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The natural environment or natural world encompasses all biotic and abiotic things occurring naturally , meaning in this case not artificial . The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses the interaction of all living species , climate , weather and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity. The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished as components:

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92-818: The Gould League is an independent Australian organisation promoting environmental education, founded in Victoria in 1909 and named after the English ornithologist John Gould . Largely autonomous branches were subsequently established in other Australian states. The initial stimulus to form the Gould League was a letter from Jessie McMichael to John Albert Leach , supervisor of nature study in Victorian state schools and later Assistant Chief Inspector of Schools in Victoria. When formally established in 1909,

184-461: A cardiovascular system in that they circulate people and materials throughout a city similar to how veins distribute energy and materials to the cells. Pedestrian circulation is vital for the walkability of a city and general access on a human scale. The quality of sidewalks and walkways have an impact on safety and accessibility for those using these spaces. Public transportation is essential in urban areas, particularly in cities and areas that have

276-695: A buyer for the ailing organisation, with a NSW land care group, Liverpool Plains Land Management Committee, taking over its running and reviewing the Gould League's operations in a bid to have it continue into the future. 2009 was the 100th anniversary of the organisation. School excursions at Gould League's Recycling/Sustainability Education Centre in Moorabbin, Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary in Beaumaris and outreach in Melbourne Metro schools returned for 2010 and beyond. These popular programs cover

368-441: A capacity to grow , respond to stimuli , reproduce and, through natural selection , adapt to their environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can communicate through various means. An ecosystem (also called an environment) is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals, and micro-organisms ( biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( abiotic ) factors of

460-641: A decreased food supply for the wildlife in an area. The atmosphere of the Earth serves as a key factor in sustaining the planetary ecosystem. The thin layer of gases that envelops the Earth is held in place by the planet's gravity. Dry air consists of 78% nitrogen , 21% oxygen , 1% argon , inert gases and carbon dioxide . The remaining gases are often referred to as trace gases. The atmosphere includes greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Filtered air includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds . Air also contains

552-542: A disadvantage. The historical segregation has contributed to environmental injustice, as these neighborhoods suffer from hotter summers since urban asphalt absorbs more heat than trees and grass. The effects of spatial segregation initiatives in the built environment, such as redlining in the 1930s and 1940s, are long lasting. The inability to feasibly move from forcibly economically depressed areas into more prosperous ones creates fiscal disadvantages that are passed down generationally. With proper public education access tied to

644-410: A diverse population and income range. Agricultural production accounts for roughly 52% of U.S. land use. Not only does population growth cause an expansion of cities, it also necessitates more agriculture to accommodate the demand for food for an expanding population. "Built environment" as a term was coined in the 1980s, becoming widespread in the 1990s and places the concept in direct contrast to

736-399: A large role in how people can feasibly navigate their environment. This can result in the isolation of certain communities from various resources and from each other. The placement of roads, highways, and sidewalks also determines what access people have to jobs and childcare close to home, especially in areas where most people do not own vehicles. Walkability directly influences community, so

828-455: A mud hut or a photovoltaic system in the desert , the modified environment becomes an artificial one. Though many animals build things to provide a better environment for themselves, they are not human, hence beaver dams and the works of mound-building termites are thought of as natural. People cannot find absolutely natural environments on Earth,naturalness usually varies in a continuum, from 100% natural in one extreme to 0% natural in

920-454: A pond from many other aquatic terrain features, such as stream pools and tide pools . Humans impact the water in different ways such as modifying rivers (through dams and stream channelization ), urbanization and deforestation . These impact lake levels, groundwater conditions, water pollution, thermal pollution, and marine pollution . Humans modify rivers by using direct channel manipulation. We build dams and reservoirs and manipulate

1012-442: A preface by Mr. W. Fingigan, and an introductory article on Australian birds in general by Mr. A. Chisholm. Then followed six articles: The Lyrebird by Mr. M. Sharland; The Satinbird by Mr N. Chaffer; The Blue Wren’s by Mr. Cayley; The White-eared Honeyeater by Mr K. Hindwood; The Magpie by Mr. D. Leithhead and The Heath Wren by Mr. Chisholm.” Feathered Friends was illustrated with numerous photographs and full-page colour plates of

