The degree of man's mastery over th

The degree of man's mastery over the earth is, of course, dependent on his understanding of it, and while we have made much progress in this regard there is still much work to do.

We often forget that the component parts of the earth environment are parts of a larger whole, interrelated with each other in a variety of ways and on a variety of scales. Thus, we have geologists, hydrologists, climatologists, biologists, and so on, each group concerned chiefly with certain specific parts of the environment.

Ecologists go further, recognizing the interrelationships that exist between organisms and their environment within a given region, and between the different forms of life found in the region.

But geographers go still further, adding the ties that exist between the various elements of the physical environment, and the environmental interactions between regions, and thinking of these environmental elements and regions as parts of a world-wide whole.
The understanding of the wholeness of the environment, with man as part of it, and the study of its interrelationships not only locally but also on a regional, interregional, and worldwide scale is very important. Differences in the scale of such environmental interrelationships are well illustrated by the Everglades National Park in southern Florida. Drought inflicted that area, with disastrous destruction of its unique flora and fauna.

To begin with, the drought's lowering of the water surface reduced the number of alligators, and this in turn meant fewer of the water holes that are hollowed out by these largest inhabitants of the swamp.

As a result there are fewer of the smaller aquatic organisms that live in the alligator holes and that furnish food for the birds of the region, and so there are fewer birds.

On the interregional basis, we find that the water level in the Everglades is determined not only by the rainfall within the region but also by the inflow of water from adjacent swampy areas to the north.

Moreover, of course drought in southern Florida resulted not from any local conditions but from changes in the worldwide weather patterns. Thus, the web of interactions exists not only within the earth environment of a specific region but also between regions.

These local and regional interrelationships make the earth environment a very vulnerable one, for change of just one factor may set in motion a sequence of reactions that will upset2 the whole system. For instance, widespread use of insecticides can eliminate not only insects (the good with the bad) but also both the birds that feed on them and the plants that are polluted by them.

It is now realized that much of man's destructive effect on the environment results from such chain reactions; and even when there seems to be only a simple and direct attack on nature the probability of related effects must always be taken into account, as a brief mention of other examples will further illustrate.

Within the Everglades, for example, man has made this sort of direct attack by illegally killing large numbers of alligators to profit by the sale of their skins.

In addition, inflow of water from the regions to the north has been reduced not only by the drought but also by drainage schemes developed there in support of agricultural and settlement programs.

Deforestation of a hillside offers another case of both direct and indirect damage. Where the trees have been cut down there are also local changes in the microclimate, in the vegetation, and in the fauna, and there is increased runoff, with resulting flooding, soil erosion, siltation, and lowering of the water table. Floods initiated in such an area may also spread far out into distant regions, as may the accompanying siltation.

Man's destruction of the environment is not new, of course. Even in Neolithic time fire, often described as man's first tool, was used directly against the fauna, for it made possible large kills, even when hunting implements were still very simple.

Such hunting was probably a major factor in the extinction of a number of large mammal species in late Pleistocene3 time; and inevitably their loss initiated other changes in the ecology.

In spite of these rather impressive results, however, early man could more or less ignore his own damage to the environment.

With his small numbers he did not fully occupy the earth, and so, having damaged it in one area, he could always find a new region where he could make a fresh start.

With simple technology he had to work hard to meet his needs, and so his per capita consumption remained small, and non-consumable goods were usually carefully saved and reused. He used chiefly renewable resources, and because of his small numbers and his small per capita demands, he did not usually exploit these more rapidly than nature renewed them.

Since he changed them very little from their natural form, the waste products from their use could easily decompose, and this prevented the development of any serious problems of waste disposal.

Today our situation has changed greatly in many ways.

It is no longer4 possible to escape from the effects of our own destruction of the environment by moving on to new regions. Greater demands are being made on mineral resources, which in some cases have been largely exhausted; and maintenance of renewable resources is hampered by over-exploitation.

More complicated chemical processing of nature's raw materials has attacked the environment in a number of new ways. It has given us pesticides and herbicides that destroy the flora and fauna on a massive scale.

It yields new types of waste products that pollute air, water, and soil and that contribute to our waste disposal problem because they are non-degradable. Plastics, for example, and many pesticides and detergents remain undecomposed indefinitely. Most of these problems are further aggravated by the growing concentrations of large numbers of people in urban regions.
Thus, we see that the earth is not indestructible and inexhaustible, as was so long thought, but highly vulnerable to the destructive impact of man. It is a delicately balanced system that can easily be damaged, and some of its individual parts can be completely destroyed, beyond man’s power to reconstruct them.

Earth scientists of many kinds must work toward developing an ever-fuller understanding of the earth environment, especially its interrelationships, and geographers should help to carry on this work, both by undertaking some of the basic research and by correlating the work done by others.

If the results of such investigations are to be put to use, however, they must be passed on to the general public5, and for this kind of education no other professional group is so well equipped as are geographers. It is their task to develop a citizenry6 informed on environmental matters.

