Darwinist principles were applied to the human social environment by Hebert Spencer. In the natural universe, humans compete with other species for existence, and in the social world, humans compete with each other for survival. Mead and Cooley discovered that sociology had radically altered psychology, with physics, nature, and climate taking their place. However, according to Durkheim, society is a social organism that must adapt to its external social and physical surroundings on a continual basis.

Huntington's goal is to show that the development and collapse of entire civilizations is linked to changes in climate zones across time. He aimed to build a sequence of correlatives between climate and interpersonal factors and external elements by linking climate and productivity, with ramifications for nations through time.

The environment and society are inextricably interwoven. They include modern environmental insights, concepts and ideas valuable in theorising about 21st century concerns, and they are derived from the classical canon, with certain paradigms constructed in typologies employing the classical canon.

In the context of South Africa, the issues discovered are the provision of clean water, the provision of water that is sustainable, and the provision of water that is agreed upon.