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1104-419: A proper active lifestyle. Public health research has expanded the list of concerns associated with the built environment to include healthy food access , community gardens , mental health , physical health , walkability , and cycling mobility . Designing areas of cities with good public health is linked to creating opportunities for physical activity, community involvement, and equal opportunity within

1196-400: A qualitative and quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of Earth. The Earth's crust or lithosphere , is the outermost solid surface of the planet and is chemically, physically and mechanically different from underlying mantle . It has been generated greatly by igneous processes in which magma cools and solidifies to form solid rock. Beneath the lithosphere lies

1288-430: A river is usually in a channel , made up of a stream bed between banks . In larger rivers there is often also a wider floodplain shaped by waters over-topping the channel. Flood plains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel. Rivers are a part of the hydrological cycle . Water within a river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff , groundwater recharge , springs and

1380-591: A shift is within the framework of the evolution of society. This shift caused the built aspect of these cities to grow and expand to meet the growing population needs. The pinnacle of city growth was during the Industrial Revolution due to the demand for jobs created by the rise in factories. Cities rapidly grew from the 1880s to the early 1900s within the United States. This demand led individuals to move from farms to cities which resulted in

1472-507: A variable amount of water vapor and suspensions of water droplets and ice crystals seen as clouds . Many natural substances may be present in tiny amounts in an unfiltered air sample, including dust , pollen and spores , sea spray , volcanic ash and meteoroids . Various industrial pollutants also may be present, such as chlorine (elementary or in compounds), fluorine compounds, elemental mercury , and sulphur compounds such as sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ). The ozone layer of

1564-713: Is That? was launched. Despite early doubts, What Bird? was a huge success. In 1960 it was rated the all-time best seller in Australian natural history books, and is still in print today. Initial sales were disappointing, and in February 1935 Cayley, perennially short of cash, offered to sell his remaining royalty share to the League for £300. With considerable misgivings, Council agreed. Sales took off during World War II, sparked interest from US servicemen in Australia, and

1656-436: Is a terrain feature , a body of water that is localized to the bottom of basin . A body of water is considered a lake when it is inland, is not part of an ocean and is larger and deeper than a pond . Natural lakes on Earth are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones and areas with ongoing or recent glaciation . Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of

1748-522: Is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30 to 38 ppt. Though generally recognized as several separate oceans, these waters comprise one global, interconnected body of salt water often referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean. The deep seabeds are more than half the Earth's surface, and are among the least-modified natural environments. The major oceanic divisions are defined in part by

1840-642: Is being upgraded and moved to a new site: Le Page Primary School in Cheltenham. In the late 1920s Neville Cayley, a member of the Council for some years, was occupied in writing and illustrating a comprehensive guide to Australian birds. In return for the Council’s sponsorship he assigned four tenths of his 10% royalty to the League. In 1931 at the 21st Bird Day celebration in the Assembly Hall, What Bird

1932-485: Is evidence to suggest that chronic disease can be reduced through healthy behaviors like a proper active lifestyle, good nutrition, and reduced exposure to toxins and pollutants. Yet, the built environment is not always designed to facilitate those healthy behaviors. Many urban environments, in particular suburbs, are automobile reliant, making it difficult or unreasonable to walk or bike to places. This condition not only adds to pollution, but can also make it hard to maintain

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2024-455: Is found in various kinds of natural body of water . An ocean is a major body of saline water and a component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth (an area of some 362 million square kilometers) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas . More than half of this area is over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity

2116-791: Is from the Old English wildeornes , which in turn derives from wildeor meaning wild beast (wild + deor = beast, deer). From this point of view, it is the wildness of a place that makes it a wilderness. The mere presence or activity of people does not disqualify an area from being "wilderness". Many ecosystems that are, or have been, inhabited or influenced by activities of people may still be considered "wild". This way of looking at wilderness includes areas within which natural processes operate without very noticeable human interference. Wildlife includes all non- domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over

2208-440: Is increasingly rare, wild nature (e.g., unmanaged forests , uncultivated grasslands , wildlife , wildflowers ) can be found in many locations previously inhabited by humans. Goals for the benefit of people and natural systems, commonly expressed by environmental scientists and environmentalists include: In some cultures the term environment is meaningless because there is no separation between people and what they view as

