Human-Environmental

Interaction
Unit 1, Module 4
Essential Question
How do humans impact their
environment AND how does
their environment impact
them and their daily lives?
Time to Think!
Do you think that
humans should limit the
amount of resources
that we use?
How do humans’ current
habits impact the world
or their environment?
Environmental Basics:
● In order to understand the relationship between people + the
environment, we must first understand the following:
○ Ecology⇒ a biological science that focuses on studying
complex relationships between living organisms + their
physical environments
○ Cultural ecology⇒ studies interactions between societies +
their local environments
○ Environmental perception⇒ mental images that make up
a human’s P.O.V. regarding nature; may be accurate or
inaccurate
3 Facts to Know About “Human-Environmental Interaction”:
1. Human-environmental interaction is also known as:
“cultural ecology” (the study of interactions between
societies + local environments)
2. It focuses on *how* human society AND the natural
environment affect one another
3. When people interact with the environment, they…
a. Adapt the environment to meet their own needs
b. Adapt to the parts of the environment that they
cannot change
Interaction with the Environment’s Resources:
● When humans interact with their environment,
they use “resources”!
● Natural resources⇒ materials + substances that
occur in nature
○ Nonrenewable resources⇒ available on Earth in
limited quantities; will eventually be all used up +
non-replaceable
○ Renewable resources⇒ resources that Earth
will naturally replenish/restore over time
Renewable Resources
Human-Environmental Impact: Electric Vehicles

Video Clip: The Guardian “It’s Complicated”

Environmental Determinism
● Idea that human behaviors +
attitudes are determined by
the physical environment they
reside in
● Physical environment controls
human actions + culture
● Rooted in *stereotypes*;
outdated thinking
● EX 1: “Peoples who live in
equatorial climates are lazy;
heat makes a society less
productive.”
● EX 2: “Peoples who live in cold
climates are not fully developed
+ have limited potential.”
Environmental Possibilism
● Idea that the environment
puts limits on humans, BUT
people adapt and/or control
their environment + succeed
● People are “architects” of
their own culture + where
they choose to live
● Humans conquer their own
environment using
technology
● EX 1: Yakutsk, Russia
● EX 2: Korowai tribe of Papua,
Indonesia
Environmental
Possibilism
● Yakutsk, Russia (Siberia)
● Coldest city in the world
● Winter season⇒ October - May
● Temperatures as low as -61 ℉
● Population⇒ 294,000
● Video Clip #1
● Video Clip #2