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3- the importance of religious art
Religious paintings are expressions of religious themes and principles from the perspective of individuals who are of different denominations and religious groups. These paintings can be traced to as far back as the 1st and 2nd centuries where artists were heavily influenced by their social and economic realities. Christian paintings for example, have been traced to as early as the 2nd century where inspired men and women have adapted Roman motifs to convey Christian meanings and messages. Islamic and Buddhist paintings were originated around the 5th and 6th centuries and their inspiration came from socio-economic factors like the decline of the Byzantine Emperor which has led to the reappraisal of Islamic art. Although sculpture is a widely accepted religious art form, some cultures have moved away from the use of sculpture to the use of paintings to depict biblical events and personalities because of the fear of creating pagan-style idols. Religious Paintings Bring History To Life : For a long time artists who are inspired by religious art have proven their craft to be extremely significant in our understanding of biblical and historical events. Painters are known for using different colors, textures and styles to bring history to life thereby expanding one's imagination of past events. A painting of Mary holding baby Jesus for example, helps persons of this age to visualize Mary's humility and the swaddling cloth that was described in Luke 2:12. The painting of the crucifixion of Jesus is another popular piece of art within the Christian culture. Painters use realistic colors to demonstrate Jesus's agony, suffering and humility thereby bringing us back in time by more than two thousand years through the use of a single painting. The bible and other religious books are usually descriptive in nature forcing us to use our imaginations to visualize a person, a thing or religious event. However, an inspired painting can easily supplement the imagination especially in cases where persons have little or no access to history books and/or religious artifacts.
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Religious Paintings Are Used to Expound a Moral Message : Religious paintings are used for both decorative and reflective purposes. As it relates to decorations, paintings are usually hung on the sidewalls of churches and they depict scenes that can be found in both the Old and New Testaments. Outside of the context of the church, there are some individuals who use religious paintings to decorate the interior of their homes. Some say the paintings create an atmosphere that connects their minds with the realm of the spirit like the Buddhist and Islamic paintings which are widely used for meditation purposes. Whatever the purpose however, religious paintings are generally used to expound the moral message of the religion that is being purported by the painter. They do not always depict stories and personalities that are found in the holy books, but they also depict the lifestyle of different religious groups like Muslims worshiping at the mosque and highlights of a typical Catholic wedding. Like photographs, religious paintings use colors and imagery to tell an entire story. Through paintings, a religious event that is described in the history books is given the same interpretation and meaning today except with fewer words. The concept of painting is similar to that of dreaming where God uses different symbols to convey a particular message or instruction. In the same way that dream symbols are often times misinterpreted, religious paintings are interpreted to mean different things by different individuals. Despite the various interpretations however, the intentions of religious painters remain the same. In other words religious paintings serve as a means of communication between two or more individuals in that several individuals can relate to a single piece of painting.
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Some Religious Paintings Capture Details that are not Necessarily Described in the History Books : Some painters portray Jesus with a halo around his head not because the bible makes mention of a halo but because they've been inspired by their own experiences with Him. Akiane Kramarik is a renowned painter whose inspiration comes from visions and dreams that are given to her by God. Featured on the Oprah Winfrey's show in 2003, Akiane's painting of Jesus's face has won the hearts of many atheists and non-Christians for capturing details about Jesus that were never found in the history books. The painting was also featured in the Christian movie entitled Heaven is For Real where the main character also experienced a face to face encounter with Jesus. Paintings of this nature glorify Christianity and they can influence individuals to carry out deep soul searching bringing them even closer to God. Truth is, it is one thing for an individual to say that he (or she) has seen Jesus but it's another thing when that individual can illustrate to others the details of the person He has seen. Undoubtedly, details allow for greater conviction among individuals. Religious paintings idealize, glorify, suggest and tell the story of a religion. They keep religious traditions alive and make it easier for individuals to visualize a concept or event that is otherwise difficult to imagine through the use of mere words. They speak to the minds and hearts of different individuals and are useful for convincing unbelievers to adopt a particular Religious belief or Religious culture.