2300-610: Is only what is built, that the forests, oceans, wildlife, and other aspects of nature are their own entity. The term built environment encompasses a broad range of categories, all of which have potential impacts. When looking at these potential impacts, the environment, as well as people, are heavily affected. The built environment can heavily impact the public's health. Historically, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding within cities and urban environments have led to infectious diseases and other health threats. Dating back to Georges-Eugene Haussmann 's comprehensive plans for urban Paris in

2392-671: Is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. The atmosphere is a chaotic system , and small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout human history, and there is evidence that civilized human activity such as agriculture and industry has inadvertently modified weather patterns. Evidence suggests that life on Earth has existed for about 3.7 billion years. All known life forms share fundamental molecular mechanisms, and based on these observations, theories on

2484-430: Is the one originally developed by Wladimir Köppen . The Thornthwaite system , in use since 1948, uses evapotranspiration as well as temperature and precipitation information to study animal species diversity and the potential impacts of climate changes . Weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given atmospheric area at a given time . Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere , just below

2576-535: The Gazette . A copy was sent to every public school in Victoria, as well as every private school with a Gould League branch. The first issue ran to 24 pages, the next three to 40, and from 1939 there were always more than 50. From the beginning the pages were brightened by a coloured plate, supplied (with descriptive notes) by Neville Cayley for many years, and then by a succession of distinguished artists. Starting with 1938, League Notes featured extensive accounts of

2668-584: The Gould League of Bird Lovers , as it was then called, was devoted to bird protection, especially the prevention of bird egg theft, the promotion of interest in and knowledge of birds and to campaign for the formation of bird sanctuaries . Members would take a pledge to protect Australian birdlife and not to collect their eggs . One of the main sponsors was the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union . Alfred Deakin

2760-559: The brolga , to acknowledge the relationship with NSW Liverpool Plains Land Management Committee. In October 2012, Gould League initiated Toolangi State Forest excursions, with the endorsement of the Department of Sustainability and Environment after the closure of the Toolangi Forest Discovery Centre and Education Programs mid-2012. In mid-2016, Gould League's Genoa St Sustainability Education Centre

2852-775: The continents , various archipelagos and other criteria, these divisions are : (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean , the Atlantic Ocean , the Indian Ocean , the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean . A river is a natural watercourse , usually freshwater , flowing toward an ocean , a lake , a sea or another river. A few rivers simply flow into the ground and dry up completely without reaching another body of water. The water in

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2944-608: The cryosphere (corresponding to ice ) as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere, as well as the pedosphere (to soil ) as an active and intermixed sphere. Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geographical sciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth . There are four major disciplines in earth sciences, namely geography , geology , geophysics and geodesy . These major disciplines use physics , chemistry , biology , chronology and mathematics to build

3036-408: The mineralogic composition and the structure of its soil are similar to those of an undisturbed forest soil, but the structure is quite different. Earth science generally recognizes four spheres, the lithosphere , the hydrosphere , the atmosphere and the biosphere as correspondent to rocks , water , air and life respectively. Some scientists include as part of the spheres of the Earth,

3128-408: The mitigation of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes, on developing adaptative strategies to global warming, to assist humans, other animal, and plant species, ecosystems, regions and nations in adjusting to the effects of global warming . Some examples of recent collaboration to address climate change and global warming include: A significantly profound challenge is to identify

3220-421: The stratosphere . Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is understood to be the weather of Earth. Weather occurs due to density (temperature and moisture) differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to

3312-511: The 1850s, concern for lack of air-flow and sanitary living conditions has inspired many strong city planning efforts. During the 19th century in particular, the connection between the built environment and public health became more apparent as life expectancy decreased and diseases, as well as epidemics, increased. Today, the built environment can expose individuals to pollutants or toxins that cause chronic diseases like asthma , diabetes , and coronary vascular disease, along with many others. There

3404-518: The Earth's atmosphere plays an important role in reducing the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches the surface. As DNA is readily damaged by UV light, this serves to protect life at the surface. The atmosphere also retains heat during the night, thereby reducing the daily temperature extremes. Earth's atmosphere can be divided into five main layers. These layers are mainly determined by whether temperature increases or decreases with altitude. From highest to lowest, these layers are: Within

