12/01/2012
GG1022
INTRODUCTION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY
Module co-ordinator: Professor Anna Davies ([email protected])
Lecturers: Mr Michael Quigley ([email protected]) and
Professor David Taylor ([email protected])
Module materials:
Geography Library: Gillian Marron (Museum Building)
Geography website:
http://www.tcd.ie/Geography/undergraduate/modules/year1/G
G1022.php
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY
 Environmental geography
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What is environmental geography?
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Why study it?
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How has it evolved?
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How will we study it?
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY: WHY STUDY IT?
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is concerned with:
Environmental geography is an increasingly important bridge
between physical and human geographies approaching:
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Humanly induced environmental problems e.g. biodiversity loss,
climate change, pollution; consumption of natural resources etc.
the interface between nature and society
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INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY
‘human’s role in changing the face of the earth’ (Thomas et al., 1956)
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‘Think global, Act local’
Uneven development
 Climate [in]justice
Why do these problems occur?
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the interactions between nature and society across
space
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Consumerism; overpopulation; ignorance and uncertainty; gobal
commons issues; imperfect valuation of natural resources; power
and politics etc.
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Why is hard to deal resolve these problems?
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ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY:
HOW HAS IT EVOLVED?
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Environmental Determinism
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Nature shapes Society
Social Construction of Nature
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Society shapes Nature
Scientifically complex: incomplete understanding
Politically complex: different stakeholders
Societally complex: cultural diversity
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
QN - WHY ARE PEOPLE DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT PLACES?
ANSWER - THE ENVIRONMENT
 Assumes a
simple, 2-variable relationship:
1) cause = environment
2) people = dependent variable.
 Influence of
Darwin’s theory of evolution
 Geographers borrowed
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Darwin’s ideas
Believed them capable of explaining human differences
Progress is determined by climate, heredity and culture
Dominant in Geography c1910-1920s
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ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
HUNTINGDON’S DETERMINISM (1900)
Environment
1. Wealth & power concentrated in the midlatitudes.
Problems:
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4. Therefore the natural environment dictated the course
of civilization.
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SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF NATURE
1. Production of Nature (Marxist Geography)
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Nature being ‘produced’ by labour
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Labour transforms nature
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Nature as commodity
Society
People who live in hot climates are lazy
People who live in cold climates are industrious
2. Tropical heat & humidity inhibited cultural progress.
3. Therefore midlatitude climates stimulate achievement.
Determines
Racism - suggests some people/cultures are naturally inferior to
others
Violence - cultures survive through competition and struggle (e.g. the
survival of the fittest)
Oppression - used as a theoretical support for the domination of
others
Inaccurate – cradles of civilisation Middle East, Egypt etc.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF NATURE
2. Representing Nature (Cultural Geographers)
Nature shaped by human imagination not just
physical manipulation (Marxist view)
 Humans have named, categorised, represented
nature
 Nature is therefore filtered by culture through
art...

‘In its constant drive to accumulate larger and larger
quantities of social wealth under its control, capital
transforms the shape of the entire world. No god-given
stone is left unturned, no original relation with nature is
unaltered, no living thing unaffected…with the
development of capitalism, human society has put itself at
the centre of nature’ (Smith, 1990: xiv)
See Whatmore (1999) Culture-Nature in Cloke et al. (eds) Introducing
Human Geographies
FILM , TV &
ADVERTISING
ZOOS &
MUSEUMS
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‘OUR EXPERIENCE OF THE NATURAL WORLD – WHETHER TOURING THE CANADIAN ROCKIES,
WATCHING AN ANIMAL SHOW ON TV, OR WORKING IN OUR OWN GARDENS – IS ALWAYS
MEDIATED. IT IS ALWAYS SHAPED BY RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTS LIKE PHOTOGRAPHY, INDUSTRY,
ADVERTISING, AND AESTHETICS, AS WELL AS BY INSTITUTIONS LIKE RELIGION, TOURISM AND
EDUCATION’ (WILSON, THE CULTURE OF NATURE, 1992: 12)
MEDIATED NATURE

‘Our experience of the natural world – whether touring the
Canadian Rockies, watching an animal show on TV, or working
in our own gardens – is always mediated. It is always shaped by
rhetorical constructs like photography, industry, advertising, and
aesthetics, as well as by institutions like religion, tourism and
education’ (Wilson, 1992: 12)
THESE REPRESENTATIONS CREATE VIEWS OF NATURE AS…
Savage
and noble
…AS ‘OUT THERE’ OR ELSEWHERE
…AS A PLACE FOR
RECREATION
…AS A RESOURCE
AS SOMETHING
TO SEE
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…BUT THESE VIEWS ARE CONTESTED,
CREATING CONFLICTS OVER…
…OVER LANDSCAPES AND WILDLIFE
Farming
technologies
…OVER RESOURCES AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE USED
SUMMARY
 Environmental Determinism

too simplistic and offensive
 Marxists

production of nature approach
ignores agency of nature
 Cultural geographers
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too fixated on imagination
…Is there an alternative?