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4-impact of religious art
We can know that everything has two views about the way people think. it had an importance on the social and it also has an impact on the social. As an invisible religion, art communicates religious beliefs, customs and values through iconography and representations of the human body. The fundamental principle of the interconnections between art and religion is the reciprocity between the creation of images and the creation of meaning as humanity's creative correspondence with divinity. Religion can affect more than the habits of a particular person. These beliefs and practices can influence an entire community, nation or region. Religious practices shape and are shaped by the culture around them. Art has long been considered a dominant influence on society and is developing more and more every day. Many efforts have been made to amplify systematic methods of evaluating these influences. Many cities promote the arts or reduce these social inclusions. Some places continue to have academic achievement and economic development just to represent the arts existing in their cities. With all of this, there is certainly an impact on social and community life, whether it is a positive or negative outcome for the city. New York City is one of the many places in America where you can find all types of art. Street art, also known as graffiti, is very popular all over New York City. It started in the 1970s as a subculture on the streets of New York City. It quickly became popular in the times that followed. But it is certainly not the only surprisingly exhibited piece of art that is available throughout the city. This amazing city is full of resources for artists; exhibitions in museums and parks with the exhibition of works of art on bridges and even walls. if people keep thinking about the impact of art, they will see art as a side effect of social pressure, like the criminal's silence that they can use as a political or commercial game. the same as religion which can be used as affective on people who have too many beliefs for a creative weapon that works for their own benefit.
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5-conclusion
Religion is of central importance to the lives of people in the majority of the world's cultures; more than eight-in-ten people worldwide identify with a religious group. However, it is also true that the number of people who say that they have no religious affiliation is growing. Art makes people optimistic about their future. Art can be used to help spread a message of inspiration, making people achieve great things in life. Art can be a form of communication between people, to focus on common issues for the betterment of humankind. Inspirational music is the best form of creative art. Interior and exterior artistic decorations for these Christian, Islamic and Buddhist churches typically include a wide range of decorative arts, including: calligraphy, ceramics, crafts, icons, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, mosaic, stained glass, tapestry and wood-carving. Religious art or sacred art is artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs and is often intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Religious art helps people that are looking for security and hope. Today society is looking for peace and an anchor to hold onto. This religious art lifts the spirit and brings peace within through a beautiful way. It helps reassure people that there is a life after this one. The fundamental function of most religious art is as religious pedagogy to illustrate bodily postures and gestures or a story or dogma of a religious tradition, as do visual symbols and representational imagery.
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M. Humans and environment
1-humans and the environment
Our environment means our physical surroundings and the characteristics of the place in which we live. It also refers to the wider natural world of land, sea and atmosphere. Humans have been interacting with their environment since people first walked the Earth. For example, humans have been cutting down forests to clear land to grow crops for centuries and by doing so we have altered the environment. Conversely, the environment affects us in many different ways as well. A simple example is the way we change our clothes in response to cold or hot weather. In this section we will introduce some of the ways in which humans influence their environment and how the environment influences us, both positively and negatively.
A good climate, accessible clean water, fertile soil, etc. are aspects of the physical environment that enable people to live and thrive. However, harsh environments, such as a very hot climate, limited water and infertile land, make it more difficult for people to survive. We are also affected by major environmental events such as earthquakes, floods and drought that damage homes, property and agriculture. These can lead to the displacement of people and can cause injury, loss of life and destruction of livelihoods. They can also damage water sources and pipelines, causing water contamination and spreading waterborne diseases. In Study Session 10 you will learn more about the effects of floods and droughts. Our relationship with the environment changed with industrialisation, which began in the 18th century in the UK, shortly followed by elsewhere in Europe and North America, and then spreading across the world. Prior to industrialisation, the impacts of human activity were not very significant because the technologies used were not capable of modifying the environment on a large scale. People at that time lived in agricultural societies using hand tools and simple technologies with limited environmental impact (Figure 1.1). Industrialisation has allowed for a greater exploitation of resources. For example, we now use powerful chainsaws to cut down trees and industrially produced chemical fertilisers and pesticides for crop production. These changes have rapidly increased the human impact on the environment. The links between human activity and the environment are complex and varied, but can be grouped into two main types of activity:
* use of natural resources such as land, food, water, soils, minerals, plants and animals
* production of wastes from a range of activities including agriculture, industry and mining, as well as wastes from our own bodies.