3496-415: The abiotic constituents of their biotope . A more significant number or variety of species or biological diversity of an ecosystem may contribute to greater resilience of an ecosystem because there are more species present at a location to respond to change and thus "absorb" or reduce its effects. This reduces the effect before the ecosystem's structure changes to a different state. This is not universally

3588-437: The assembly line production. With this new burst of personal transportation, new infrastructure was built to accommodate. Freeways were first built in 1956 to attempt to eliminate unsafe roads, traffic jams, and insufficient routes. The creation of freeways and interstate transportation systems opened up the possibility and ease of transportation outside a person's city. This allowed ease of travel not previously found and changed

3680-425: The biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization , metabolism , growth , adaptation , response to stimuli and reproduction . Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms . In biology , the science of living organisms, "life" is the condition which distinguishes active organisms from inorganic matter , including the capacity for growth, functional activity and

3772-418: The book turned out to be a lucrative investment. It was not until 1934 that the League undertook a publication of its own with the production of Gould League Songs and Poems . This took the form of an 80-page booklet: the main section of 14 pages featured 16 songs, the words mainly written about Australian birds and set to the music of well-known British folk songs. Twenty five pages of bird poems followed, and

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3864-408: The built environment is already prominent, it pushes the boundaries of said built environment into new areas. While there are other factors that influence the built environment, like advancements in architecture or agriculture, transportation allowed for the spread and expansion of the built environment. Agriculture, the cultivation of soil to grow crops and animals to provide food as well as products,

3956-429: The built environment is typically used to describe the interdisciplinary field that encompasses the design, construction, management, and use of human-made physical influence as an interrelated whole. The concept also includes the relationship of these elements of the built environment with human activities over time—rather than a particular element in isolation or at a single moment in time, these aspects act together via

4048-504: The built environment often highlights the connection between physical space and social consequences. It impacts the environment and how society physically maneuvers and functions, as well as less tangible aspects of society such as socioeconomic inequity and health. Various aspects of the built environment contribute to scholarship on housing and segregation , physical activity, food access, climate change , and environmental racism . There are multiple different components that make up

4140-403: The built environment. Below are some prominent examples of what makes up the urban fabric: Buildings are used for a multitude of purposes: residential, commercial, community, institutional, and governmental. Building interiors are often designed to mediate external factors and provide space to conduct activities, whether that is to sleep, eat, work, etc. The structure of the building helps define

4232-411: The built environment. Urban forms that encourage physical activity and provide adequate public resources for involvement and upward mobility are proven to have far healthier populations than those that discourage such uses of the built environment. Features in the built environment present physical barriers which constitute the boundaries between neighborhoods . Roads and railways , for instance, play

4324-407: The case and there is no proven relationship between the species diversity of an ecosystem and its ability to provide goods and services on a sustainable level. The term ecosystem can also pertain to human-made environments, such as human ecosystems and human-influenced ecosystems. It can describe any situation where there is relationship between living organisms and their environment. Fewer areas on

4416-425: The continual change preceding death. A diverse variety of living organisms (life forms) can be found in the biosphere on Earth, and properties common to these organisms—plants, animals , fungi , protists , archaea , and bacteria —are a carbon - and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information. Living organisms undergo metabolism , maintain homeostasis , possess

4508-624: The direction of the rivers and water path. Dams can usefully create reservoirs and hydroelectric power. However, reservoirs and dams may negatively impact the environment and wildlife. Dams stop fish migration and the movement of organisms downstream. Urbanization affects the environment because of deforestation and changing lake levels, groundwater conditions, etc. Deforestation and urbanization go hand in hand. Deforestation may cause flooding, declining stream flow and changes in riverside vegetation. The changing vegetation occurs because when trees cannot get adequate water they start to deteriorate, leading to

4600-455: The economic prosperity of a neighborhood, many formerly redlined areas continue to lack educational opportunities for residents and, thus, job and higher-income opportunities are limited. The built environment has a multitude of impacts on the planet, some of the most prominent effects are greenhouse gas emissions and Urban Heat Island Effect. The built environment expands along with factors like population and consumption which directly impact

4692-409: The environment. Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms are continually engaged in a highly interrelated set of relationships with every other element constituting the environment in which they exist. Eugene Odum , one of the founders of the science of ecology , stated: "Any unit that includes all of the organisms (i.e.: the "community") in a given area interacting with

