UNISA
GGH1503 – Our living earth
SUMMARY
IMPORTANT
- This is a summary of UNISA’s semester 1 &2 GGH1503 syllabus
- READ THROUGH YOUR UNISA STUDY GUIDE FIRST!
- While the UNISA Study Guide and the relevant text book have been used to create
this summary, this summary is a broad outline of the syllabus.
- Get an overview of the module and then study each topic individually
- Use this guide in conjunction with the UNISA study guide and text book – it is not a
substitute
- Ensure you understand the content of this module in order to pass.
,Learning Theme 1 – Environmental Problems and their causes and sustainability
1.0 Introduction
- Humankind is facing an array of troubling environmental problems
- Major environmental problems of today:
o The lack of fresh water (1)
o The destruction of forests and cropland (2)
o Global warming (3)
o The overuse of natural resources (4)
o The continuing rise in the human population. (5)
o Increasing waste production, pollution
o Loss of biodiversity and habitat degradation/ destruction
o (1-5) Michael Meacher’s five most important environmental issues.
- These are caused by an interwoven network of issues where each problem in/directly causes a number of
others
- All these problems are humankind’s own doing, accumulated over centuries
- Root causes
o Population growth
o Unsustainable resource use
o Poverty
o Bad environmental accounting
o Ecological ignorance
- Origin of problems:
o Humankind’s ability to survive, procreate, to better quality of human life, to use the available
natural resources, to change the environment, to develop various technologies, to dominate the
earth;
o A human-centred (consumerist) world view
- Generally acknowledged that environmental problems are a major concern of the 21 st century, but there is
disagreement about the seriousness of the problems faced and the level of “crisis” that we currently are at.
1.1 What is an environmentally sustainable society?
Concept 1-1A Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and on natural
resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth
Concept 1-1B Living sustainably means living off the earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading
the natural capital that supplies it
Environmental Science is a study of connections in nature
- Environment: everything living and non-living which connect with us, with one another and with the world
we live in
- We are utterly dependant on the environment for air, water, food, shelter, energy etc.
- Environmental science: an interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and
non-living things.
- Environmentalism: a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life-support systems for us and all
other forms of life.
- Ecology -: the study of ecosystems
Sustainability is the central theme
- Sustainability: the ability of the earth’s various natural systems and human cultural systems and
economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely
- (1) Natural capital: the natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive
and support our economies.
- Natural Resources: materials and energy found in nature that are essential or useful to humans. Classified
as:
o Renewable – air, water, soil, plants& wind, crops, animals.
o Non-renewable- copper, oil & coal, fossil fuels, metallic minerals.
- Natural services: functions of nature e.g. purification of water or air
- Nutrient Cycling: the circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (soil/ water) through
organisms and back into the environment. E.g. topsoil generation
- Solar capital: energy from the sun. Supports natural capital, warms the planet, supports photosynthesis etc.
GGH1503
, - (2) Natural Capital Degradation: Human activity degrades natural capital by using renewable resources faster
than they are renewed
- (3) Environmental scientists search for solutions to problems such as degradation of natural capital.
- (4) Trade-offs/ compromise made to resolve conflicts
- (5) Individuals matter – to search for solutions to environmental problems
Environmentally sustainable societies protect natural capital & live off its income
- The ultimate goal: an environmentally sustainable society – one that meets the current and future needs
without compromising the needs of future generations.
- Lesson: protect your capital and live off the income it provides
- Live sustainably: living off natural income – preserving the natural capital.
1.2 How can environmentally sustainable societies grow economically
Concept 1-2 Societies can become more environmentally sustainable through economic development
dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone without degrading the earth’s life
support system
There is a wide economic gap between rich and poor countries
- Economic growth provides people with the goods and services they need
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-: the market value for goods and services that are produced within a
country
- Standard of living -: GDP (Divided)
By total population at mid-year
- Purchasing Power parity (PPP)-: the positive or negative difference between currencies e.g. dollars being
able to exchange for 1.6 x the amounts of rand.
- Developed countries: are mostly highly industrialised & have a high capita GDP PPP, have a longer life
expectancy & a decrease in infant mortality rates – e.g. Europe, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and
Japan etc.