The citizenry must learn to recognize our fundamental dependence on the earth, and they must recognize that the earth environment is a wonderful, beautiful, and complex system of interrelated parts, easily damaged by man's thoughtless attacks upon it.

Результаты (русский) 1:

The degree of man's mastery over the earth is, of course, dependent on his understanding of it, and while we have made much progress in this regard there is still much work to do.We often forget that the component parts of the earth environment are parts of a larger whole, interrelated with each other in a variety of ways and on a variety of scales. Thus, we have geologists, hydrologists, climatologists, biologists, and so on, each group concerned chiefly with certain specific parts of the environment.Ecologists go further, recognizing the interrelationships that exist between organisms and their environment within a given region, and between the different forms of life found in the region.But geographers go still further, adding the ties that exist between the various elements of the physical environment, and the environmental interactions between regions, and thinking of these environmental elements and regions as parts of a world-wide whole.The understanding of the wholeness of the environment, with man as part of it, and the study of its interrelationships not only locally but also on a regional, interregional, and worldwide scale is very important. Differences in the scale of such environmental interrelationships are well illustrated by the Everglades National Park in southern Florida. Drought inflicted that area, with disastrous destruction of its unique flora and fauna.To begin with, the drought's lowering of the water surface reduced the number of alligators, and this in turn meant fewer of the water holes that are hollowed out by these largest inhabitants of the swamp.As a result there are fewer of the smaller aquatic organisms that live in the alligator holes and that furnish food for the birds of the region, and so there are fewer birds.On the interregional basis, we find that the water level in the Everglades is determined not only by the rainfall within the region but also by the inflow of water from adjacent swampy areas to the north.Moreover, of course drought in southern Florida resulted not from any local conditions but from changes in the worldwide weather patterns. Thus, the web of interactions exists not only within the earth environment of a specific region but also between regions.These local and regional interrelationships make the earth environment a very vulnerable one, for change of just one factor may set in motion a sequence of reactions that will upset2 the whole system. For instance, widespread use of insecticides can eliminate not only insects (the good with the bad) but also both the birds that feed on them and the plants that are polluted by them.It is now realized that much of man's destructive effect on the environment results from such chain reactions; and even when there seems to be only a simple and direct attack on nature the probability of related effects must always be taken into account, as a brief mention of other examples will further illustrate.Within the Everglades, for example, man has made this sort of direct attack by illegally killing large numbers of alligators to profit by the sale of their skins.In addition, inflow of water from the regions to the north has been reduced not only by the drought but also by drainage schemes developed there in support of agricultural and settlement programs.Deforestation of a hillside offers another case of both direct and indirect damage. Where the trees have been cut down there are also local changes in the microclimate, in the vegetation, and in the fauna, and there is increased runoff, with resulting flooding, soil erosion, siltation, and lowering of the water table. Floods initiated in such an area may also spread far out into distant regions, as may the accompanying siltation.Man's destruction of the environment is not new, of course. Even in Neolithic time fire, often described as man's first tool, was used directly against the fauna, for it made possible large kills, even when hunting implements were still very simple.Such hunting was probably a major factor in the extinction of a number of large mammal species in late Pleistocene3 time; and inevitably their loss initiated other changes in the ecology.In spite of these rather impressive results, however, early man could more or less ignore his own damage to the environment.With his small numbers he did not fully occupy the earth, and so, having damaged it in one area, he could always find a new region where he could make a fresh start.С простой технологией он должен работать для удовлетворения его потребностей и поэтому его потребление на душу остается незначительным и не потребляемые товары обычно тщательно сохранены и повторно использованы. Он использовал главным образом возобновляемых ресурсов, и из-за его небольшого числа и его небольшой душу требования, он сделал не эксплуатировать обычно эти более быстрыми темпами, чем природа вновь их.Поскольку он изменил их очень мало из их естественной форме, отходов от их использования можно легко разобрать, и это помешало развитию каких-либо серьезных проблем утилизации отходов.Сегодня наша ситуация значительно изменилась во многих отношениях.Это не longer4, можно избежать последствий нашего собственного разрушения окружающей среды путем перехода к новым регионам. Предпринимаются более высокие требования на минеральные ресурсы, которые в некоторых случаях были практически исчерпаны; и поддержание возобновляемых ресурсов препятствует чрезмерной эксплуатации.Более сложная химическая обработка природы сырья напали окружающей среды в ряде новых путей. Он дал нам, пестициды и гербициды, которые разрушают флоры и фауны в массовых масштабах.Это дает новые виды отходов, которые загрязняют воздух, воду и почву, и которые способствуют нашей проблемы утилизации отходов потому, что они не разлагаются. Пластмассы, например и многие пестициды и моющие средства остаются undecomposed на неопределенный срок. Большинство этих проблем усугубляется растущей концентрации большого числа людей в городских районах.Thus, we see that the earth is not indestructible and inexhaustible, as was so long thought, but highly vulnerable to the destructive impact of man. It is a delicately balanced system that can easily be damaged, and some of its individual parts can be completely destroyed, beyond man’s power to reconstruct them.Earth scientists of many kinds must work toward developing an ever-fuller understanding of the earth environment, especially its interrelationships, and geographers should help to carry on this work, both by undertaking some of the basic research and by correlating the work done by others.If the results of such investigations are to be put to use, however, they must be passed on to the general public5, and for this kind of education no other professional group is so well equipped as are geographers. It is their task to develop a citizenry6 informed on environmental matters.The citizenry must learn to recognize our fundamental dependence on the earth, and they must recognize that the earth environment is a wonderful, beautiful, and complex system of interrelated parts, easily damaged by man's thoughtless attacks upon it.