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4784-482: The extinction of natural habitats, which in turn leads to a reduction in wildlife population. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the group of the leading climate scientists in the world) concluded that the earth will warm anywhere from 2.7 to almost 11 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 to 6 degrees Celsius) between 1990 and 2100. Efforts have been increasingly focused on

4876-416: The fabric of the built environment. New streets were being built within cities to accommodate cars as they became increasingly popular, railway lines were being built to connect areas not previously connected, for both public transportation as well as goods transportation. With these changes, the scope of a city began to expand outside its borders. The widespread use of cars and public transportation allowed for

4968-586: The five principal layers determined by temperature there are several layers determined by other properties. The dangers of global warming are being increasingly studied by a wide global consortium of scientists. These scientists are increasingly concerned about the potential long-term effects of global warming on our natural environment and on the planet. Of particular concern is how climate change and global warming caused by anthropogenic , or human-made releases of greenhouse gases , most notably carbon dioxide , can act interactively and have adverse effects upon

5060-419: The forests and wild-life parks that are held on a pedestal and are seemingly natural are in reality curated and allowed to exist for the enjoyment of the human experience. The planet has been irrevocably changed by human interaction. Wildlife has been hunted, harvested, brought to the brink of extinction, modified to fit human needs, the list goes on. This argument juxtaposes the argument that the built environment

5152-471: The idea that the built environment not only refers to that which is built, arranged, or curated, but also to what is managed, controlled, or allowed to continue. What is referred to as "nature" today can be seen as only a commodity that is placed into an environment that is constructed to fulfill the human will and desire. This commodity allows humans to enjoy the view and experience of nature without it inconveniencing their day-to-day life. It can be argued that

5244-430: The implementation of suburbs; the working individual was able to commute long distances to work everyday. Suburbs blurred the line of city "borders", the day-to-day life that may have originally been relegated to a pedestrian radius now encompassed a wide range of distances due to the use of cars and public transportation. This increased accessibility allowed for the continued expansion of the built environment. Currently,

5336-437: The important sustainability themes of waste minimisation (recycling and composting), biodiversity, marine ecology and water conservation. Bookings for programs can be made online or by phoning the Gould League office. Gould League publications are available via an online bookstore, and hundreds of Australian's renew their annual membership to the organisation. Membership badges have become collectors items. The 2012 badge features

5428-553: The industrial revolution was the City Beautiful movement . The City Beautiful movement emerged in the 1890s as a result of the disorder and unhealthy living conditions within industrial cities. The movement promoted improved circulation, civic centers, better sanitation, and public spaces. With these improvements, the goal was to improve the quality of life for those living in them, as well as make them more profitable. The City Beautiful movement, while declined in popularity over

5520-415: The mantle which is heated by the decay of radioactive elements . The mantle though solid is in a state of rheic convection . This convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics . Volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material or of rising mantle at mid-ocean ridges and mantle plumes . Most water

5612-441: The most recent Bird Camp. Ecology: Environmentalism: People: Natural environment In contrast to the natural environment is the built environment . Built environments are where humans have fundamentally transformed landscapes such as urban settings and agricultural land conversion , the natural environment is greatly changed into a simplified human environment. Even acts which seem less extreme, such as building

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5704-455: The multiplier effect. The field today draws upon areas such as economics , law, public policy , sociology , anthropology , public health, management , geography , design, engineering, technology, and environmental sustainability to create a large umbrella that is the built environment. There are some in modern academia who look at the built environment as all-encompassing, that there is no natural environment left. This argument comes from

5796-410: The natural environmental dynamics in contrast to environmental changes not within natural variances. A common solution is to adapt a static view neglecting natural variances to exist. Methodologically, this view could be defended when looking at processes which change slowly and short time series, while the problem arrives when fast processes turns essential in the object of the study. Climate looks at

5888-467: The natural world, or their surroundings. Specifically in the United States and Arabian countries many native cultures do not recognize the "environment", or see themselves as environmentalists. Built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture , landscape architecture , urban planning , public health , sociology , and anthropology , among others. These curated spaces provide

5980-422: The need to expand city infrastructure and created a boom in population size. This rapid growth in population in cities led to issues of noise, sanitation, health problems, traffic jams, pollution, compact living quarters, etc. In response to these issues, mass transit, trolleys, cable cars, and subways, were built and prioritized in an effort to improve the quality of the built environment. An example of this during

