Unit 2

Curso: 5to 5ta Lenguas Extranjeras
Espacio: Estudios Interculturales en Inglés I
Section 2 – Human-environment interaction

Part 1 – Introducing the topic
TASK 1 - Look at the following pictures and decide which show an interaction between humans and the
environment. Is that interaction positive or negative? Explain.
Picture A Picture B
Picture C Picture D
Picture F
TASK 2 - Think about the following ítems and decide if they are true or false. Explain your choice.
a) Humans and the environment depend one from the other.
b) The relationship between humans and the environment is always negative.
TASK 3 - Now, read the article below and check your thoughts above. Were they similar?
Human-Environmental Interactions
Human Environmental Interactions can be defined as
interactions between the human social system and (the
“rest” of) the ecosystem.
Human social systems and ecosystems are complex
adaptive systems. Complex because ecosystems and
human social systems have many parts and many
connections between these parts. Adaptive because they have feedback structures that promote
survival in a constantly changing environment.
Human social system

In order to analyse Human Environmental
Interactions it is important to be aware of specific
characteristics of the human social system. The type
of society strongly influences peoples attitude
towards nature, their behaviour and therefore
their impact on ecosystems. Important
characteristics of human social systems are
population size, social organization, values, technology, wealth, education, knowledge and many
more. Especially values and knowledge strongly influence peoples “view of life” and consequently
define the way people act. The choice of possible actions is then limited by the available
technology.
Coevolution and Coadaptation

The terms coevolution and coadaptation describe the never-ending process of mutual
adjustment and change between human social systems and the environment. Peoples actions
have consequences on the environment. But also the environment influences human activities.
Human social systems have to adapt to their specific environment. Natural phenomena like
storms, earthquakes force people to react. These natural phenomena can either be directly or not
primarily caused by human actions and again influence human behaviour as people have to
respond to a new situation.
TASK 4 – Answer:
A. Why are social systems and eco systems complex and adaptive? Explain and give examples.
B. What influences people’s relationship with the environment? List the ítems and provide examples of
each.
C. What are coevolution and coadaptation? Give examples of each.
Section 2 – Human-environment interaction
Part 2 – Exploring and Understnding
There are 3 types of human environment interaction:
1. The way people depend on the environment for food, water, timber, natural gas etc
2. The way people adpat the environment to fulfill their own needs
3. The way people modify the environment positively or negatively like drilling holes,
building dams
1. Dependence On The Environment

Every single living thing on this planet is dependent on the
environment it lives in. Whether it’s for air, water, food, or
shelter, living beings simply cannot survive without some form
of interaction.
But for humans, that dependence has grown to a level where
someone living in Boston might also be dependent on the
environment in Central America for certain foods, or for the
minerals mined in China for electronics.
Basically, everything you see around you is entirely dependent
on environmental resources that come from thousands of miles
away.
2. Modification Of The Environment
Human activities frequently result in environmental change,

both with negative and positive results.
Even the most ecologically sustainable farming methods and
renewable energy projects require resources provided by
nature.
Human beings use increasing amounts of land to build homes,
shopping centers, and schools. When it gets cold, we burn
coal, wood, and oil that we all collect from our environment.
It’s kind of fascinating and scary when you stop to look at your
phone, vehicle, home, and everything else around you in this
way.
3. Adaptation To The Environment

People seem to live in the strangest places on this planet, which is
partly due to successes in evolution.
The more successful species are able to adapt to changes in their
environment, the more likely they are to survive.
For example, when you find people living above the arctic circle, in dense jungles, and dry
savannahs, you’ll get the idea of how much we have adapted to our natural environment.
TASK 5 – Read the article and design a flow chart or a mind map to show the explanation of the three types
of relationships and examples of each.
TASK 6 – Go back to the pictures fron activity 1. Explain what type of human-environment interaction they
represent (adaptation, modification or dependance). Explain.

Unit 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Curso: 5to 5ta Lenguas Extranjeras

Espacio: Estudios Interculturales en Inglés I

Section 2 – Human-environment interaction

Human social system

Coevolution and Coadaptation

1. Dependence On The Environment

2. Modification Of The Environment

Human activities frequently result in environmental change,

3. Adaptation To The Environment

You might also like