part1_1 (Gajaseni, 2001) 5The human animal


Q 1. What is living object?

Q 2. What are differences between living and non-living objects?


A. From biological perspective:

Life = biosystems organized by interactions between biological components interacting with physical environments, and become a unified whole with capacity to maintain homeostasis and self-perpetuation


Sign of life

1. Highly complex organization = all other characteristics of life emerge from an organism’s complex organization


2. Self-homeostasis = Self-maintenance of a

steady-state internal environment in the

variations of external environment.


3. Self-perpetuation = Life comes only from life.


4. Growth and development = the increment of volume and changes in structure and functions to suit with new form of life


Insert larva picture


5. Interactions = Life needs energy and matter utilization for maintenance of life


6. Adaptation = Life evolve as a result of the interaction between organisms and their environments


7. Response = Life adjusts itself to the environment.


From biological perspective, these are biological spectrum

Biotic components


รูป biotic component

CellGene Org

an

Organism

Populations

Communities


Biotic components cannot survive in isolation.

They must interact with physical or a biotic environments.


Generalized diagram of inputs, throughputs, and outputs in a system

System Throughputs (flows)System Inputs

System Outputs

Information

Energy

Matter

Useless information

Waste heat

Waste matter


Interaction between each biotic level with physical environment through energy, matter, and information produces characteristic functional system.

"Biosystem" or "life"


Organizational hierarchy in nature can be seen from "universe" down to "subatomic particles".


รูป solar system

Milky way

Galaxy

Universe

Solar system

Earth


The natural world is organized, diverse, dynamic, and yet complex.


Q. How can life be seen in nature?

A. A hierarchy of organization of matter.


Fig 3-6


Then, there is hierarchy of biosystems.


Q. What is the determinant of life?

A. Environment by evolutionary processes.


Fig 20’


Q. How did life emerge on the Earth?


Fig 8-11 (21’)


Transparency 78

Fig 6-5 summary of the evolution of the earth and its life.

Chemical evolution

1 billion years

Biological evolution3.7 billion

years


Q. Is human a hierarchy of organization of matter?


Q. What is the difference of “interaction between man and environment” and “interaction between other organisms and environment”?


A. Organisms adapt themselves to the environments.

While

“Human modify environments to suit themselves ”.


Human environment

2 groups


1. Natural environment: 4 spheres

1.1 Biosphere = Space occupied by life 1.2 Atmosphere = Space occupied by air 1.3 Lithosphere = Space occupied by solid 1.4 Hydrosphere = Space occupied by

water


How do the 4 spheres really exist?


Atmosphere

Hydrosphere Lithosphere

Ecosphere

Biosphere


2. Man-made environment

2.1 Anthropogenic ecosystems

2.2 Physical structures


What are the Functions of Natural Environment?

Man and Environment

Environment

Transcript of Man and Environment