6072-409: The origin of life attempt to find a mechanism explaining the formation of a primordial single cell organism from which all life originates. There are many different hypotheses regarding the path that might have been taken from simple organic molecules via pre-cellular life to protocells and metabolism. Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that

6164-506: The other. The massive environmental changes of humanity in the Anthropocene have fundamentally effected all natural environments including: climate change , biodiversity loss and pollution from plastic and other chemicals in the air and water . More precisely, we can consider the different aspects or components of an environment, and see that their degree of naturalness is not uniform. If, for instance, in an agricultural field,

6256-652: The output of greenhouse gases. As cities and urban areas grow, the need for transportation and structures grows as well. In 2006, transportation accounted for 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Building's design, location, orientation, and construction process heavily influence greenhouse gas emissions. Commercial, industrial, and residential buildings account for roughly 43% of U.S. CO 2 emissions in energy usage. In 2005, agricultural land use accounted for 10–12% of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Urban heat islands are pockets of higher temperature areas, typically within cities, that effect

6348-501: The people who live and work there. George Galster and Patrick Sharkey refer to this variation in geographic context as "spatial opportunity structure", and claim that the built environment influences socioeconomic outcomes and general welfare. For instance, the history of redlining and housing segregation means that there is less green space in many Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Access to parks and green space has been proven to be good for mental health which puts these communities at

6440-438: The physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and material cycles (i.e.: exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts) within the system is an ecosystem." The human ecosystem concept is then grounded in the deconstruction of the human/nature dichotomy , and the emergent premise that all species are ecologically integrated with each other, as well as with

6532-400: The planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, rain forests, plains, and other areas—including the most developed urban sites—all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by civilized human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around

6624-415: The planet, its natural environment and humans' existence. It is clear the planet is warming, and warming rapidly. This is due to the greenhouse effect , which is caused by greenhouse gases, which trap heat inside the Earth's atmosphere because of their more complex molecular structure which allows them to vibrate and in turn trap heat and release it back towards the Earth. This warming is also responsible for

6716-443: The release of water stored in glaciers and snowpacks. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including stream , creek and brook. Their current is confined within a bed and stream banks . Streams play an important corridor role in connecting fragmented habitats and thus in conserving biodiversity . The study of streams and waterways in general is known as surface hydrology . A lake (from Latin lacus )

6808-457: The rest was given over to articles about birds and Gould League matters. The book is plentifully illustrated with photographs and two colour plates of paintings by Neville W. Cayley (fantails and whistlers). Songs & Poems was reprinted in 1965, but on inferior paper and without the colour plates. In June 1935 the Council agreed to another publication, called Feathered Friends . It consisted of “a Foreword by The President, Mr. Ross Thomas;

6900-452: The setting for human activity and were created to fulfill human desires and needs. The term can refer to a plethora of components including the traditionally associated buildings, cities , public infrastructure, transportation , open space, as well as more conceptual components like farmlands , dammed rivers, wildlife management , and even domesticated animals . The built environment is made up of physical features. However, when studied,

6992-636: The six birds, painted by Neville Cayley. The originals are now in the National Library in Canberra. The book was published by Angus and Robertson in September 1935, and copies given to every public school in NSW. In the same year, 1935, the League commenced publication of Gould League Notes , a magazine that appeared annually until 1967, following the general pattern set by the earlier Supplements to

7084-414: The space around it, giving form to how individuals move through the space around the building. Public infrastructure covers a variety of things like roads, highways, pedestrian circulation, public transportation, and parks. Roads and highways are an important feature of the built environment that enable vehicles to access a wide range of urban and non urban spaces. They are often compared to veins within

7176-495: The statistics of temperature , humidity , atmospheric pressure , wind , rainfall , atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Weather , on the other hand, is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks. Climates can be classified according to the average and typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme

7268-434: The sun angle at any particular spot, which varies by latitude from the tropics. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the jet stream . Weather systems in the mid-latitudes , such as extratropical cyclones , are caused by instabilities of the jet stream flow. Because the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of

