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our common home

planet earth

Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life.

In it lived their lives everyone you love – everyone you know – every human being who ever was.

Carl Sagan

the different names for mother earth

Earth is the only planet not named after a Greek or Roman deity, yet it is known in different ways in different countries and cultures.

To refer to the planet that gives us life, we use different words depending on the places and cultures of the world; However, despite their differences, most of these names come from the Anglo-Saxon word “erda” which means earth or soil and from the Latin “Terra” Indo-European term which means “dry part as opposed to the part with water”.

The Mother Goddess, or Great Goddess, is a composite of various female deities from past and present world cultures.

Sometimes she is associated with the full moon-stars-sea and is identified as a Triple Goddess: Maiden-Mother-Witch.

The name of the planet Earth in different languages ​​and cultures…

AardeAfricans, Dutch
ArdhiSwahili
ArtMaltese
Akna, Kab’an, Ruchich’och’Mayan
BalamilTzotzil
BumiMalasio, Sudanés
DelkiiMongolian
DdaerWelsh
DheuAlbanian
DhulkaSomali
EarthEnglish
ErdeGerman
ErsaGreek
IlaSanskrit
KawíTarahumara
Lur (o Lurra)Euskera
MaataFinnish
ParhakpiniTarasco
Papatuanku, WhenuaMaori of New Zealand
TalamhIrish, Scottish
TateiyuriankaHuichol culture
TerraCalatan, Italian, Latin, Portuguese
TerreFrench
ToprakTurkish
ZemSlovako
ZemljaSlovenian
ZiemiaPolish

Just like the names, also the images and stories related to Mother Earth are endless.

creative mother for the lepchas of sikkim in india

bunoo

goddess of Greek mythology credited with creating the Earth

gaia

another name for gaia - goddess of greek mythology

gea

name given by the Wixarika of Mexico which means old woman, wife or grandmother and means soil, roots or origin

máttaráhkká

grandmother or daughter of the moon - North American Indians
nokomis
goddess of fertility, crops and spirit of the Earth according to Inca mythology "pacha" means universe, world, time, place

pachamama

the mother of the Earth for the natives of Hawaii who is the protagonist in their myth of creation

papa

Mother Earth in Nahuatl that represents the woman-nature connection and is based on the main elements: water, earth, wind and fire

tlalli nantli

Planet Earth, our common home, is found within a solar system made up of 8 planets and several satellites. This system, in turn, is part of a galaxy called the Milky Way. The Earth is one of the many celestial bodies found in the universe.

The Earth is a terrestrial and living planet, that is, it is made up of rocks, but it is also an ocean-planet, since more than 70% of its surface is water. The Earth is the only planet in our solar system that we know has the necessary conditions for life to exist, which, ironically, it seems that as human beings we forget when it comes to its care and protection.

Our house, the planet Earth within the solar system

Basic data:

  • Most of its surface is water
  • It is the third planet farthest from the sun
  • It takes 365.25 days to go around (or orbit) the sun
  • La vida conocida se desarrolla en los tres ambientes principales, Aire, Agua y Tierra
  • It has a radius of about 6,371 kilometers
  • It is the fifth largest planet in our solar system
  • It is the only one known for sure to have liquid water on its surface.
  • It is the only place in the known universe where life has been confirmed to exist.
  • In the ozone layer there is a value of 2-8 particles per million and if this layer were compressed to the pressure at sea level, it would have a thickness of only 3 mm. The amount of ozone is measured in Dobson units.
  • Ozonosphere: Ozone (O3) is formed in the stratosphere due to the interaction of solar photons of ultraviolet light with gaseous oxygen (O2) molecules, which splits them into oxygen atoms and then these combine with oxygen molecules. that still remain undissociated, to form ozone molecules

Enlaces para accionar y explorar más:

Earth Day

Date on which Earth Day begins to be celebrated with the aim of creating awareness of the need to protect and restore ecosystems since they support all forms of life on Earth.

22 abril 1970

Keep or take care of something for our enjoyment and for the benefit of future generations

conservation

Before this date, in many countries large amounts of leaded gasoline were consumed massively by automobiles. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. The governments and the majority of the inhabitants were unaware of the damage of the great threat that is a polluted environment.

Earth Day 1970 would come to give voice to this emerging environmental awareness and bring environmental concerns to the fore.

Inspired by the student antiwar movement, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student antiwar protests with public awareness of air and water pollution. It began with teaching on college campuses.

Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans (at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States) to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development that had left a growing legacy of negative impacts on the Human health. In the same year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was created and other environmental laws were passed.

In 1990 Earth Day went global, with the active participation of 200 million people from 141 countries. A major boost was given to recycling efforts around the world at this stage.

By 2000, 184 countries and hundreds of millions of people had joined, harnessing the power of the Internet to organize activists around the world.

Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the world’s largest celebration, with more than a billion people involved, in one way or another, each year. This celebration is a day of action to raise awareness and change human behavior and create change in global, national and local policies urgently. Due to the low level of ambition that followed the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 and fed up with international environmental disinterest, the citizens of the world are rising up to demand much greater action for the planet and its people.

