The earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists believe that the first life forms came into existence about 3.5 billion years ago, which marked 'the birth of the biosphere'.
1. Introduction and the Biosphere
- In the last 100 years man has used, overused and misused the earth's natural resources, disturbing its ecological balance.
- In 1962, Rachel Carson published the book 'Silent Spring', which inspired an environmental movement.
- In 1971, UNESCO launched the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme to study our impact on nature and how it could be minimized.
- The word Biosphere comes from the Greek bios = life and sphaira = sphere. The term was coined by Eduard Suess in 1875; later contributions came from Charles Darwin and others.
- The interaction of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere gives rise to the fourth sphere, the biosphere (life sphere).