- Developing countries: remaining countries mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Economic development is improving living standards through growth, they reflect good and bad economic
news.
- Poverty produces harmful environmental effects
- Environmentally sustainable development rewards sustainable activities and discourages harmful activities
1.3 How are our ecological footprints affecting earth?
Concept 1-3 As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earth’s natural
capital.
Some resources are renewable
- Resource: anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants
- Conservation: the management of natural resources with the goal of minimizing resource waste and
sustaining resource supplies for current and future generations
- Some resources are directly available e.g. water, air, solar energy; others are not e.g. petrol, iron etc.
- Perpetual Resource: e.g. solar energy, is renewed continuously and is expected to last for decades.
- Renewable resource: can be replenished fairly quickly (hours – 100 years) through natural processes e.g.
forests, grasslands, fresh air, fresh water etc.
- Sustainable yield: the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing
its available supply
- Environmental degradation: when we exceed a renewable resource’s natural replacement rate, the
available supply begins to shrink
We can overexploit commonly shared renewable resources: the tragedy of the commons
- 3 types of property/ resource rights
o Private property: Individuals/ firms own the rights to land/ minerals/ resources
o Common property: Rights of certain resources are held by large groups of individuals
o Open access renewable resources: owned by no one and available for use by anyone at little or no
charge
- “The tragedy of the commons” describes the overuse or degradation of freely available resources such
as ocean pollution, abuse of national parks and air pollution. Not one individual owns these free access
resources.
GGH1503
, - Solutions:
o Use shared resources at rates well below their estimated sustainable yields.
o Convert open-access resources to private ownership
Some resources are not renewable
- Non-renewable resources exist in a fixed quantity in the earth’s crust. It is economically depleted when it
costs too much to obtain what is left.
- These include:
o Energy resources -: oil, coal, natural gas
o Metallic mineral resources -: copper, iron, aluminium
o Non-metallic mineral resources -: salt, clay, sand, phosphates
- Solutions:
o Try to find more resource
o Recycle the resource
o Waste and use less
o Try to develop a substitute
- These resources can be depleted much quicker than they are formed (100 year using, 1000year forming)
Our ecological footprints are growing
- Use of resource and impact:
o Developing: low – devoted to meeting basic needs
o Developed: consume large amounts of resources – way beyond basic needs
- Ecological footprint: describes the area of land needed to produce the resources needed by an average
person (the environmental impact of a population)
- Per capita ecological footprint: the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area
- Formula for size of an environmental impact/ footprint?
P X A X T = environmental impact of population
Population (P) X Consumption of resources per person (Affluenza – A) X Technological impact per unit of
consumption (T) = environmental impact of a population
Cultural changes have increased our ecological footprints
- Culture has had a profound effect on the earth
- Until about 12 000 years ago we were all hunter gathers
- Three major cultural changes:
o Agricultural revolution – 10000-12000 years ago – when human learned how to grow and breed
plants and animals for food, clothing and other purposes
o Industrial- Medical revolution – 275 years ago – when people invented machines for the large scale
production of goods in factories
o Information- globalization revolution – 50 years ago – when we developed new technology for
gaining rapid access to much more information and resources on a global scale
1.4 What is pollution and what can we do about it?
Concept 1-4 Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution
Pollution comes from a number of sources
- Pollution: anything in the environment that is harmful to the health, survival or activities of humans or other
organisms
o Natural pollutants: e.g. volcanic ash
o Human Pollutants: e.g. litter, burning coal etc.
- Sources:
o Point sources: single identifiable sources e.g. smokestack on a coal-burning power plant
o Non-point sources: pollutants are dispersed and source is difficult to identify
- Types of pollutants:
o Biodegradable: harmful materials that can be broken down by natural processes e.g. human waste,
newspapers
o Nondegradable: harmful materials that natural process cannot breakdown e.g. toxic chemicals –
lead/ mercury
- Effects:
o 1. They can disrupt or degrade life-support systems for humans and other species
o 2. They damage wildlife, human health and property
o They create nuisances such as noise, unpleasant smells tastes and sights
GGH1503
GGH1503 – Our living earth
SUMMARY
IMPORTANT
- This is a summary of UNISA’s semester 1 &2 GGH1503 syllabus
- READ THROUGH YOUR UNISA STUDY GUIDE FIRST!
