Ecologically Speaking

So what is “ecology” anyway? Besides a word we use in rhetoric to sound smarter, or a buzzword enmeshed in “green washing,” simply put, ecology is the study of interactions. Adopting an “ecological view” allows us to come to a higher understanding of these interactions, through the culmination of interdisciplinary knowledge and study. Ecological study is like asking the classic question, “if you could have dinner with anyone past or present, who would it be?” Ecology invites a bunch of different disciplines to the dinner table, all with a unique perspective and base of knowledge. If you were asked to solve a complex problem you wouldn’t simply ask one professional, or look at the issue from one perspective. You would look at the problem from a variety of perspectives, taking into account all relevant dimensions.

Lets take my “Ecology of the School Cafeteria” for example. In order to understand the inner workings of this dynamic space we have to ask a wide variety of questions. We have to ask questions regarding agriculture: how are we getting/growing the food we are serving to students? Questions regarding finance: why is the budget for school lunch what it is? Questions regarding social development: who is sitting with whom and how are they interacting with one another? I could go on and on as ecological study is practically endless.

Then we ask questions as to how the different “branches” of the “Ecology of the school cafeteria” are related. For example, how does the lunch budget affect the agricultural ways in which we are growing our food? How does cafeteria’s endorsement of industrialized agriculture affect student’s relationship towards food? How does the act of buying school lunch create a visible socioeconomic division between students? An ecological perspective reminds us that nothing exists within a vacuum; everything is interconnected.

After investigating and analyzing the school cafeteria from an ecological perspective, we can design the space for optimal sustainability. An environment that is socially sustainable optimizes social capital between organisms. In order to increase social capital in the school cafeteria, we have to implement strategies (whether they be long tables where everyone sits, tables in which everyone faces outwards, or assigned seats) that create an inclusive environment in which the student body is not divided based on race, ethnicity, gender, or the bizarre adolescent hierarchy of popularity.

Public school should be a haven for students from their sometimes-strenuous home lives. However, the school cafeteria continues to be yet another example of economically disadvantaged people not adequately being served by our government. The current New York City public school lunch is priced at a dollar and seventy-five cents. $1.75 for a whole meal in 2015? That seems unheard of. After taking a bite of this meal, one can easily see why it costs so little to produce. Our school lunch program is supporting unsustainable industrialized agriculture, and creating a perverse relationship between student and food. Millions of children across the country depend on these free or discounted meals; delicious and healthy food should not be a luxury for the poor and a staple of the rich. The “Ecology of School Cafeterias” will seek out economically viable options for sustainably grown, good quality food for students. This could be seen in the form of a school run community garden, sponsored membership in Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program and donations of fresh produce from more well-to-do parents, etc.

Michelle Obama has tried her hand at improving public school lunches through her “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.” However, her efforts have solely revolved around nutritional food standards. As we can see from the “Ecology of School Cafeterias,” the issues that exist within this space are complex and multidimensional. I would urge policy makers to adopt an ecological viewpoint when trying to solve such problems. While the mantra of the school cafeteria is, “you can’t sit with us;” I believe the only way to combat this complex problem is to invite our ecological dinner party to the lunchroom table.

— Camilla Petronio

Ecology, in relation to natural science, is the study of connections between organisms and the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) elements of their surrounding environment. However, the field of ecology is not just limited to relationships between organisms. Ecology, looked at in a broader sense, is the study of relationships – the study of connections. Therefore, in taking an “ecological view” of the world, you are taking into account all of the possible connections that exist to make things the way that they are. This can be the connections that a species of fish has to its predators, its smaller prey species, the elements of its environment that shape its behavior, its responses to natural disturbance, its responses to man-made disturbance, etc. It can mean looking at the connections that a certain product, like a box of cereal, has – to its manufacturer, to the consumer, to the ingredients that contribute to its flavor, to the farms where those ingredients are grown, etc. Taking an ecological perspective means taking into consideration all of the factors that makes something what it is, and how that something then in turn has an impact on the world around it.

Taking this view can help us understand our own connections to the world around us. You may consider thinking of all of the people and events in your life that have contributed to who you are today, and you may also consider how you have had an impact on the lives of others so far. It is possible that something you have contributed in your ‘web’ of interactions, such as advice you had given a friend, has in fact travelled into someone else’s ‘web,’ by that advice being spread through different circles of people. You may have impacted other people that you haven’t even met, widening your own system of connections. Similarly, you have connections to industry by your choices in what products you purchase, and what foods you choose to eat, to show another example.