Результаты (русский) 3:

степень господство человека над землей - это, конечно, зависит от его пониманию, и хотя мы добились значительного прогресса в этой области, предстоит еще многое сделать.мы часто забываем, что компоненты окружающей среды планеты являются частью единого целого, взаимосвязаны друг с другом в разных формах и на различных уровнях.таким образом, у нас есть геологи, гидрологи, климатологов, биологи, и так далее, каждой соответствующей группой, главным образом, в некоторых конкретных объектов окружающей среды.экологи пошли дальше, признавая взаимосвязи, существующие между организмами и их окружающей среды в рамках данного региона, и между различными формами жизни в регионе.но географов пойти дальше, добавив, связи, существующие между различными элементами физической окружающей среды и экологических взаимосвязей между регионами, и думать, что эти элементы окружающей среды и регионов в части во всем мире в целом.понимание этой целостности окружающей среды, с человеком, как его части, и изучение ее взаимоотношения не только на местном уровне, но и на региональном, межрегиональном и международном масштабе - это очень важно.различия в масштабах таких экологических взаимосвязей, хорошо видно на примере эверглейдс в южной флориде.засуха в этой области с катастрофическими уничтожения своей уникальной флоры и фауны.начать с того, что засухи опускания поверхности воды сократилось число аллигаторов, а это, в свою очередь, означает меньшее количество колодцы, выдолбленные этих крупнейших жителей болото.в результате гораздо меньше мелких водных организмов, которые живут в аллигатор дыры и предоставлять продовольствие для птиц в регионе, и, таким образом, количество птиц.на межрегиональном уровне, мы обнаружили, что уровень воды в эверглейдс определяется не только осадков в регионе, но и приток воды из прилегающих болотистый районы к северу.кроме того, конечно, засухи в южной флориде привело не от местных условий, но и от изменений в мире погодных условий.таким образом, системы, существует не только в земле условий конкретного региона, но и между регионами.эти местные и региональные взаимосвязи сделать земной среды очень уязвимый для изменения лишь один фактор может привести в действие ряд реакций, которые будут upset2 всю систему.например, широкое применение инсектицидов может уничтожить не только насекомые (хорошее с плохо), но также и птиц, которые питаются ими и растения, которые являются загрязненными ими.сейчас понятно, что многое из его разрушительные последствия для окружающей среды в результате таких цепной реакции; и даже когда кажется, простой и прямой удар по характеру вероятности последствий всегда следует принимать во внимание, как кратко упомянуть другие примеры будут дополнительно проиллюстрировать.в эверглейдс, например, мужчина сделал этот вид прямого нападения, незаконно погибло большое число аллигаторов, чтобы прибыль от продажи свои шкуры.кроме того, приток воды в регионах на севере сокращается не только из - за засухи, но и дренажные системы, разработанные в поддержку сельского хозяйства и программы расселения.вырубка лесов на склоне предлагает еще один случай прямого и косвенного ущерба.когда деревья были сокращены также есть изменения в местной микроклимат, в растительности и фауны, и растет стока, что приводит к наводнениям, эрозии почвы, заиление и снижение уровня грунтовых вод.наводнения, начатых в такой район может также распространяться далеко в удаленных регионах, как, возможно, сопровождающие заиление.мужчина, разрушение окружающей среды, не является новой, конечно.даже в момент пожара неолита, часто описывается как человек первый инструмент используется непосредственно в отношении фауны, это позволило больших убивает, даже когда охота реализует еще очень просто.такая охота была, вероятно, одним из основных факторов вымирания ряд крупных видов млекопитающих, в конце pleistocene3 времени; и неизбежно их потери инициировали и другие изменения в экологии.несмотря на эти довольно впечатляющие результаты, однако раньше человек мог более или менее игнорировать свои собственные ущерба окружающей среде.с его небольшого числа он не полностью занимают земли, и, таким образом, испортив его в одной области, он всегда может найти новый регион, где он мог бы начать с начала.с простой технологии, ему пришлось много работать, чтобы удовлетворить его потребности, и поэтому его потребление на душу населения остается низким, и не промышленных товаров, как правило, тщательно сохранены и использовать повторно.он используется в основном возобновляемых ресурсов, и потому, что его небольшая численность и его небольшой доход на душу населения требует, он обычно не используют эти более быстрыми темпами, чем природа вновь их.с тех пор, как он менял их очень мало из их естественной форме, отходы от их использования, могут легко разлагается, и это препятствует разработке