I know this sounds like an easy definition,

you are not alone there my friend. “Easy”- I said that same word when I learned our professor wanted us to define the Environment.

This year I started my Open and Distance eLearning (ODeL) program (I will discuss this in my next post) in Environment and Natural Resources which I describe as challenging and exciting. Challenging because you will do your own schedule and find time to study. For someone like me that travels 6 hours every day going to and from the office is very tiring and exhausting plus I need to study and take care of our kids. I usually study in our house after our kids are sleeping . I am more comfortable studying in the house instead of somewhere else. This experience is exciting for me because I get to know new things to study, meet other people online, and appreciate what I am learning.

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WHAT IS "ENVIRONMENT"?

photo of Yokohama bay taken on my Samsung J7 Prime on March 21, 2017 from the peak at Hasedara temple showing greenery and urban housing in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

It is everything around us. It is what we see and do in our daily life, our interactions with our family or people in our office who we exchange communications with. For a construction worker, his environment is the construction site. For a coffee shop attendant, it is where there shop operates. For a student, of course, it is the school or the classrooms. Environment is also defined as a living and nonliving things that exist in our surroundings such as plants, animals, people, water, air and energy. It has many forms as people perceive it.

photo taken during our activities on International Coastal Cleanup day at Manila Bay

This is same perception of a Filipino towards the Philippine environment where it is closely linked to a vast array of natural resources which provides a large part of its income. A Filipino who is close to nature and make their living on these natural resources like fishermen may understand their biological environment as rich in marine resources but his social environment as having poor economic condition, even then his behavior to what he sees can affect his perception of his environment as a whole.

photo taken during our mangrove planting mission at Calatagan, Batangas

On the other hand, what is directly visible to the working class is the urban environment where air and water pollution are perceived. These influence their views about their surrounding environment since what they see, feel, or experience in their current situation will define their description of the Philippine environment. A person who is stuck in the heat of the sun in heavy traffic and smog may not have the same perception of the “richness” of the Philippine environment in natural resources, but otherwise see it as ridden with pollution.

a different perspective of Manila Traffic by @luvabi

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WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT?

Our professor, Prof. Rene Borromeo explains, an “environment” has two elements. It has THINGS and EVENTS.

The first element, THINGS is very straight forward which I already defined above but the second element, the EVENTS we tend to miss because it is not so obvious. According to Socio-Cultural Principles of Human-Environment Interactions penned by Dr. Ben S. Malayang, Matter has mass, energy, and information. EVENTS as the results of movement of matter, energy, and information across time and place.

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one of the more well known environmental cycles- the water cycle

One example of events are environmental cycles (carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle, and water cycles[1]. Prof. Borromeo suggests that “when humans eat food, our body will become a vessel of that transfer or movement. These transfers of matter, energy, and information are part of the environment”.

I think even when we read or when someone is learning new Karate moves, our body is a container of transfer of information. This information translates to an idea after reading a book or learning the techniques and system of Karate. The information simply becomes embedded into ideas, beliefs, and culture.

Look around you right now... the environment as you describe it will be a product of the things you see around you and the things that are happening to you in your situation or place. These go hand in hand to shape your experience and thereby your definition or interpretation of the word - ENVIRONMENT.

Cityline at Yokohama bay - Selfie shot with GoPro Hero 4

Disclaimer : Please do not take this as the only correct or probable definitions.

The Environment is a wide range of discussions and it had been suggested that it should be approached using different disciplines or approach it based on your area of interest.

Discussions above were mentioned during my Socio-Cultural Perspectives on the Environment class this year and marked the beginning of my learning in Environmental Management.

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References:
1 https://www.greenfacts.org/glossary/def/environmental-cycles.htm
2 Dr. Ben S. Malayang's profile- http://braintrustinc.org/board-of-directors/ben-s-malayang-iii-ph-d/

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