What is Human Ecology?

Variety of definitions Not about humans or the environment in isolation but how they relate to each other in time and space No singular view of this relationship optimists vs. pessimists

Variability of human-environment relations Vary in time (seasonal like dry seasons, episodic like floods, inter-annual like drought in Sahel) Sahara used to be bread basket of the region Vary in space and scale too

Different views of human-environment relations Studied in different ways rational, environment as social construct (human centered), political But knowledge about human-environment relations is always limited e.g. how much resources to put in? What is sustainable? How well do we understand relationship between humans and environment?

The Geographical perspective of human-environment relations Recognized ability of humans to affect environment and resources Awareness linked to rate and scale of human impacts Inter-relationship between human activity and environment Environment is global issue

Renewable vs. non-renewable Peak-oil and Hubbert Curve suggests less oil in the future. But looking at the global crude oil production, it seems like not the case.

Future of population growth upward or downward trend? Resilience How resilient are urban, high-income areas like Birmingham to climate change and resource problems compared to rural regions like Tanzania?

Inequity Global Warming/Melting glaciers which bring water in storage into the active hydrological system Whose responsibility is it? Inequity in Carbon emissions as DCs like Canada have about 19 tonnes of per capita energy Co2 emissions compared to LDCs like Uganda with 0.06 tonnes

Water Supply Groundwater depletion in USA, China, India and Bangladesh threatens global food security

Impediments to human-environment relations Socio-political: sense of apathy / how do we represent nature or the future generations / economics structures Science and society: causation and effect link / geographical and political boundaries like trans-boundary water bodies/ trust on scientific solutions Nature of responsibility: who? Over what?