7360-406: The supposedly "unbuilt" environment. The term describes a wide range of fields that form an interdisciplinary concept that has been accepted as an idea since classical antiquity and potentially before. Through the study of anthropology , the progression of the built environment into what it is today has been able to be examined. When people are able to travel outside of urban centers and areas where

7452-775: The surface of the earth today exist free from human contact, although some genuine wilderness areas continue to exist without any forms of human intervention. Global biogeochemical cycles are critical to life, most notably those of water , oxygen , carbon , nitrogen and phosphorus . Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. The WILD Foundation goes into more detail, defining wilderness as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet – those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with roads, pipelines or other industrial infrastructure." Wilderness areas and protected parks are considered important for

7544-420: The survival of certain species , ecological studies, conservation , solitude, and recreation . Wilderness is deeply valued for cultural, spiritual, moral , and aesthetic reasons. Some nature writers believe wilderness areas are vital for the human spirit and creativity. The word, "wilderness", derives from the notion of wildness ; in other words that which is not controllable by humans. The word etymology

7636-548: The teaching of Environmental Education in schools, publishing classroom material and establishing field studies centres, initially in New South Wales . During the 1990s there was a shift of emphasis to "Education for Sustainability ". For example, the 1990 formation of the first Recycling Education Centre in Australia by the Gould League of Victoria and the Waste Wise Schools program significantly reduced

7728-462: The waste to landfill produced by schools. The Gould League located in Moorabbin, Victoria changed its name from Gould League to Gould Group Ltd. in 2006. In August 2008, Gould Group had been under voluntary administration. This was attributed to many factors, primarily being lack of funding for projects. The loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding from Sustainability Victoria caused major problems. In good news though, administrators found

7820-403: The way a neighborhood is built affects the outcomes and opportunities of the community that lives there. Even less physically imposing features, such as architectural design , can distinguish the boundaries between communities and decrease movement across neighborhood lines. The segregation of communities is significant because the qualities of any given space directly impact the wellbeing of

7912-411: The world is (now) impacted by human activities. It is the common understanding of natural environment that underlies environmentalism — a broad political , social and philosophical movement that advocates various actions and policies in the interest of protecting what nature remains in the natural environment, or restoring or expanding the role of nature in this environment. While true wilderness

8004-826: The world, there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last ice age . All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. A pond is a body of standing water , either natural or human-made, that is usually smaller than a lake . A wide variety of human-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens designed for aesthetic ornamentation, fish ponds designed for commercial fish breeding and solar ponds designed to store thermal energy. Ponds and lakes are distinguished from streams by their current speed . While currents in streams are easily observed, ponds and lakes possess thermally driven micro-currents and moderate wind-driven currents. These features distinguish

8096-465: The year. On the Earth's surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C (100 °F to −40 °F) annually. Over thousands of years, changes in the Earth's orbit have affected the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth and influenced long-term climate. Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes due to differences in compressional heating. Weather forecasting

8188-426: The years, provided a range of urban reforms. The movement highlighted city planning, civic education, public transportation, and municipal housekeeping. The invention of cars, as well as train usage, became more accessible to the general masses due to the advancements in the steel, chemicals, and fuel generated production. In the 1920s, cars became more accessible to the general public due to Henry Ford's advances in

8280-735: Was fertile and good for agricultural use. In these early communities, a priority was to ensure basic needs were being met. The built environment, while not as extensive as it is today, was beginning to be cultivated with the implementation of buildings, paths, farm land, domestication of animals and plants, etc. Over the next several thousand years, these smaller cities and villages grew into larger ones where trade, culture, education, and economics were driving factors. As cities began to grow, they needed to accommodate more people, as well as shifted from focusing on meeting survival needs to prioritizing comfort and desires – there are still many individuals today who do not have their basic needs met and this idea of

8372-505: Was first developed about 12,000 years ago. This switch, also called the Neolithic Revolution , was the beginning of favoring permanent settlements and altering the land to grow crops and farm animals. This can be thought of as the start of the built environment, the first attempt to make permanent changes to the surrounding environment for human needs. The first appearance of cities was around 7500 BCE, dotted along where land

8464-416: Was the first Gould League president. The League had considerable success during this period, particularly in education. Activities included field days for the public to be introduced to birdlife, and publishing educational material. After the 1960s the League focused on more general environmental education, and the name "Gould League" was adopted, without specific reference to birds. The Gould Leagues promoted

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