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The natural environment comprises all living and non-living things that occur Naturally on Earth . In its purest sense, it is thus an environment that is not the result of Human activity or intervention. The natural environment may be contrasted to "the built environment." Terminology For some, there is a difficulty with the term "natural environment" in that nearly all environments have been directly or indirectly influenced by humans at some point in time. In order to address this concern, some level of human influence is thus allowable without the status of any particular Landscape ceasing to be "natural." The term's meaning, however, is usually dependent more on context than a set definition. Many natural environments are the product of the interaction between nature and humans. For this reason, the term Ecosystem has been used to describe an environment that contains nature, and includes people. It follows then that environmental problems are human or Social problems. Some also consider it dangerously misleading to regard "environment" as separate from "people." Challenges 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 Wilderness is increasingly rare, ''wild'' nature (e.g., unmanaged Forests , uncultivated Grasslands , Wildlife , Wildflower s) can be found in many locations previously inhabited by humans. Goals commonly expressed by the , with future goals of zero pollution; reducing societal consumption of Non-renewable Fuels , development of alternative, green, low carbon or Renewable Energy sources; Conservation and Sustainable Use of scarce resources such as Water , land and air; protection of representative or unique or pristine Ecosystem s; preservation and expansion of threatened or Endangered Species or ecosystems from extinction; the establishment of Nature and biosphere reserves under various types of protection, and, most generally, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems upon which all human and other life on earth depends. More recently, there has been a strong concern about Climatic Changes caused by anthroprogenic releases of greenhouse gases, most notably Carbon Dioxide , and their interactions with human uses and the natural environment. Efforts here have focused on the mitigition of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes (i.e., through the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol ), and on developing adaptative strategies to assist species, ecosystems, humans, regions and nations in adjusting to these climatic changes. See also
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