Geography in our life
Geography is the most ancient branch of knowledge. Its roots go back many centuries, much more than, for example, physics, chemistry, biology and other sciences.
Geography today is an understanding of the interrelationships between natural and social processes and phenomena, and the ability to predict them. At modern geographical researches on for a long time known territories scientists make set of new, sometimes amazing opening. However, this is not the discovery of new objects, but the discovery of geographical patterns in nature and in society.
Geography studies objects, processes and phenomena that exist on Earth. Geographical objects are very diverse, they can be divided into natural (mountains and plains, seas and rivers) and man-made (cities and plants, power stations and irrigation canals). In the nature and life of people, the role of geographic phenomena (events) and processes (changes in time) that occur around us day by day is also great. Many geographical phenomena are devastating: volcanoes and earthquakes, floods and sea waves, thunderstorms and hurricanes. Geographers characterize their origin and destructive power.
Geographic sciences have always had a practical purpose. In the past, they supplied society mainly with background information. Now the practical role of geography is determined primarily by its participation in solving problems of interaction between nature and society. The aggravation of these problems proves once again that geographic research must have a preliminary character. Precedence of comprehensive geographic studies for the development and approval of any projects is particularly important when human intervention in nature can have planetary consequences.
The ecological problem cannot be solved without the participation of scientists from the whole complex of geographical sciences. And since this problem is closely connected with other global problems of mankind, the geography rises to a qualitatively new level. The constructive geography comes first, the task of which is not only to analyze the consequences of interference in nature, but also to predict them.
Man, exploring his native planet, reveals for himself all the new horizons of knowledge. Wells drilled into the depths of the earth’s interior, opened only a small part of the underground storehouses. At the bottom of the seas and oceans, deep-sea descend vehicles exploring the ocean floor and a unique underwater world. The ice of Antarctica hides from the eyes of scientists unique lakes. Every year in the impenetrable forests of the Amazon, scientists discover new species of animals and plants. Geographers around the world are joining their studies because of the threat of climate warming and environmental pollution. The main tasks of temporal geography are to know, cherish and multiply the riches of our planet in order to pass them on to future generations.