Is just celebrating Earth Day enough?
How long can we continue our current lifestyle?
Is there a deadline?

date on which humanity will have consumed the resources and services that the planet can regenerate in one year

earth overshoot day

Earth Overshoot Day has been celebrated since 1987, although it has been identified since 1970. This date marks the day of the year on which the amount of resources available for that year is used or consumed in relation to what the planet is capable of. to produce (or restore).

It was the initiative of Andrew Simms, a member of the New Economics Foundation organization from the United Kingdom.

It is calculated by the Global Footprint Network.

metric that calculates the emissions of gases into the atmosphere that is measured in CO2 - applies to all types of gases emitted by people, animals, industry, events, etc.

carbon footprint

It is wwwhai to live with purpose in a healthy and sustainable way

parts of the atmosphere

Within the Stratosphere (or Stratosphere), there is a layer that we call the ozonosphere (or ozone layer). It extends approximately between 10 and 50 km. In it the percentage of ozone is the highest, (with 90% of the total ozone in the atmosphere). The maximum concentration is approximately between 20 and 25 km. It is in this layer where 97% to 99% of the high-frequency ultraviolet radiation from the sun, so harmful to living beings, is absorbed.

parts of the globe

The structure of the earth is divided into four main components: the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core.

The inner core is surrounded by the outer core, which is composed of iron-nickel fluids 2,253 kilometers thick. This outer core is surrounded by the mantle, composed of viscous molten rock that is 2,897 km thick. Finally, above the mantle we find the outermost layer of the Earth: the crust.

What is the difference between habitat, ecosystem, biome and environment?

place that allows the appropriate conditions for an organism, species or community to live

habitat

set of relationships between species and how they relate and develop with the physical environment where they live

ecosystem

set of ecosystems that share characteristics within an area

biome

set of elements that encompasses nature, life, society, culture and what is created by man

medio ambiente

Before we get into the wonderful space of biomes, let’s learn about the different terms. Biomes, ecosystems and habitats are words that are frequently confused and used as synonyms, however, they are not:

biome: It is an area of ​​the planet that has in common the climate, flora and fauna. It could be defined by its main characteristics (climate, geology and living organisms), and not how they interact with each other.

ecosystem: It is a system composed of living organisms and their interaction with the environment that surrounds them. Unlike the biome, the main focus of the ecosystem is the interaction and relationships between species and the abiotic environment. While in a biome it is more important which species inhabit it and where in the world they are found, in an ecosystem the main issue is how those species interact with each other and with the surrounding environment.

habitat: It is the environment that presents the adequate conditions for an individual, population or species to inhabit. Habitat is primarily focused on a species, a population of a species, or even a single individual. To describe the habitat of a species or individual, the starting point is the individual itself, and then everything that surrounds it is defined.

environment: The environment that includes the conditions of natural physical elements, economic, cultural, political, educational, business, medical, social, etc. of a group, sector, place or time

in summary...

habitat

physical place

ecosystem

relationship of species and nature within the habitat

biome

many ecosystems

environment

relationship of ecosystems with society and culture

habitat

physical place that allows the appropriate conditions for an organism, species or community to live

ecosystem

set of relationships between species and how they relate and develop with the physical environment where they live

types of ecosystems

biome

set of ecosystems that share characteristics within an area

types of biomes

air-ground biomes

They are those that are on the continents, on the mainland and their fauna includes beings that are closely related to the air (they can fly) such as birds and insects, who spend a large part of their lives in the air, but who require land firm to survive. Some examples of this type of fauna are: the eagle and the peregrine falcon (which usually hunt in full flight); the Canada duck and the swallow (which migrate); insects like butterflies, dragonflies, flies, bees; and the only mammal that can fly: the bat

terrestrial biomes

Regions or places on planet Earth that are on the earth’s crust and out of water in various types of relief: mountains, plains, valleys, deserts. There are important differences in temperature, oxygen concentration and climate between them, so the biodiversity of these biomes is large and varied.

jungle

forest

meadow

savanna

taiga

steppe

desert

tundra

mountain

pastureland

scrub

plateau

aquatic biomes

All areas and regions of the Earth covered by water, seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, etc.

Aquatic biomes are characterized by the presence of water as the main component and are the most abundant type of biome: they constitute more than 70% of all known ones. This group includes the oceans and those of fresh or salty continental waters, such as rivers, lakes and lagoons.

