Core ConceptsGeography: Human-Environment Interaction

Objectives▪ Students will

demonstrate the following enduring understanding

▪ People rely on the environment to fulfill a variety of needs, including food, shelter, and energy.

▪ Environment and economic needs both determine how people choose to use lands.

▪ Recognize the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Environment and Resources

Humans depend on their natural environment to survive. We need the environment to provide energy, water, food, and other materials. In prehistoric times, people lived in areas where they could hunt and gather foods. Later they moved to pastures and fertile soils for farming. Today, rapid transportation and technology allow people to be less dependent on their immediate environment. However, people still need access to resources.

▪ Remember the lack of rain this summer and how much we needed it to rain.

Natural Resources Water is just one

example of a natural resource, or a useful material found in the environment. People depend on many kinds of natural resources. Renewable resources are

resources that Earthy or people can replace.

Nonrenewable resources are a resource that cannot be replaced in a relatively short period of time if at all.

Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources formed over millions of years from the remains of plants and animals.

Coal natural gas, and petroleum are important fossil fuels. When nonrenewable resources are used up, they are gone.

Energy Resources

Sources of energy are important for human activity. Some resources, such as wind and sunlight are renewable.

Today, we mostly rely on nonrenewable energy resources such as coal and petroleum. Because these resources are nonrenewable, Earth will eventually run out of them.

Land Use The way people use land

are affected by both the natural environment and culture.

In many regions, land use has changed over time.▪ For example, people living in

temperate climates with fertile soil may use land mainly for farming.

▪ People in the arctic areas may use land mainly for hunting.

Colonization is a movement of new settlers and their culture to an area.

People’s Impact on the Environment

All people need food, water, clothing, and shelter. To meet these needs, people have to use materials from their environment. As a result, people have impacts on their environment in their daily lives.

Extracting Resources

People extract, or remove, many kinds of natural resources from their environment. Ex… Cutting down trees to get

wood

Extracting resources can be harm ecosystems and the environment.

Deforestation is the lossof forest cover in a region. Drilling oil wells andtransporting oil can lead tooils spills.

Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.

Other Impacts People also affect the

environment by growing food or producing other goods and services.

People’s activities can also produce pollution, or waste that makes the soil, air, or water less clean. Ex… farmers using fertilizer to

feed their crops. Pollutes water and soil.

Pollution is a spillover, which is

an effect on someone orsomething not involved in anactivity.

Finding the Best Solution

People try to increase the positive and decrease the negative effects of using resources. For example, using a

resource might lead to economic growth but also create pollution that needs to be reduced.

Working together, people,governments, and

businessescan try to use resources

wisely.

These wind turbines in Canada convert wind energy into electricity.