The Dynamic Tension of Human-Nature Relations

Environmental issues refer to, changes in environmental quality caused by human activities impacting the surrounding environment, and the resulting impacts on human production, daily life, and health. We must recognize that the environment is not a static backdrop, but a dynamic system evolving alongside human society.

Dual Classification of Environmental Issues

• Primary Environmental Issues(First Environment Issue): Quality changes caused by natural evolution and natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions).
• Secondary Environmental Issues(Second Environment Issue): Caused by human activities, further categorized into:
  • Environmental Pollution: Emission of substances or energy exceeding the environment's self-purification capacity (e.g., water pollution, air pollution).
  • Environmental Degradation: Leading to ecological imbalance (e.g., deforestation, species extinction).

As Engels said: 'For every victory man achieves over nature, nature takes revenge.' Primary and secondary issues are often intertwined—human misconduct frequently triggers natural disasters into larger-scale human-caused crises.