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Sustainable Ecosystem Change: Is It Possible?
from:Much of the information found on the internet and indeed, even taught in schools today indicates that human activity is to blame for a whole variety of planetary ills, including climate change, depletion of irreplaceable natural resources, and animal and plant species decimation. Oftentimes the paradigm for these articles is that there is a "natural" environment, which has been offset or otherwise ruined by human involvement. However, if we consider the idea that mankind is ultimately a part of his ecosystem as much as anything else, then the question becomes this: is sustainable ecosystem change possible? And if so, what does it look like?
The question begs a bit of explanation. "Ecosystem change" is the term broadly applied to all the changes that have been observed as taking place over the time recorded in human history. For example, there is no dispute to the fact that glaciers have melted and generally shrunk over the past 100-200 years. Photographs show it; recorded data prove it. The debate begins when the question becomes: How much of this is due to human influence, and how much would have taken place in an imaginary world with no humans?
The idea that humans are not "outside" the natural ecosystem, but rather a part of it, means that some amount of ecosystem change may be unavoidable and even desirable. After all, what is there in nature that is not constantly in flux? Trees grow new leaves every season; animals give birth to young and raise them. Anything that is not changing, is dead. So then perhaps some amount of ecosystem change, whereby one ecosystem is converted to another type of ecosystem, is actually a healthy part of nature's course. The difference between humans and everything else is that a salmon doesn't worry when he defecates how it will affect his ecosystem; humans do.
Not to say that there hasn't been a vast amount of human abuse of their ecosystem, wreaking havoc on the animal and plant life forms within those systems; there has. But the question for the 21st century scientist ought to be: does human existence have to include self-destructive ecosystem change? Or could a society exist with a reasonable of comfort, safety, etc., and yet not become a major force for change within their ecosystem?
For future generations, it could be more than just an academic question; it may be the question on which their very survival depends. For if the rate of current ecosystem change cannot be slowed, by almost any account, human existence will surely be wiped out or severely curtailed.
Bottle Ecosystem Specific links
Bottle Ecosystem News
Scene stealers in a bottle - Sydney Morning Herald
Scene stealers in a bottle Sydney Morning Herald Inside the glass, a healthy ecosystem brings the outside in. It's a technique that has been practised for centuries. Indoor enclosures (then called vivariums) were used to raise living animals and plants to observe them in natural conditions. |
Perfecting the Supply Chain Balancing Act - EBN
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Sound Salmon Solutions planting trees in Arlington, Marysville - Arlington Times
Sound Salmon Solutions planting trees in Arlington, Marysville Arlington Times Volunteers will have opportunities to learn about estuarine ecosystems and the Qwuloolt marsh's significance as one of the last remaining estuaries on the Snohomish River. The trees planted during this day will help improve this estuarine ecosystem for ... |
Aggie Chemist Enjoying Two-Way Teaching Adventure in Afghanistan - PressZoom (press release)
Aggie Chemist Enjoying Two-Way Teaching Adventure in Afghanistan PressZoom (press release) Nolen had just dismissed his third-grade science class in Kabul, the capital of the war-torn country of Afghanistan, and the child was ecstatic about the experiment he had just finished in class -- an ecosystem in a bottle. |
Super Bowl commercials get sneak preview - The Tennessean
Super Bowl commercials get sneak preview The Tennessean This scene from an advertisement provided by the Coca-Cola Co. and Wieden + Kennedy, shows the polar bear tumbling through the air trying to catch his bottle of Coca-Cola before it falls to the ground. The "Catch," ad will be aired during Super Bowl ... |