Welcome to Week 8

Welcome back, my little Guinea Pigs, to the research lab that is Habitable Planet online. You are now in week 8/10 which means you are basically just amazing. Although we told you that in Week 1 already. So, we have now built up a fascinating conceptual model of how the Earth system functions that includes physics, biology, biogeochemistry and the past. Zozo's talk on biodiversity bought into our model billions of different species, each living in its own ecological niche. Given this, it’s somewhat surpassing that the last three weeks of the workshop focus on the recent activities (recent in geological time at least) of just one single species! The actions of this rather naughty primate currently threaten our very existence. They are, of course, us. As Dr Nobody will outline, in the last three million years Homo Sapiens arose in Africa as a result of the global change in climate, from the hot world of the dinosaurs, to a cooler world punctuated with frigid ice ages. As we learned from Noxolo's talk earlier in the course (Week 4), this change happened from 3-6 million years ago.

Anatomically modern humans emerged only a few tens of thousands of years ago and, in a blink of an eye, geologically speaking, have emerged as the planet's dominant species (assuming the metric chosen to measure dominance is the number of Steers burgers eaten!). We have achieved a great deal we can be proud of in this time, from cars, to computers, from farming to medicine and from democracy to dentistry; our advances have allowed literally billions of us to live, on average, in the lap of luxury compared to a few thousand years ago. However, the fossil fuels that have been used to power these advances, coal and oil, burn to produce a greenhouse gas, CO2, that now threatens to change the climate, and even to undo all the impressive progress we have achieved. In our second lecture, JZ takes a look at the problems caused by an ever-increasing human population.

1. This Week's Lectures

Core Human Affairs 1: Human Evolution with Goratileone Oepeng

Goratileone, also known as Dr. Nobody, is currently pursuing an MSc in Entomology at the University of Pretoria. He served as the chair of the Gauteng LOC that hosted HPW41 in 2023. His HPW journey commenced in 2018 with HPW 28, culminating in his graduation as a core lecturer in 2020, specialising in Human Evolution. Since the 2020 FAST program, he has been delivering engaging lectures on the subject in multiple HP Workshops.

In 2022, he became an integral part of the Provincial Representative Committee (PRC). Dr. Nobody's research focuses on the brood pheromones of honey bees, showcasing his versatility as a science generalist with a keen interest in diverse scientific topics, including Human Evolution, the impact of climate change on contemporary work, Ecology, and more.

The Habitable Planet Workshop has profoundly impacted Dr. N's life, enhancing his presentation and communication skills. It has fuelled his curiosity across various scientific domains and provided him with an invaluable network of contacts. As a perpetual student of life, he continues to glean insights from each unique HPW experience, recognising that every workshop brings a distinctive set of lessons and opportunities.

Core Human Affairs 1(b): DC's Bonus Material

Do you want more of DC adding useful information on Human Evolution? If you know what's best for you, you do. Let's just help the striking elves don't do anything to get in the way.

Core Human Affairs 2: Human Population with Jadziya Sewpersad

Jadziya, also known as JZ or Jazz, is a freelance artist and content creator who loves getting her hands messy with paint when she’s not busy producing engaging social media content. She participated in the Habitable Planet online course in 2017 and later graduated as a core lecturer, attending HPW 29 in 2019.

Being part of ACCESS profoundly shaped her perspective on life and the environment while enhancing her social and professional skills across various fields. Through the program, she also had the opportunity to visit many inspiring places—an experience she considers a true highlight of her journey.

Currently based in Westville, JZ works as an EHS Coordinator in the telecommunications industry, balancing her professional career with her passion for art and creative.

2. This Week's Reading

Mitochondria have their own DNA (as was discussed in the origins of life, mitochondria were at one point an autonomous organism) and this DNA is passed down by the mother to the offspring. Thanks to this we can show that all of human’s share a common relative around 100,000 years ago. She is referred to as Mitochondrial Eve and she lived here in Africa. Read more here.

Not really reading, but do have a look at the worldometers website to get an idea of world demographics in numbers today! I like to go look at the water stats, and watch as the number of people without clean water slowly goes down. In one small, but measurable way, the world is getting slowly less bad. Isn't that reassuring?

3. Special South Africa

Wamkelekile ekhaya! Today in special South Africa Carl reminds us that everyone reading this sentence is originally from the Western Cape; everyone on the planet can call the Western Cape home. Yes, even Jo’burgers. Yes, even people from Limpopo.

Carl welcomes you all home to the Western Cape

Carl was born in a town called Grimsby (UK), but ran away at a young age and was raised by wolves in the majestic mountains rising high above the small town of Louth. Those who know the move "Grimsby" will understand why Carl ran away. Those who know wolves will understand why he is cunning, wity, loyal to his pack and also, extremely hairy.

4. Critical Eye from a Science Guy (or Girl)

Do you know why summer is warmer than winter? If you don’t, does it matter!? This week we once again welcome Prof. George Philander who wants to talk about the seasons and why understand them matters. Firstly, he asks that you watch the following clip; if you don’t know why summer is warmer than winter, then you are not alone!

Then read George’s response below:

Science wins when Black Lives Matter

5. This Week's Test

Now that the strike has ended - Ok it's the test!

Deadline is on Tuesday as always. It's a monster one (15 Marks!), so leave some time...

6. This Week's Cartoon

"We used to have tails you know"

Humans and phones both used to have tails. The big difference between the two is that humans evolved but phones were designed. So when the "tail" on the phone was no longer needed the designers just removed it. Humans on the other hand slowly evolved shorter and shorter tails leaving behind evidence of what once was; a quick look at an X-ray reveals we still have our tail bones, forming a tiny vestigial tail.

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