The Four Laws of Ecology
Formulated by physicist and ecologist,
Commoner.
Source: http://emilymorash07.tripod.com/id12.html
Barry
1st Law: Everything is connected to
everything else
Humans and other species are connected
(dependent) on a number of other species.
Click on this link:
http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/
1st Law: Everything is connected to
everything else
Making connections:
1. What is the connection between the rise of
McDonalds outlets in China and the massive
deforestation in the Amazon forest in Brazil.
Farming the Amazon
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/last-ofamazon/#page=4
•World’s second largest
producer of beef
•3rd largest exporter
• 2nd largest producer and
exporter of soy bean
2nd Law: Everything must go somewhere
No matter what you do, and no matter what
you use, it has to go somewhere.
For example, when
you burn wood, it
doesn't disappear, it
turns into smoke
which rises into the
air, and ash, which
falls back down to the
earth.
http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/w
atercycle/ Animation- Water Cycle
Carbon Sinks:
Image source: http://www.co2logic.com/
3rd Law: Nature knows best
Like it says, nature knows best.
Mothers milk
vs. milk formula
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=1pW93kKZYMM
Nature knows best: How the natural world is
inspiring new innovations
• When we look at the world
around us, we see what
has survived the test of
time. In other words,
nature doesn't just show
us results - it shows us the
most optimal ideas
available.
The BlackBerry phone was
inspired by a butterfly's
wing.
• As a result, scientists are
creating more products
that are inspired by nature.
Solar Leaf
Nature-inspired designs
Bio-inspiration, also known
as biomimicry, is a
discipline that studies and
learns from nature's best
ideas to generate
breakthrough products
and technologies.
Nature knows best: How the natural world
is inspiring new innovations
• Go to the Following Website for Examples:
http://www.biotrue.com/world.html
http://brainz.org/15-coolest-cases-biomimicry/
A new car design
inspired by a boxfish
A Speedo swimsuit line
inspired by shark's skin
3rd Law: Nature knows best
Artificial Foods anyone?
http://www.theonion.com/video/taco-bells-new-green-menu-takes-noingredients-fro,14348/
The Store Wars - Organic food vs.
chemicals and GMOs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTQergr29M
4th Law: “There is no such thing as a
free lunch”
Everything you do, must have a reason behind it.
This law basically means you have to
do something in order to get
something in return.
OR
Everything has
consequences.
For example, a “free” pizza party.
In order to win the party, you have to fill out a survey.
Survey info gets sold off… you get annoying texts from companies ….
“There is no such thing as a free lunch”
This ecological law embodies the previous 3 laws.
Because the global
ecosystem is a connected
whole, in which nothing
can be gained or lost,
anything extracted from it by human effort
must be replaced.
Payment of this price cannot be avoided;
it can only be delayed.
Hidden Costs
Things may seem free, but have hidden “costs”.
• Free phones with a 3
year plan.
• Free samples at
grocery stores.
“A shocking 45 percent of all land
on Earth is today used for raising
livestock and growing crops to feed
them. But most land used for
livestock and crops can grow trees
instead. - Robert Goodland, World
Bank Group environmental adviser
4th Law: “There is no
such thing as a free
lunch”
Livestock’s carbon footprint
‘catastrophic,’ say climate experts
Read full article…
World Watch magazine reported that 18
It takes about 12,000 liters of
water to produce one kg of
beef, compared with just 850
liters to produce the same
weight of wheat.
percent of worldwide greenhouse gas
emissions attributable to livestock -cattle,
buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs and
poultry (chicken) and their byproducts
actually account for at least 32.6 billion
tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year,
or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG
emissions
PLANET IN
PERIL
Why does DEFORESTATION have such a
huge impact on the ecosystem? Why is it so
important to save our TREES?
1st and 2nd Law
Why should we limit the use of FOSSIL
FUELS (carbon-based)?
4th Law
How is CARBON cycled in your
column? 1st and 2nd law
E-
LIMITING FACTORS
factor that controls a
process, such as
organism growth or
species population, size,
or distribution.
CARRYING CAPACITY
is the population size of
the species that the
environment can sustain
indefinitely, given the food,
habitat, water and other
necessities available in the
environment.
Source:
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/c
urrent/lectures/human_pop/human_pop.html
http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/sustain/popdyn.pdf