*Unit 1, Module 4* Name:______________________ Date:___________ Period #:___

Human-Environmental Interaction
Unit 1, Module 4

Essential Question (EQ): 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: “________________________”
(the study of interactions between societies + local environments)
2. It focuses on *how* ___________________ AND the ________________________
affect one another
3. When people interact with the environment, they…
a. ______________ the environment to meet their own needs
b. ______________ the parts of the environment that they cannot change

Interaction With the Environment’s Resources

● When humans interact with their environment, they use “___________________”!
● Natural resources⇒ materials + substances that occur in nature
○ _____________________resources⇒ available on Earth in limited quantities; will
eventually be all used up + non-replaceable
○ ____________________ resources⇒ resources that Earth will naturally
replenish/restore over time
*Unit 1, Module 4* Name:______________________ Date:___________ Period #:___
Environmental Determinism
● Idea that human behaviors + attitudes are
_____________________________
_____________________________
● 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● Rooted in *stereotypes*; outdated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.”
Bullet Point Notes from the Video Clips:
Environmental Possibilism
● Idea that the environment puts limits on
humans, BUT ____________________
____________________________ +
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