Living beings can be found at different depths in both fresh and salt water and are classified as follows:

  • Plankton: It is made up of small or microscopic autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms that float on the surface such as algae, protozoa, cyanobacteria, crustaceans, larvae, etc.
  • Nekton: It is found below the plankton region, where larger organisms such as fish, turtles, dolphins, whales, etc. live.
  • Benthos: Made up of individuals that live on the bottom, either fixed like sponges and oysters or mobile like prawns, starfish and insect larvae.

littoral or neritic marine

oceanic or pelagic marine

marsh

polar

mangrove swamp

paramo

lotic freshwater

lentic freshwater

Marine biomes (salt water)

They are represented by estuaries, tidal lagoons, the open sea and coral reefs, in which three zones can be found:

  • Mesolitoral zone: It is found between the tides, in rocky and sandy places, where algae, crabs, snails, worms, mussels, etc. live here.
  • Benthic environment zone: It is located on the ocean floor in warm shallow waters, here you can find coral reefs, where worms, clams, starfish, etc. live.
  • Pelagic environment zone: It is located in the open sea and is divided into two regions:
  • Neritic region: it extends from the coast to the continental platform at a depth of 200 meters; It is inhabited by plankton, squid, whales, sharks, tuna, dolphins, etc.
  • Oceanic region: comprising the basin from 200 meters deep to the ocean floor, it is an area with very little light, where giant squids, deep-sea eels, anemones, crabs and some worms live in total darkness.

Freshwater biomes

They can be from running water (rivers and streams), or from stationary water (ponds, wetlands, swamps, lakes and lagoons); In these last two there are three zones:

  • Coastal zone: It is found along the coast, they are shallow waters with high productivity due to the amount of light and the nutrients that are provided by the land, here live fish, crustaceans, insects, larvae, turtles, frogs, algae and riparian vegetation.
  • Limnetic zone: Away from the littoral zone, they are open waters that extend to the depths where light penetrates, you can find algae, water lily, lentils, elodea, fish, crustaceans, etc.
  • Deep zone: It is located under the limnetic and is characterized by the little light that penetrates, it is rich in minerals, but poor in organisms, the main inhabitants are bacteria.

transitional biomes

These are located in “intersection” zones, in which two environments are combined, the aquatic environment and the terrestrial environment. They are mixed biomes, also called hybrids, they share characteristics of the two biomes that compose them and are considered transition zones between both types. The living beings that inhabit them spend most of their time in one of the two, but require the other to hunt, rest, feed or procreate.

A clear example of this type of biomes are the coasts or coastlines.

More information of interest:

  • The North American prairies were home to millions of bison, unfortunately most of them have been exterminated by humans
  • The Arctic permafrost, the literal foundation of much of the region's unique ecosystem, is deteriorating with the warming global climate. Permafrost is a layer of frozen soil and dead plants that extends about 450 meters below the surface. In much of the Arctic, it is frozen year-round. In the southern regions of the Arctic, the topsoil above the permafrost melts during the summer, forming bogs and shallow lakes that invite an explosion of animal life. Insects swarm through the swamps where millions of migratory birds come to feed.
  • Despite the common belief that deserts are hot, there are also cold deserts. The world's largest hot desert, the Sahara in North Africa, reaches temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius during the day, but some deserts are always cold, such as the Gobi in Asia, and the polar deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic. , which are the largest in the world. Others are mountainous. Only 20% of the deserts are covered with sand.
  • From time to time, unusual rains fall in the world's driest deserts, such as the Atacama in Chile, producing a peculiar landscape full of colorful flowers.
  • The forests provide 40% of the Earth's oxygen, so it is a resource that we must take care of, in addition to providing a multitude of different minerals. In addition, a quarter of the natural medicines come from the different jungle plants and trees.

Enlaces para accionar y explorar más:

More wwwhai game concepts related to planet Earth

Physical environment where organisms interact and develop.

ozone layer

Place that allows the appropriate conditions for an organism, species or animal or plant community to live

greenhouse effect

Physical environment where organisms interact and develop

sustainability

Satisfaction of present needs without compromising future ones

sustainability

Everything that comes from nature is inexhaustible and can be easily restored by natural processes.

renewable resources

Everything that comes from nature that is limited and is not easily replaced since it is consumed faster than the time it takes to restore it

nonrenewable resources

Branch of biology that studies and analyzes the interactions between living things and their habitat

ecology

Different species cohabited in the same environment. It includes plants, microorganisms, insects, fungi and animals (aquifers, terrestrial and human).

biodiversity

important vocabulary related to planet Earth

Vegetation – It is the distribution of species in a given space.

Biome – Extended communities of plants and animals that can span several ecosystems. What defines it is the weather.

Climate – Set of atmospheric conditions typical of a place, made up of the amount and frequency of rain, humidity, temperature, wind, etc., and whose complex action influences the existence of beings subjected to it.

Temperature – Degree or thermal level of a body or of the atmosphere.

Geosphere – the solid part of the Earth. It is composed of rocks, minerals and soils that form the inner layers of the planet.

Biosphere – one of the four layers that surround the Earth. It is the part of the geosphere made up of living organisms that interact with each other and with their environment.

Lithosphere – the layer of rock that surrounds the Earth.

Hydrosphere – the layer of water (fresh and salt) that surrounds the Earth.

Atmosphere – the layer of air that surrounds the Earth.

Learn about environmental problems and possible solutions.

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