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We use many different types of natural resources in our daily lives. We depend on food and water for survival and we need energy for many different purposes, from domestic cooking through to major industrial processes. Our clothes, transport, buildings, tools and all other items we use require many different resources for their production. Let's take a simple example. Think about the resources that have been used to produce a notebook of the type you may be using right now as you study this Module. Manufacturing the paper needed raw materials of wood and water as well as energy for the production process. The trees that supplied the wood required soil, water and land to grow on. There may be ink or metal staples or other components in your notebook that were made from other types of resources. Our need for resources is vast and it is growing as the population increases and consumption per person increases with socio-economic progress. Depletion of natural resources by extraction and exploitation is especially of concern for non-renewable resources. The resources we use can be classified as renewable or non-renewable. The basic difference between the two is the rate at which they are regenerated back into a usable form, relative to the rate at which they are used by humans. Non-renewable resources cannot be replenished by natural means as quickly as the rate at which they are consumed. They include minerals and fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which are formed over millions of years by natural processes from decayed plants and animals. Renewable resources are constantly available or regenerated over short timescales by natural processes. Some renewable resources, such as solar energy, are not modified or used up by humans. Others, such as water, are altered when we use them and can be over-exploited or damaged such that the resource is no longer available for use.
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Globally, both population and resource extraction increased by almost 50% in the 25 years from 1980 to 2005 (SERI et al., 2009). Over that time, the world population increased from 4.44 billion in 1980 to 6.49 billion. Figure 1.2 shows how the extraction of natural resources increased between 1980 and 2005 from 40 billion tonnes to 58 billion tonnes. The graph shows the extraction of four types of natural resource: fossil fuels, biomass, metals and minerals. Biomass means biological material derived from living organisms such as crops, livestock, fish, wood, etc. Metals are used in the manufacture of a wide range of goods – from cars to computers. Minerals are used in industrial processes and in construction to build our houses and roads. Both metals and minerals are obtained from rocks that have been mined and are then processed in various ways to extract the valuable resource. Advances in technology have increased natural resource exploitation by enabling people to reach new resources and to exploit more resources per capita (per person). For example, fishermen who use traditional technologies such as small boats are limited in the number of fish they can catch. Modern industrial fishing fleets use very large ships that cover huge areas of ocean at greater depths to catch many more fish. This can lead to overfishing, which means catching fish at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Overfishing and other examples of over-exploitation of natural resources can result in damage to or the loss of entire ecosystems.An ecosystem includes all the living organisms (humans, plants, animals, micro-organisms) and their physical environment (soil, water, air, land) and the interactions between them. If one component of the system is removed, this can have knock-on effects on the other parts of the system. One particular problem caused by over-exploitation of natural resources is deforestation, which occurs when forest areas are cleared and the trees are not replanted or allowed to regrow. In Ethiopia, clearing land for agriculture to meet the food needs of the growing population and the demand for fuel and construction materials has resulted in a steady loss of forest area, which is still continuing .
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The loss of forest has several undesirable consequences. Forests are home to many different types of trees, as well as other plants, and a wide range of animals from insects to birds and mammals. The conversion of forests to agriculture greatly reduces biodiversity, which is a measure of the variety of living organisms (all life forms). Biodiversity is important for humans because we use other living organisms to provide several essentials:
* Food: we use plants and animals such as fish, goats, wheat, rice and maize as sources of food.
* Medicines: many traditional medicines are made from plants and animals and new medicines are developed from them.
* Ecological services: living organisms, especially plants and micro-organisms, play an important role in processes that maintain our lives and environment such as providing oxygen, cleaning the air, purifying water, breaking down wastes and controlling erosion.
