One of the most important topics in geography is how people interact with the environment.

Human activities can have positive and negative impacts on the environment. Pollution in Houston, Texas on a

clear day.

The environment affects humans as well.

Physical features such as landforms and rivers can influence where people live, and people depend on the environment for survival.

Human life requires three basic resources: air water land.

Padre Island, Texas

Other materials such as wood, coal and oil are also important resources.

As the world population grows, demands on resources increase.

Geographers study the locations, quality and quantity of Earth’s resources and the effect of human activity on these resources.

Oil Fields in West Texas

Historians use geography to understand history (what happened in the past???).

Not only do they look at when things happened, but where and why they happened.

Geography helps people understand the present as well as the past.

How do people relate to the physical world ??

How do humans adapt to the environment?◦ In Houston, it is hot…we install air conditioners to

keep cool.◦ In Egypt, the farmers set up near the Nile River to

take advantage of the annual floods for their farms.

Humans can modify the environment:◦ We level forests to build roads for transportation,

housing, business…◦ We build dams on rivers to control flooding and

help irrigate the fields.◦ New Orleans has build levees to protect it from

water.

How do humans DEPEND on the environment?◦ We need heat and rain to grow crops.◦ Some places depend on certain minerals to mine

and make money.◦ Some places need trees to burn for fuel.◦ Some places have great soils for farming.◦ ETC

How does the environment HINDER (hurt) humans?◦ In Pakistan, flooding is killing people and

destroying homes…◦ In New Orleans, Houston, Galveston, and other

Gulf Cities…Hurricanes have taken lives and destroyed property.

◦ Droughts in Africa have caused the desert to grow, and people to starve.

How have humans hurt the environment?◦ Burning fuels causing pollution and maybe global

warming.◦ Building roads, searching for natural medicines,

fuels, and minerals has destroyed the rain forests.◦ Building dams has caused flooding and diverted

the flow of rivers, drying up entire lakes.