In old German geography, the word “environment” was defined as everything that surrounds the observer. In other words, it is a space defined by location. The German word for environment, Umwelt, describes this well: the “external world.” A map represents the environment; it is a visual representation of how things are located in relation to one another. Examples include a map of Finland, the London Underground map, a mind map, or an image of the internal structure of the Earth. On the other hand, a map could also be any sensory-perceivable whole that represents the relationships and locations of things in relation to one another. It could, for example, be an audio map designed for blind people.
The environment is both physical and, firstly, an ecological natural environment (animals, plants, rocks, ecosystems); secondly, a physical and built environment (infrastructure, buildings); thirdly, a social environment, meaning the other people around us and our relationships with them; and, fourthly, a virtual environment. When you are using online banking, you are, in a sense, in a bank. Added reality on a smart device brings the environment to life in an entirely new way. A travel app on a smart device can provide information about different sites and places while you explore a city. In fact, traffic signs, street signs, and information signs in museums can also be regarded as forms of augmented reality through which we receive information about our environment.
In addition to these four dimensions, the environment is also an experiential and subjective environment, involving our perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and experiences within the environment. This environment is therefore constructed in our minds. The environment emerges from the relationship between the observer and the environment.
I want to emphasize the importance of the subjective environment. Our minds construct cognitive maps of the environment and create other schemas, or internal models, of it. We all experience the environment differently and construct an overall mental model of it through a constructivist process. It is important that we understand one another’s internal maps, internal models, and worlds. In this way, we can learn from one another and create a more harmonious reality.
The environment is not only physical and shared—that is, objective—but also subjective. We experience what we see, as well as sounds, colors, smells, and the whole environment, in different ways. If we want to create and preserve a good shared environment, our approach must be partly constructivist: a blind person or a person using a wheelchair experiences the environment differently, and this must be taken into account. Aesthetic values differ between people, and they are important. A good environment is aesthetically beautiful and democratically created.
For example, in the communist Soviet Union, aesthetics were often given little consideration. Regional planning was guided by functionalism, in which efficiency and utility were prioritized. The result was often ugly concrete blocks.
It is interesting that environmental protection initially focused on the protection of landscapes. Beautiful landscapes, such as the scenic hills and ridges of Koli in Finland, were considered valuable because of their aesthetic qualities. In contemporary environmental protection, however, we particularly emphasize the importance of a healthy and safe environment, the importance of ecosystem services (such as the water cycle and pollination by plants and animals), the proper functioning of ecosystems, and biodiversity, or biological diversity, which forms the foundation for all of the above.
Landscapes change and disappear, and ecosystems are replaced by others. This is a law of nature. Continents move, mountains form and disappear, glaciers expand and shrink, and the ranges of plants and animals change. We cannot cling forever to the same landscapes because nature changes over time. During the age of the dinosaurs, landscapes looked completely different.
Nevertheless, we can always make sure that landscapes are aesthetically beautiful for as long as they exist. And ecosystem services, biodiversity, and the functional integrity of ecosystems are vital to us and to other species.
Everything has its time, and landscapes change. In environmental science, we speak of environmental change. Landscapes, ecosystems, land use, and the physicochemical conditions of the environment change, and harmful environmental changes must be prevented and mitigated. In addition, it is important to adapt to a changing environment.
Climate change, for example, is a harmful environmental change that threatens biodiversity, the functioning of ecosystems, and ecosystem services such as water availability and food production. Climate change causes severe weather extremes, such as storms, floods, and wildfires, as excess energy accumulates in the Earth’s climate system. Under natural conditions, roughly as much energy would enter the Earth system as would leave it. The resulting disruption drastically reduces the health and safety of the environment.
Through its activities, humanity has severely disrupted natural cycles. Humans take too much from nature and dump enormous quantities of pollutants and emissions back into it. In this way, environmental changes become harmful environmental problems.
It could be summarized like this:
Nothing is eternal, but we should cherish and care for the environment so that it remains a good place to live—for us and for the other ten million species with which we share the Earth.
Daniel Elkama