Deforestation is a significant contributory cause of soil erosion. Once the trees and undergrowth are removed, the underlying ground is exposed. Without the intercepting effect of the vegetation and the tree roots binding the soil together, the soil is more likely to be washed away when it rains. Loss of forests also has a significant impact on water supply. Tree roots reach deep into the soil and create spaces between the particles which increases soil permeability, allowing rainwater to soak in and replenish groundwater. (Permeability means the ease with which water moves through soil or rock.)
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Energy resources : The use of renewable or non-renewable resources is a critical factor when considering energy resources. Fossil fuels have been the main energy source for global industrialisation, but because they are non-renewable, the quantity is ultimately limited and their use is not sustainable over the long term. Furthermore, burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change. (Climate change is discussed fully in later study sessions.) There are several renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Wood used as a fuel is renewable in the sense that trees will regrow but there are other disadvantages such as deforestation, as you have read. In Ethiopia, windfarms are harnessing wind power to generate electricity (Figure 1.4) but the most important source of renewable energy in Ethiopia is water. Ethiopia already has several hydropower stations and more are planned, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, currently under construction. Hydroelectric power is renewable because it makes use of the energy of flowing water but does not use up the water in the process. Another renewable energy source is solar power, using photovoltaic cells that convert the sun's energy into electricity.
Water resources: You may have noticed that the four categories of resources shown do not include water, and yet this is one of our most vital resources and is obviously central to the WASH sector. The direct use of water by people falls into three main categories:
* domestic uses, including drinking, washing and cooking
* agricultural uses, principally irrigation
* industrial uses, in manufacturing processes and for energy generation.
The relative proportions of these three categories vary in different parts of the world, but globally the sector using the most water is agriculture (FAO, 2012)
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As well as direct use of water for human activities, water is also essential for the environment and to maintain biodiversity. Rivers, lakes and wetlands are important habitats for wildlife and need a minimum amount of water at all times. This becomes a problem when the demand for water for human activities exceeds the supply.
Water is not an endlessly renewable resource. In many parts of the world water demand is significantly above sustainable water supply. Sustainable water supply means there are adequate supplies, in both quality and quantity, to meet the current and future needs of people and of the environment. Many countries are already experiencing water stress or scarcity. These terms refer to the volume of water available relative to the use and demand for it, which is linked to the population served. Figure 1.6 shows the availability of freshwater across the world. Countries which have less than 1700 m3 of water per person per year for all purposes are defined as water stressed (United Nations, 2014). Water scarce countries have been defined as those with less than 1000 m3 of water per person per year. These precise figures should be used with caution, however, because they do not recognise variations between countries and they hide the underlying causes of water scarcity.
Increasing water demand leads to unsustainable use of water resources. By the actions of the water cycle (which you will learn about in Study Session 4) water supply is replenished, but taking excessive amounts of water from rivers and groundwater for domestic, industrial and agricultural use decreases the amount of water available for current and future generations. Globally, water withdrawals have tripled over the last 50 years due to population growth and to increased consumption per person. Many areas with plentiful supplies can sustain this use, but in some countries the future may bring water shortages unless demand is managed.
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In practice, for Ethiopia, the problem of water supply is not so much about the volume of water that is available. The problem is the infrastructure and investment required in delivering adequate quantities of safe water to all the people wherever they live. The availability of water and access to a safe supply varies considerably throughout the country and between rural and urban populations. Lake Alemaya in the Ethiopian Highlands has always provided local people with water for drinking and domestic use, for irrigating crops, watering livestock and fishing. In the mid-1980s it was around 8 m deep and covered 4.72 km2. However, by 2005 the amount of water in the lake had dropped dramatically (Figure 1.7) and the size of the lake had fallen (UNEP, n.d. 2). It is believed that changes in water use by local people and changes in the local climate are responsible. The use of domestic water and also water for irrigation (especially for growing khat) has increased significantly. Deforestation of the surrounding area, as land is cleared for farming and to meet an increasing need for wood, means that tree roots no longer hold the soil together and it is washed off the hillsides into the lake. This causes it to silt up and reduces the capacity of the lake. Warming of the local climate may also have had an effect, increasing the rate of evaporation from the lake. Recently, lack of water in the lake has interrupted water supply to Harar, a nearby town of over 100,000 people.