- While the UNISA Study Guide and the relevant text book have been used to create
this summary, this summary is a broad outline of the syllabus.
- Get an overview of the module and then study each topic individually
- Use this guide in conjunction with the UNISA study guide and text book – it is not a
substitute
- Ensure you understand the content of this module in order to pass.
,Learning Theme 1 – Environmental Problems and their causes and sustainability
1.0 Introduction
- Humankind is facing an array of troubling environmental problems
- Major environmental problems of today:
o The lack of fresh water (1)
o The destruction of forests and cropland (2)
o Global warming (3)
o The overuse of natural resources (4)
o The continuing rise in the human population. (5)
o Increasing waste production, pollution
o Loss of biodiversity and habitat degradation/ destruction
o (1-5) Michael Meacher’s five most important environmental issues.
- These are caused by an interwoven network of issues where each problem in/directly causes a number of
others
- All these problems are humankind’s own doing, accumulated over centuries
- Root causes
o Population growth
o Unsustainable resource use
o Poverty
o Bad environmental accounting
o Ecological ignorance
- Origin of problems:
o Humankind’s ability to survive, procreate, to better quality of human life, to use the available
natural resources, to change the environment, to develop various technologies, to dominate the
earth;
o A human-centred (consumerist) world view
- Generally acknowledged that environmental problems are a major concern of the 21 st century, but there is
disagreement about the seriousness of the problems faced and the level of “crisis” that we currently are at.
1.1 What is an environmentally sustainable society?
Concept 1-1A Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and on natural
resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth
Concept 1-1B Living sustainably means living off the earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading
the natural capital that supplies it
Environmental Science is a study of connections in nature
- Environment: everything living and non-living which connect with us, with one another and with the world
we live in
- We are utterly dependant on the environment for air, water, food, shelter, energy etc.
- Environmental science: an interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and
non-living things.
- Environmentalism: a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life-support systems for us and all
other forms of life.
- Ecology -: the study of ecosystems
Sustainability is the central theme
- Sustainability: the ability of the earth’s various natural systems and human cultural systems and
economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely
- (1) Natural capital: the natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive
and support our economies.
- Natural Resources: materials and energy found in nature that are essential or useful to humans. Classified
as:
o Renewable – air, water, soil, plants& wind, crops, animals.
o Non-renewable- copper, oil & coal, fossil fuels, metallic minerals.
- Natural services: functions of nature e.g. purification of water or air
- Nutrient Cycling: the circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (soil/ water) through
organisms and back into the environment. E.g. topsoil generation
- Solar capital: energy from the sun. Supports natural capital, warms the planet, supports photosynthesis etc.
GGH1503
, - (2) Natural Capital Degradation: Human activity degrades natural capital by using renewable resources faster
than they are renewed
- (3) Environmental scientists search for solutions to problems such as degradation of natural capital.
- (4) Trade-offs/ compromise made to resolve conflicts
- (5) Individuals matter – to search for solutions to environmental problems
Environmentally sustainable societies protect natural capital & live off its income
- The ultimate goal: an environmentally sustainable society – one that meets the current and future needs
without compromising the needs of future generations.
- Lesson: protect your capital and live off the income it provides
- Live sustainably: living off natural income – preserving the natural capital.
1.2 How can environmentally sustainable societies grow economically
Concept 1-2 Societies can become more environmentally sustainable through economic development
dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone without degrading the earth’s life
support system
There is a wide economic gap between rich and poor countries
- Economic growth provides people with the goods and services they need
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-: the market value for goods and services that are produced within a
country
- Standard of living -: GDP (Divided)
By total population at mid-year
- Purchasing Power parity (PPP)-: the positive or negative difference between currencies e.g. dollars being
able to exchange for 1.6 x the amounts of rand.
- Developed countries: are mostly highly industrialised & have a high capita GDP PPP, have a longer life
expectancy & a decrease in infant mortality rates – e.g. Europe, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and
Japan etc.