CO-EVOLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY
HOW WILL WE STUDY IT?
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Lectures
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‘ THERE ARE CONVOLUTED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THINGS
OF HUMAN MAKING (CULTURE) AND THOSE THAT ARE NOT
OF OUR MAKING (NATURE)’ (WHATMORE, 1999: 9)
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Seminars
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Not Nature or Society, but Nature-Society
Problems and approaches to environmental management
Sustainability and degradation
Environmental hazards
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Related to each block of lectures (weeks 3, 8 and 11) – smaller groups
Details of groups are listed on geography noticeboard in Museum
Building (copy of handout available from Geography Librarian)
For further information see:
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Workshops
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Animal Farm (2007)
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/animal-farm
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Related to group assessment (week 4) & exam writing skills (week 12)
A register will be taken for workshops and seminars
Assessments
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ASSESSMENTS
WHAT IS TURNITIN.COM?
Examination – 40%
1 essay – 30%
 1 journal – 15%
 1 group assessment – 15%
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This is a web-based learning support system to allow projects
to be submitted, collated and tested for plagiarism
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To submit your assignments you will need to:
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Submission
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Register and create a user profile
Use the class ID and password to access the module assignments
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Essay, journal and group assessment MUST be submitted as
hard (paper) copy to the departmental post box, Museum
Building AND via turnitin.com
http://www.turnitin.com
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Class ID: 4702751
Password: GG1022
See Quickstart Guides on turnitin.com webpage (also available on
module information webpage and in Geography Library )
EXAM PAPER (MOCK)
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Duration: 2 hours
Structure: three sections, answer one question from each section
ESSAY
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Section A
 1. The exploitation of natural resources is a defining feature of human
behaviour. Discuss.
 2. Critically examine the contrasting ways in which environmental problems can
be managed.
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Length: 2-3,000 words
Style: 12 point font size or higher (all words except
bibliography counts), Havard referencing :
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e.g. Ison, S., Peake, S., Wall, S. (2002) Environmental Issues and
Politics, Prentice Hall, Harlow.
Coversheet: title of essay, student ID number and word count
Due: Tuesday 10th April, 12 noon
 Purpose: opportunity to apply thought and reasoning to
particular problem. Demonstrate logical, critical thought.
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Section B
 3. How can sustainable agriculture be defined? To what extent is it attainable
globally in your view?
 4. Why is the rehabilitation of tropical ecosystems following deforestation such
an intractable problem?
Section C
 5. Critically examine the two main categories of environmental hazards
(catastrophic and chronic) and how these two categories are occasionally linked.
 6. Why is the risk to humans from environmental hazards so much greater in the
less developed countries?
ESSAY TITLES
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1. The evolution of society has been based on increasing
exploitation of natural resources. Discuss
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2. Addressing the problem of biodiversity loss requires
economic as well as ecological perspectives to be adopted.
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JOURNAL
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Select ONE environmental issue (climate change, sustainability, energy,
biodiversity, water, agriculture, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions etc.)
and write a short log (300 words approx.) on that issue EVERY week for
5 weeks (weeks 2-7 inclusive) based on coverage in the media (on-line,
hard copy, blog-sites, magazines etc.) .
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Length: 2-3,000 words
Style: 12 point font size or higher (all words except bibliography counts).