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2- positive human impact on the environment
The potential effects on plants and other organisms due to the decrease in human activity is a bit speculative right now. However, based on current knowledge, these are some possible effects that may be occurring. These represent likely positive human impacts on the environment while we are sequestered inside. Explore the likely benefits with Desert Botanical Garden. Nitrogen dioxide levels are decreasing due to significantly less vehicle traffic. Overtime, nitrogen dioxide is deposited in soils and "enriches' them (nitrogen is a nutrient). The addition of soil nitrogen benefits some plants more than others, potentially altering competitive outcomes. For example, in some environments, nitrogen addition greatly benefits grasses, including nonnative species but not others. Ground level ozone levels are also decreasing. Phoenix had been the second highest U.S. city for ozone pollution behind Los Angeles. Now Phoenix's ozone levels are near zero. This is important as the cellular functions of plants can be significantly and detrimentally affected by ground level ozone. We may see effects of less ozone with the health of our plants. Vehicles are major dispersers of invasive species. With decreased traffic there may be a decrease in the spread of invasive species, but it will take time to see this effect. The decrease in international travel may contribute to a decrease in plant poaching (e.g. cactus and other succulents). Roadsides are often areas that provide habitat for monarchs, other butterflies and additional pollinators. One study looked at the effect of traffic noise on monarch caterpillars by measuring their heart rates, and it found that the noise did have a stress effect on the caterpillars. Reduced traffic could be benefit monarchs and other roadside-dwelling pollinators. People are also getting outside more (as opposed, for example, to going to movies).
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There is at least a temporary increased appreciation for nature developing in the community. A cautionary note – More people around the world are turning to medicinal plants during the pandemic. A Garden staff member noted at a local famers market, there was an individual selling stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum) but calling it wild chamomile (several species of Matricaria). Be cautious when buying herbal remedies to ensure they are actually what they are listed Additionally, only buy plants that are ethically harvested and/or grown in a sustainable manner. Lastly–and this is a significant takeaway–these temporary effects in the environment show that individual and collective actions can make a BIG impact on the environment for the good. Humans can have a positive impact on the environment by letting our surroundings rest – from us! This should encourage long-term actions and policies, because those will make an even bigger and more significant impact.
Ecosystems are biological communities and exist all around the globe. They serve as small, interconnected worlds that host multiple forms of plant and animal life. Nature recycles everything: Dead plant and animal matter return to the soil to once again produce more trees and plants. Taking a cue from nature, many people understand that recycling offers a positive contribution to the ecosystems of the world by reusing or remaking old products into new ones without having to take resources from nature. Wildlife preserves and national parks protect scores of ecosystems around the world. Within these zones, animals and plant life thrive under laws that keep them from harm. People, with the help of governments, established these zones to protect specific ecosystems containing threatened plant and animal life.
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3- negative human impact on the environment
Human impact on the environment includes impacts on biophysical environments, biodiversity, and other resources. The term is sometimes used in the context of pollution emissions that are produced as a result of human activities but applies broadly to all major human impacts on the environment. Environmental impacts caused by the application of technology are often perceived as unavoidable for several reasons. First, the purpose of many technologies is to exploit, control, or otherwise "improve" upon nature for the perceived benefit of humanity. At the same time, the myriad of processes in nature have been optimized, and are continually adjusted, by evolution: any disturbance of these natural processes by technology is likely to result in negative environmental consequences. Second, the conservation of mass principle and the first law of thermodynamics (i.e., conservation of energy) dictate that whenever material resources or energy are moved around or manipulated by technology, environmental consequences are inescapable. Third, according to the second law of thermodynamics, order can be increased within a system (such as the human economy) only by increasing disorder or entropy outside the system (i.e., the environment). Thus, technologies can create "order" in the human economy (i.e., order as manifested in buildings, factories, transportation networks, communication systems, etc.) only at the expense of increasing "disorder" in the environment. According to a number of studies, increased entropy is likely to be correlated to negative environmental impacts.