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PERSPECTIVES FROM THE HUMAN SPHERE


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OVERVIEW

The last chapter examined some of the far-reaching effects of the activities of humans in
shaping the environment and modifying the physical geography of the world. This chapter
looks towards the future and considers the progress that has been made, and that will
continue to be made, in understanding environmental issues and syndromes. In doing so,
the overall value of a syndrome approach to categorizing, modelling and tackling
environmental issues will be considered. Given that people are the ultimate driving force of
change, it is vital to understand future trends in terms of population, urbanization and resource
use.

As might be expected, determining future patterns in drivers is by no means a straightforward task, and there is much intellectual effort invested in understanding the societary processes that underpin them. In this endeavour, the different dimensions of human geography research (with links to allied disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics and governance) are an essential foundation. But just as society influences the environment, the environment and associated physical processes also, in turn, influence society. Hence, for a complete understanding of the human sphere, it is essential to appreciate the physical sphere.

The process of economic globalization, driven in large part by a complex ever-shifting landscape of
patterns of supply and demand for goods and services, is one example of this. Recognition of
the symptoms of environmental syndromes and their interrelationship with human society and
economy is the crux of the ethos of sustainable development. The chapter will end with a
reflection on the future and prospects for ‘global management’ and its delivery through a framework of local and global activity.


LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, you should feel able to:

• Outline a number of projected trends in human activity and explain their uneven global
  patterns
• Appreciate some of the interlinkages between future human activity and potential future
  environmental change
• Consider the role of global management in helping meet the environmental challenges of
  the twenty-first century.
  

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SUMMARY

People are the ultimate driving force of current environmental change. Future trends of population, urbanization, energy and resource use, pollution and quality of life are essential to issues of conservation and sustainability. Predicting trends in these factors is no easy task and requires a deep understanding of the societary – as well as biological, physical and chemical – pressures that drive them.

In this area of research, physical geography comes face to face with human geography and allied disciplines (psychology, sociology, economics and governance). The two groups should depend on each other: physical geographers need to be aware of the socio-cultural and economic drivers of change studied by human geographers; equally, human geographers need the physical geographers’ knowledge of drivers in the natural world. The process of economic globalization, which is chiefly driven by complex and ever-changing patterns of supply and demand for goods and services, is one example of this.

Recognition of the symptoms characterizing the environmental syndromes and their interrelationship to human society and economy forms the foundation of a sustainable approach to development. Although not without its critics, the syndrome approach offers a useful means of categorizing, modelling and tackling environmental issues, and a productive device through which to promote effective global management in a framework that spans local and global activity.

QUESTIONS

1. Compare and contrast different views of     the city. 3. What role might the physical geographer     play in global management? 2. Outline the expected trends in population    growth, urbanization and health in the    twenty-first century.

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FURTHER READING

• Alverson, K. D., Bradley, R. S. and Pedersen, T. F. (eds) (2003) Paleoclimate, Global Change and the Future. Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer.
  A synthesis of ten years of Past Global Change (PAGES) research.
  
• Blowers, A. and Hinchliffe, S. (eds) (2003) Environmental Responses. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons and The Open University.
  An informative read.
  
• Brown, L. C. (2003) Plan B: Rescuing a Planet in Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. New York: W. W. Norton.
  Another scheme for saving the world. Well worth reading.
  
• Hinchliffe, S., Blowers, A. and Freeland, J. (eds) (2003) Understanding Environmental Issues. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons and The Open University.
  An interesting set of offerings.
  
• Hinchliffe, S. and Woodward, K. (2000) The Natural and the Social: Change, Risk and Uncertainty. London: Routledge and The Open University.
  Delves more into the human side of the environmental equation.Develops some of the ideas raised in Physical Geography.
  
• Lomborg, B. (2001) The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  An alternative argument that should be read.
  
• Mannion, A. M. (1997) Global Environmental Change: A Natural and Cultural Environmental History, 2nd edn. Harlow: Longman.
  An ideal book for students.
  
• Morris, R., Freeland, J., Hinchliffe, S. and Smith, S. (eds) (2003) Changing Environments. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons and The Open University.
  Prosecutes an interdisciplinary approach. Excellent.
  
• WGBU (Germany Advisory Council on Global Change) (1996) Annual Report World in Transition: The Research Challenge. Berlin: Springer. [Available at www.wgbu.de/wbgu_jg1996_engl.html]
  If you have not already had a look at this document, now is a good time to do so.