Havard referencing
Coversheet: title of essay, student ID number and word count
Due: Monday 12th March, 12 noon
Purpose: to introduce you to three key skills
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3. Focusing on a named, recent disaster of global
significance, use the "Disaster Cycle" (Alexander 'Principles
of emergency planning and management', 2002) framework
to explain both the occurrence and magnitude of impact of
the disaster.
Further help: essay writing guidelines are available on
module handout available on module webpage and in
Geography Library.
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Critically analyzing different media
Appreciating the divergent nature of different media
 Understanding how environmental issues develop over time
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JOURNAL LAYOUT AND CONTENT
Overall journal one main title for all five logs (e.g.
Climate Change)
 Short overall introduction to the issue (300 words)
 Short overall conclusion (300 words) summarize main
points and your own thoughts on the issue.
 Reference your sources (Harvard style)
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Each log:
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Title for the log
Summarize main argument of the articles (100 words)
Differences between how issue is reported in different media
(100 words)
Relevance to module (100 words)
EXAMPLE: LOG ENTRY (250 WORDS)
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Title: Obama sees the positives as US gives formal notice on greenhouse gases
Main argument:
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This article reports on the USA State Department’s climate change envoy, Todd Stern’s, letter to
the UN saying that America would reduce its carbon emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.
This follows President of the USA, Barack Obama’s, promise to promote the climate change
agenda in the country. The article goes on to discuss how this statement responds to the accord
signed at Copenhagen in 2009. it also mentions the problems Obama is facing in committing the
USA to climate change reductions
AN EXAMPLE:
JOURNAL TITLE: CLIMATE CHANGE
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GROUP ASSESSMENT
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The class will be divided into smaller groups for the group assessment.
Workshops on the group assessments will be held for groups in week 4
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Details of groups for the workshops are posted on the Geography
noticeboard in the Museum Building. There are a number of different
group projects therefore you MUST attend the session you have been
assigned to.
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The group project requires that your group meet outside the timetabled
lecture periods. You should arrange with your group to meet. As there are
no lectures reading week is available for group work.
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Length: I report per group - 2000 words
Style: 12 point font size or higher (all words except bibliography counts)
Coversheet: Group Identifier, title of essay, student ID numbers and word
count
Participation declaration: Details of work conducted by each participant
Due: Monday 15th March 2010, 12 noon
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Relevance to module:
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This article is relevant to the module as it examines the way that society (in this case the USA) is
attempting to deal with resource exploitation of unrenewable (stock) resources, in this case
fossil fuels in order to mitigate climate change. It also illustrates the political, cultural and social
challenges which face global action for climate change.
IMPORTANT SUBMISSION DATES
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Journal
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Monday 12th March, 12 noon
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NEXT SESSION
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Resources and development
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Group Assessment
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Tuesday 20th March, 12 noon
Essay
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Tuesday 10th April, 12 noon
The Guardian: Environment Section
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/29/barackobama-us-formal-copenhagen
Obama sees the positives as US gives formal notice on greenhouse gases
State department climate change envoy Todd Stern writes to UN to formally
promise to reduce emissions by 17% by 2020
Comments (5)
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 January 2010 02.51 GMT
Differences between how issue is reported in different media:
The Guardian is a UK newspaper. USA news sources were more focused on impacts within the
USA of the proposed commitments. A London based green business magazine focused on
political difficulties.
Fox News (www.foxnews.com) – Obama Says U.S. 'Determined' to Combat Climate Change,
Despite Senate Delay - emphasised the concerns of Republicans of the costs of reducing carbon
emissions and suggested Washington based Democrats were out of touch with needs of
everyday Americans.
 Green Business Magazine (http://www.businessgreen.com) - Where now for Obama's climate
change strategy? Suggests changes in administration mean Obama in weakened position to
push through decisions about mitigating climate change in the USA
Source:
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The nature of natural resources
Ways of defining and classifying them
Factors determining resource availability
Case study: energy
Reading:
Bradshaw, M. (2008) Resource and development, in Daniels
et al (eds.) An introduction to Human Geography: issues for
the 21st century, Pearson, Harlow.
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