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Lecture 1_Introduction_21_feb

The document outlines the ENV101 course for 2024, including lecturer details, class rules, assessments, important dates, and course expectations. It covers topics in environmental science, such as physical and human geography, and introduces various career paths in the field. The document also provides learning outcomes and common questions related to both physical and human geography.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
31 views23 pages

Lecture 1_Introduction_21_feb

The document outlines the ENV101 course for 2024, including lecturer details, class rules, assessments, important dates, and course expectations. It covers topics in environmental science, such as physical and human geography, and introduces various career paths in the field. The document also provides learning outcomes and common questions related to both physical and human geography.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENV101: 2024

Lecturer details:

❑ Ms M. Makhathini
❑ 107 Archive building
[email protected]
Welcome!!!!
• Class rules
• Don’t be late
• No recording/ taking pictures
• Engage in discussions

• Class reps
• Moodle
• Assessments
• Tests
• Assignments (no AI)
• Quizzes
• Practicals
• Exam
• Course expectations
Important dates!
• Test 1 – 15 March
• Assignment 1 – 29 March (Groups of 10-12 students)
• Quiz 1 – 1 March
• Quiz 2 – 25 March
• Practical 1 – 23 February
• Practical 2 – 8 March
Academic writing
• Writing assignments
• Referencing
https://dkit.ie.libguides.com/harvard/citing-referencing

• Library
https://library.ump.ac.za/home-page
Ice-breaker
Question???
1. What jobs relate to environmental science?
2. What inspired you to study environmental
science?
3. If you could address any environmental
issue in the world, what would it be and
why?
4. What is one small change you've made in
your daily life to reduce your environmental
footprint?
5. What environmental issue do you think is
most urgent and why?
Careers in the field
•Environmental planning
•Conservation
•Heritage management
•Environmental services auditing
•Risk assessment
•Sustainability, recycling and waste management
•Pollution monitoring and management
•Environmental remediation
•Environmental consultant
•Community health and wellbeing
•Environmental education officer
•Development planning
•Environmental engineer
•Climate change mitigation
•Environmental manager
•Environmental communication and outreach
•Minerals surveyor
•Nature conservation officer
•Recycling officer
•Sustainability consultant
•Waste management officer
•Water quality scientist
Term 1 content
• Topic 1: Earth systems- Earth and its atmosphere, geomorphology, weather systems

• Topic 2: Climate change and natural disasters

• Topic 3: Human population impact

• Topic 4: Energy and the environment

• Topic 5: Biodiversity and Conservation

• Topic 6: Marine systems


What is Environmental Science?
What is Environmental Science
Learning Outcomes

Aim:
Develop a basic understanding of environmental science

Learning Outcomes:
When you complete this lecture, you should be able to:
1. Describe the fundamentals difference between physical and human
geography
2. Distinguish between atmosphere, geomorphology and weather
systems
Introduction
• Planet earth is home to a large and complex
set of living organisms, including humans.
Earth’s surface is the natural habitat for
these organisms, providing air, water,
nutrients and shelter.
• Physical geography is the study of all of the
natural aspects of Earth as our habitat and
home.
Physical geography
• the spatial study of natural phenomena that comprise the
environment, such as rivers, mountains, landforms, weather, climate,
soils, plants, and other physical aspects of the Earth's surface.
• focuses on geography as a form of earth science.
• Anayse the nonhuman elements on earths environment.
• In physical geography, we seek to understand as much as possible
about the natural earth,
• Its characteristics, materials and processes
Cont..
• Why?
• So that humans can live on the planet long into the future in a healthy
and sustainable way and with minimal risk from its inherent hazards.
• A better understanding of the natural earth also helps us identify
environmental problems caused by humans
• Through physical geography, we learn about the critical components
and processes that change and regulate earth’s environmental
conditions.
Subdivisions of physical geography
• Mathematical geography - deals with the figure and motions of the earth,
its seasons and tides, its measurement, and its representation on maps and
charts by various methods of projection
• Climatology - the study of the atmosphere and weather patterns over
time.
• Geomorphology - the study of landforms and landform evolution.
• Biogeography - the study of the patterns of geographic distribution of
organisms and the factors that determine those patterns. This discipline
plays a critical role in our understanding of marine mammal evolution and
adaptation
• Soils geography - studies the formation and distribution of soil on the
Earth's surface.
Common questions in PG
1. Explain the difference between weather and climate.
2. How does the water cycle influence various ecosystems on Earth?
3. Discuss the importance of biodiversity in sustaining ecosystems
4. Explain the role of erosion in shaping coastal landforms, such as
cliffs, beaches, and coastal plains.
Human geography
• Concerns the nature, processes, and
variations in space and time of human
generated phenomena. (culture)
• The study of the interrelationships between
people, place, and environment, and how
these vary spatially and temporally across and
between locations
• Tend to focus on topics such as population
distributions, migration patterns, cultural
patterns, the spread of ideas, cities and
urbanisation, locations and transport
networks.
Subdivisions of human geography
• Social geography - focuses on everyday life and the way social groups
interact with each other and the spaces in which they live
• Cultural geography - examines the cultural values, practices, discursive and
material expressions and artefacts of people, the cultural diversity and
plurality of society, and how cultures are distributed over space, how
places
• Historical geography - concerned with the geographies of the past and with
the influence of the past in shaping the geographies of the present and the
future.
• Economic geography - the study of the geography of economic activities,
developed from a focus on commercial activities and the exploitation of
resources for economic gain.
• Political geography - he study of how humans have divided up the Earth's
surface for management and control purposes
Common questions in HG
1. Describe the concept of globalization and its impact on societies.
2. What role does technology play in shaping human geography,
particularly in terms of communication and transportation?
3. How do migration patterns influence cultural diversity and
demographic changes in different regions?
4. How do political boundaries affect human interactions and
geopolitical dynamics?
Conclusion
• What have we covered today?
• What are the primary branches of physical geography?
• What are the main subfields of human geography?
• Can I differentiate between the two main themes of geography?

Next lecture
• atmosphere, geomorphology and weather systems

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