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What Is Environment, What's In It, And How Does It Affect Me?
Some examples of things we find living in the environment are other humans, plants, animals, and even microscopic living things like bacteria and fungus. What is environment when it comes to examples of non-living things? In our environment, some examples of these are the landscape, such as in mountains, valleys, deserts, forests, savannas, and tundra. The air we breathe is also considered part of our environment. Water is plentiful in our environment, and it takes many different forms we are familiar with. Usually when water is mentioned , it is usually referring to either our landscape, our weather, or something that we drink to stay alive. But either way, it is the same H2O that does it all! For example, think of the different pictures these forms of water in our environment bring to mind in it's three states of solid, liquid, and gas: steam, geysers, clouds, puddles, pools, waterfalls, fountains, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, bays, seas, and oceans. Think of glaciers, ice caps, and snowflakes. What is environment as it relates to water? Think of water in these ways as they relate to what is environment and weather - that is, water coming through the atmosphere towards the earth in a way that affects us : snow, hail, ice, sleet, torrents, and floods. No doubt you can come up with a few that I forgot! All are various ways of looking at water, which is the most plentiful, varied, and necessary substance in our environment. What is environment as it relates to water? Much depends on the context and temperature of the water! There is another way of looking at these components as they relate to our health. We are living in the environment and as a result it affects our health. The elements of knowing what is environment as it relates to our health are our food, air, and water. Let's learn a little bit about environmental facts: three very important elements of our environment, and what impact these have on our health.
What Is Environment : Our FoodWhat is environment as it relates to our food? We depend on food in our natural environment to sustain us in our life. For a discussion on the nutritive value of our food, and the role that it plays in nutrition, click
here.
While some food may be eaten raw, most food is processed and prepared in some way. This may involve washing, cutting, adding spices, mixing, or cooking in some way. We eat food, not just to give us nutrition and energy, but also because it is enjoyable. We were created with the ability to take in a variety of foods, and enjoy them all in abundant variety. The food in our environment could be very bland or plain, but it is colorful and tasty, and the flavors of salt, sweet, bitter, and sour are all combined in an endless variety to satisfy our taste buds. Many foods can be found in all colors of the rainbow, and each food has a distinctive smell that we can instantly recognize. The smell actually combines with the flavor to create a unique sensation in our mouths. 
Who doesn't recognize the fragrance of hot crispy, chewy pepperoni pizza, or the tantalizingly sweet chocolate-y aroma of a freshly baked ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie? There are also food textures that we enjoy- chewy, crispy, greasy, crunchy, you name it, these descriptions probably bring tasty food to our minds. Do you have a favorite? No doubt it is a combination of color, flavor, aroma and texture that you enjoy the most!
Much has changed in the way food is grown, obtained, processed, transported, and consumed in our environment today. With modern technology and industrialization, much of the food that is obtained currently has been grown or raised commercially before it reaches your table. As a result, you may be in the United States, and find in your local supermarket foods from a foreign environment - like tomatoes from Mexico, coffee from Columbia, apricots from Turkey and cashews from India. There are many concerns today about the quality of the food in our environment as a result. Modern processing and transporting, along with the nutrient-deprived soil the food is grown in, has led to food for many of us that has been treated with a dangerous list of
environmental toxins
that can have the opposite affect on our health than was intended. This has contributed to environment pollution and impacts our environmental health. What Is Environment : Our AirWhat is environment as it relates to the air around us? The air in our natural environment around us seems so simple, you can't even see it. We take it for granted every second of the day. It's probably been a while since you thought, I should take a breath now if I want to keep living! We breathe in an out all day long without even thinking about it. Sometimes referred to as our atmosphere, the air is made up of life-sustaining gases like Oxygen and Nitrogen. These gases are held close to the earth by the powerful force of gravity. While air is as necessary as the breath you just took to sustain life, it can also be a double edged sword. Air can kill you if it is too hot, too cold; too dry or too humid. Relative humidity in the air relates to the water vapor content of the air, and is usually less than 10%, but in some climates can reach over 90% humidity. This can drastically affect the way air feels to us. Generally, the more humid the air in the summertime, the hotter it feels. In extreme cases, a person who is overexposed to this type of heat in their environment without proper hydration can succumb in time to heat exhaustion, or even coma or death. We learned this firsthand when we moved out to Phoenix from New York, and Nate my husband got heat exhaustion his first month here. He recovered, but was weak for a long time after that. Living in the environment can be a challenging job at times! In the wintertime, the movement of air at certain speeds also affects how cold the air feels to us as humans. This is called the wind chill factor, and if it goes low enough, can cause frostbite or in severe cases, if a person is exposed too long, they may even lose limbs or freeze to death. 
But at the same time, when winds reach high levels, the devastation that can result from a hurricane or tornado can be very destructive. We are familiar with Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia a few years ago. When combined with water, the wind can compound the devastation. The environmental pollution can also have a damaging affect on our health. In some cases, if the exposure is severe and concentrated enough, this has had severe health consequences for many. Environmental toxicology is a field of medicine that studies the impact of environment pollution on your health. You can learn about a natural way to remove toxins from your body
here.
What is Environment : Our Water
What is environment as it relates to our water? Water is another substance in our environment that is very often taken for granted. Made up of Hydrogen and Oxygen, it is the fluid of life. We are mostly water, and so it makes sense that we need to consume it frequently throughout the day for good health. Our bodies need large amount of water for all of it's necessary processes, including the digestion of food, nutrient absorption, and waste removal. About 20% of our water intake comes through our food, and the rest through beverages that contain water. We lose water to our environment through our waste, sweating, and water vapor in our breath. If we are active or exposed to extremes in temperature, such as in the hot Arizona desert where we live, we may need extra fluids to stay hydrated. Water is more important to us than food, and we cannot survive very long without it. 
When we arrived here in the desert a few years ago, we learned right away to never go outside with a bottle of fresh cold water in our hands! Water is also necessary in our environment to grow our food, to sustain animals in their habitats, and to nourish plant life all around us. Water truly is a beautifully designed substance, and it's multi-faceted role in our environment is fascinating to consider. Unfortunately, a number of factors have threatened our supply for fresh water all over the earth. Due to changes in the environment, our sources of fresh water are being threatened as never before.
Another concern is the prevalence of harmful chemicals in our drinking water today. Environment pollution has affect our water supply too. These harmful chemicals are taken in when we drink contaminated water, and these end up as toxins in the human body. A number of these toxins were not even known just 100 years ago, so their effect on our long-term health is the subject of much research.
In conclusion, what is environment? Environmental facts are that it is an Intelligently Designed gift from our Creator, one that is beautiful to behold and enjoy. Whether it be our food, air, or water, our environment serves it's purpose of preserving our life each and every day. Knowing what is environment, along with exercising caution with all three factors will protect us. This will ensure that we protect our environmental health, and gain the most benefit with the least amount of harm so that we are protected and remain strong and healthy as a human race. Our future depends on it!
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It has been said that the next large scale war will not be fought over oil, it will be fought over water. Currently, fresh bottled drinking water costs more per ounce than oil , so it is becoming more precious every day. And you absolutely cannot live without it!