- Developing countries: remaining countries mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Economic development is improving living standards through growth, they reflect good and bad economic
news.
- Poverty produces harmful environmental effects
- Environmentally sustainable development rewards sustainable activities and discourages harmful activities
1.3 How are our ecological footprints affecting earth?
Concept 1-3 As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earth’s natural
capital.
Some resources are renewable
- Resource: anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants
- Conservation: the management of natural resources with the goal of minimizing resource waste and
sustaining resource supplies for current and future generations
- Some resources are directly available e.g. water, air, solar energy; others are not e.g. petrol, iron etc.
- Perpetual Resource: e.g. solar energy, is renewed continuously and is expected to last for decades.
- Renewable resource: can be replenished fairly quickly (hours – 100 years) through natural processes e.g.
forests, grasslands, fresh air, fresh water etc.
- Sustainable yield: the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing
its available supply
- Environmental degradation: when we exceed a renewable resource’s natural replacement rate, the
available supply begins to shrink
We can overexploit commonly shared renewable resources: the tragedy of the commons
- 3 types of property/ resource rights
o Private property: Individuals/ firms own the rights to land/ minerals/ resources
o Common property: Rights of certain resources are held by large groups of individuals
o Open access renewable resources: owned by no one and available for use by anyone at little or no
charge
- “The tragedy of the commons” describes the overuse or degradation of freely available resources such
as ocean pollution, abuse of national parks and air pollution. Not one individual owns these free access
resources.
GGH1503
, - Solutions:
o Use shared resources at rates well below their estimated sustainable yields.
o Convert open-access resources to private ownership
Some resources are not renewable
- Non-renewable resources exist in a fixed quantity in the earth’s crust. It is economically depleted when it
costs too much to obtain what is left.
- These include:
o Energy resources -: oil, coal, natural gas
o Metallic mineral resources -: copper, iron, aluminium
o Non-metallic mineral resources -: salt, clay, sand, phosphates
- Solutions:
o Try to find more resource
o Recycle the resource
o Waste and use less
o Try to develop a substitute
- These resources can be depleted much quicker than they are formed (100 year using, 1000year forming)
Our ecological footprints are growing
- Use of resource and impact:
o Developing: low – devoted to meeting basic needs
o Developed: consume large amounts of resources – way beyond basic needs
- Ecological footprint: describes the area of land needed to produce the resources needed by an average
person (the environmental impact of a population)
- Per capita ecological footprint: the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area
- Formula for size of an environmental impact/ footprint?
P X A X T = environmental impact of population
Population (P) X Consumption of resources per person (Affluenza – A) X Technological impact per unit of
consumption (T) = environmental impact of a population
Cultural changes have increased our ecological footprints
- Culture has had a profound effect on the earth
- Until about 12 000 years ago we were all hunter gathers
- Three major cultural changes:
o Agricultural revolution – 10000-12000 years ago – when human learned how to grow and breed
plants and animals for food, clothing and other purposes
o Industrial- Medical revolution – 275 years ago – when people invented machines for the large scale
production of goods in factories
o Information- globalization revolution – 50 years ago – when we developed new technology for
gaining rapid access to much more information and resources on a global scale
1.4 What is pollution and what can we do about it?
Concept 1-4 Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution
Pollution comes from a number of sources
- Pollution: anything in the environment that is harmful to the health, survival or activities of humans or other
organisms
o Natural pollutants: e.g. volcanic ash
o Human Pollutants: e.g. litter, burning coal etc.
- Sources:
o Point sources: single identifiable sources e.g. smokestack on a coal-burning power plant
o Non-point sources: pollutants are dispersed and source is difficult to identify
- Types of pollutants:
o Biodegradable: harmful materials that can be broken down by natural processes e.g. human waste,
newspapers
o Nondegradable: harmful materials that natural process cannot breakdown e.g. toxic chemicals –
lead/ mercury
- Effects:
o 1. They can disrupt or degrade life-support systems for humans and other species
o 2. They damage wildlife, human health and property
o They create nuisances such as noise, unpleasant smells tastes and sights
GGH1503
