Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vocational School of Health Services Head of Environmental Health Program Lecturer İnci Karakaş made assessments about the artificial environment created by humans and the natural environment. Karakaş shared her recommendations for protecting the natural environment.
What should be done to protect the natural environment
As the human population increases and development continues, the natural environment also undergoes change. Experts emphasize that rapid population growth, increasing industrialization, and urbanization cause artificial environments to lead to damages such as air pollution, deforestation, and desertification, stating that the natural environment must be protected to avoid such negative impacts. Experts point out that global warming can be reduced by using bicycles more instead of cars, and the natural environment can be protected by reducing water consumption and plastic use.
Most of the population lives in an artificial environment
Lecturer İnci Karakaş, stating that the natural environment refers to the non-human-made environment and conditions where all living and non-living beings on Earth exist, said, "The concept of natural environment refers to natural systems without human impact, including animals, microorganisms, soil, rocks, the atmosphere, and natural events occurring within their boundaries. The artificial environment, on the other hand, encompasses all values and assets created by human hands, utilizing the natural environment throughout the development process from the beginning of humanity to the present day. We can say that the artificial environment, which includes roads, hospitals, dams, fields, schools, bridges, houses, factories, airports, ports, greenhouses, and ponds, is generally created due to needs. The vast majority of the human population also lives in artificial environments and cities."
Natural environment harbors many living species
Lecturer İnci Karakaş shared the differences between the natural environment and the artificial environment as follows:
"There is no human impact in the natural environment, but we can say that the artificial environment is created by humans. While natural entities are found in the natural environment, artificial entities are encountered more frequently than natural ones in the artificial environment. This also means that many more species live in the natural environment compared to the artificial environment. The formation of the natural environment takes many years, but the artificial environment can be formed in a short time."
Artificial environment harms the natural environment
Karakaş underlined that as humanity increases its population and continues to develop, it rapidly changes the natural environment with its effects, stating, "Due to rapid population growth, increasing industrialization, and urbanization, we can talk about the harms of the artificial environment such as climate change, difficulty in accessing clean water, air pollution, increase in hazardous waste, deforestation, and desertification. The natural environment must be protected to avoid such negative impacts."
Bicycles instead of cars
Emphasizing that natural resources such as air, water, and soil should be used efficiently and that it should not be forgotten that these resources are not infinite, Head of Environmental Health Program İnci Karakaş stated, "When looking at individual measures that can be taken to reduce air pollution, choosing bicycles instead of cars results in less carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Thus, global warming can be reduced, and public health can be protected."
Natural environment can be protected with these measures
Karakaş pointed out that the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture significantly increases soil pollution, stating, "With less use of harmful chemicals, it is possible to protect both health and the environment from long-term negative effects. By reducing the amount of water consumed, wastewater can be reduced while water resources are also protected. By reducing plastic use and preferring reusable products instead of single-use items, soil pollution can be prevented to a certain extent, and negative effects on health are limited. The exposure of living beings in the natural environment to risk due to plastics left in nature can also be prevented."