Reading 3
Basic Concepts in the Study of the Natural World
By Robert Watson
- Use the Internet to identify an environmental problem that has gone largely unaddressed in the United States ? Why has this been the case?
- Use the Internet to identify an environmental problem that has been successfully remedied. What explains the different results for these two issues?
- What are the challenges of educating the public and policy makers about the science of ecology and ecosystems?
- Interview someone working as a wildlife biologist, ecologist, environmental scientist, or other related occupation and ask him/her to describe his/her work.
Studying the Environment: Who, How, Why?
In addition to understanding society's orientation to the natural world, it is incumbent upon public policy makers and government administrators – as well as students studying the environment – to familiarize themselves with environmental science and ecological principles. Knowing the proverbial "laws of nature" will help craft the best policy initiatives to protect and preserve natural resources.
We are only now beginning to gain a rich understanding of how Mother Nature works and much remains for us to learn. One must inherently approach environmental matters with imperfect knowledge, although there is much we do know that can and should inform decision making and courses of action. A detailed discussion on environmental science is beyond the scope of this essay, but an overview of basic principles of ecology and eco-system management follows.
An ecosystem is defined as a community of living and nonliving organisms interacting within a certain external environment. The notion of interdependence is key in the study of ecosystems. Concepts like symbiosis , where two or more living organisms coexist to the benefit of both or all, underpin the working of ecosystems.
Any ecosystem – be it the Arctic tundra, the Florida Everglades, or a forest on the border of a community – interacts with and within the larger environment, comprised of weather patterns, rainfall, and a nearly countless array of other systems, including human populations living in or around the ecosystem. An ecosystem is rarely static; that is, ecosystems are always changing and organisms within them are adapting, thriving, or dying out, although they appear to be somewhat stable at moments in time from the human perspective.
An ecologist – one who studies ecosystems – is interested in individual organisms, groups (or populations) or organisms, and the larger ecosystem within which individual organisms and groups of organisms exist.
Laws of Ecology
Barry Commoner, in his classic book, The Closing Circle , identifies four ecological laws or principles. The initial law is that everything is linked or connected. As such, when studying an ecosystem or in the case of a public official making a decision about the natural environment, it is important to consider the impacts on the other elements contained in the ecosystem and the entire system itself.
There are balances of varying degrees of sensitivity achieved within the ecosystem, even though they are ever changing. The rates of and mechanisms for change are usually gradual, although they are often punctuated by disaster or catastrophe, in which case the change is sometimes rather sudden and severe. Human intervention is one of the forces that might disrupt – either gradually and incrementally, or suddenly and drastically – the balance of the ecosystems.
Another law identified by Commoner maintains that ecosystems might not achieve balance or might not return to some state of balance in the same way each time or through the same processes. To that end, human intervention may or may not be helpful or needed and the possibility of numerous policy options pertaining to both protecting and restoring the health of an ecosystem exist.
The sheer number of factors existing in an ecosystem and influencing the livelihood of an ecosystem is staggering and difficult to take into account, which poses yet another challenge for public officials and environmental scientists.
A third law, quite simply, is that nature knows best. There has been a predisposition by humanity in certain cultures at certain points in history to assume that we humans know best how to manage the natural world. This is not to suggest that there is no role for humans to play as stewards of the natural world. We created many of the problems and, in many instances, have the ability to either limit, correct, or prevent such problems So too have great advances been made in the science of ecosystems and, armed with this knowledge, policy makers can make better informed decisions about whether or not to get involved and what to do … or what not to do.
The final law is that an interaction with the natural world or an ecosystem has a price. In other words, each action or interaction in an ecosystem – or nature in general – will produce a response. It will result in something, intended or otherwise. Given the interconnectedness of the elements of ecosystems and complexity of an ecosystem, any human intervention in an ecosystem would thus set off a chain of events.
Toward a Balance?
Just as an ecosystem is defined by interdependence, environmental policies are not independent of political, economic, or social forces. These factors must be considered in designing and implementing policies and programs. People live in and are dependent on their natural environment, but also make a living or enjoy material comforts derived from natural resources. So, one must be mindful of the complex and competing political and economic interests impacting environmental policies and issues.
