Our Environment Introduction

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Environment is defined as the surroundings in which the organism lives. The environment may be the physical environment, the chemical environment or the biological environment. Thus, the environment has two components - abiotic and biotic.

The abiotic environment includes the air (atmosphere), water (hydrosphere) and land (lithosphere). The biotic environment includes the plants, animals and the microbes.

Organisms are dependent on the environment to fulfil their needs; man is also constantly interacting with the environment in order to fulfil his needs. These needs include the basic needs of oxygen, food and shelter in addition to the social needs like entertainment, medicines, etc. The things that man requires for his survival and comfort are called the resources. The environment is a reservoir of resources. Maintaining the natural resources of the environment and their careful use is called conservation. The conservation of environment involves the conservation of the natural resources.

A healthy environment is an absolute necessity for the well-being of all organisms, including man. All our needs, big and small are being met by the environment. However, man having reached the pinnacle of evolution is trying to bring about changes in the environment to suit his convenience. Unfortunately, this convenience is temporary. In the long run, man is losing out on a healthy environment.