Impact of Geography on Adaptation for the Future Sustainability of Human Society on Earth ()
ABSTRACT
Over time, societies have continued to thrive but
with diverse arguments relating to the
pathways for survival and whether the geography-adaptation thinking
provides any lessons to engage the contemporary world in order to gain a better option for human existence. This paper
explored the adaptation and survival of societies from the perspective
of the corresponding interdependences between humans and the environment. It
also examined how successful adaptations in the past could inform future
trajectories of human societies on the Earth. The paper adopted content
analysis to review adaptation as a discipline of Geography by also examining
adaptation from the perspective of the future sustainability of human society
on Earth. In the content analysis, both quantitatively and qualitatively
approaches were used to systematically analyze
written, verbal or visual documentation to provide a better understanding
of how geography has informed adaptation of human societies from diverse spatial and temporal frames. The paper
identified that adaptations in human-environment systems worldwide, have
been influenced by environmental
degradation, climate change, relationships with friendly and hostile
societies, and especially, the willingness and ability of societies to
recognize the need for social change and
resource consumption. Also, successful adaptations of past societies
have been influenced largely, by the commitment of societies to solve
environmental problems, application of positive culture-oriented to the
protection of the environment, use of environment-friendly technologies, and access to resources. In
sustaining future societies, however, human societies must commit to addressing
local and global environmental changes from a mix of experiences from both past
and present societies.
Share and Cite:
Arthur, J. (2021) Impact of Geography on Adaptation for the Future Sustainability of Human Society on Earth.
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
9, 188-217. doi:
10.4236/jss.2021.93013.