Interaction between Man and the Natural Environment: A Major Factor of the Existence of Civilization On the Results of the Year of Ecology in Russia

Abstract

The history of humans as a biological species is tightly connected with the geological evolution of the Earth, the development of the biosphere, and the consumption of its resources. Life-supporting resources, which the biosphere produces “free of charge,” and the attitude of Homo sapiens to them constitute the main factor of human existence, determining the mode of our society. Modern approaches to the interaction between man and the natural environment, as well as conditions leading to the biosphere’s degradation, are discussed. Among the global factors that affect the state of the biosphere, the authors identify the following: the uncontrollable growth of the planet’s population, anthropization, climate change and the increased frequency of catastrophic natural and natural–anthropogenic phenomena, and changes in the human gene pool. All these factors are considered in the strategy of the sustainable development of modern society. Alternatives of implementing the sustainable development concept are considered in the article, including the idea of the noosphere, a fundamentally new approach to interaction between man and nature.