Ecology is more than just a discipline that is applied to help us understand how the natural world works. In adopting an ecological view, we are capable of unraveling the complexities of whatever sub-disciplines we wish to think of, from something as broad as political ecology, to something as personal and simple as the ‘ecology of my kitchen’ or the ‘ecology of my workplace.’  — Caitlin Drasher

Ecology is often thought of as a sub discipline of biology, while this initial understanding of ecology as, “the study of ecosystems and how they work”, is correct we can expand on this definition. Ecology can also be applied as a framework to just about anything even outside of biology and the natural world. Ecology can be used as a framework in the same way that economics can be applied broadly as a framework to systems outside of the business realm. In applied economics, you can study a situation, whether it is something classically studied in economics like a bank or something untraditional like a library. In order to approach untraditional topics using economics one can start by applying economic thinking and concepts to help solve problems, specifically when using an economic lens you would look at choices, limitations, flows of funds, supply, demand, and equilibrium. These ideas can be applied to the study of a library.

Similarly applying “ecology” or ecological thinking to nontraditional applications takes an understanding of what ecologists fundamentally look for when they study something using an ecological lens. Ecologists by trait are very focused on complete systems, interconnectedness, and interactions between elements of a given environment when looking at an ecosystem. Using the same example of a library we can see how applying ecologic thinking is similar to applying economic thinking to a new application. When studying a library through ecology you would approach it as if you were looking at a plant using ecology. You would study the over all environment of the library, the inputs, outputs, flows, storages, and complexities of whole library as a system. As you can see ecological thinking is different from Economic thinking, however they are both “frameworks” or “views” that can be used to approach any situation. Therefore, depending on the problem that is being addressed; a person who knows something about how economist think and ecologist think and how they differ, this person can choose to apply the lens they think is the most effective in the given situation.

In class we have learned many reasons why taking an ecological view on the world is very unique and powerful. Additionally ecological views can also lend themselves to helping people reach sustainable solutions. There are a few key reasons why an ecological view of the world and its problems is in many cases superior to other approaches and result in sustainable solutions. First, Ecologists recognize that every action has an effect on something else in any given system therefore they believe that every thing is interconnected. When you look at any system in question with an ecological lens it may become very clear that a system has unintended effects on other parts of the system that make it unstable. Recognizing and correcting this could help solve the problem and prevent future problems from occurring as a result of unwanted or unexplained interactions. A second thing ecologist’s take into consideration is that every system has inputs and outputs. When inputs and outputs are out of balance feedbacks occur and cause the system to be unstable. For example taking an ecological lens when studying the library you many notice that there is more information going out than coming in. With this discovery one may uncover a variety of issues such as the prices of information being too high and so on. Overall because ecologists study both interactions and inputs and outputs and many other unique elements of a system they are able to make unique discoveries and offer sustainable solutions to everyday problems that occur in any area even far outside of the realm of biology. Overall, ecological views of the word are very powerful.      — Madison Haas

When I think of ecology, a variety of different terms come to mind- environment, sustainability, interactions, and many more. There is no clear cut definition of ecology as there are so many different subcategories that belong to this discipline. No matter what way you define the word “ecology”, possessing an ecological view of the world can be very beneficial. Viewing the world through an ecological lens can change your perception on certain notions, as it did mine. To me, an ecological view of the world means to see how everything on this planet is interconnected. Everything we as humans do has an effect on other organisms as well as the environment.

Applying an ecological view has altered my relationship with the world especially in regards to nature. Personally, I’ve always been relatively careless when it comes to the environment, not because I held an intent to hurt it, but more so because I never really realized how my actions impacted it. Until I started to use an ecological lens, I never thought twice about throwing a plastic bottle out the window while driving. I failed to realize how one animal can come into contact with that bottle and hurt itself, or how that plastic bottle can end up in a body of water. Seeing and realizing how my actions can have so many different effects on other living organisms or the environment made me more conscious of my behaviors and a lot less ignorant. My relationship to the world is definitely a work in progress, but applying an ecological view of the world to my daily life will continue to allow this relationship to grow and prosper in a healthy manner.  — Bianca Holzthum

Ecology in a general sense is the examination of the components that comprise a larger system and observing how the components interact with or influence each other within the system. To take an ecological view is to recognize that in any given system, all pieces whether biotic or abiotic are connected in a web of interaction that impacts all the other pieces. For example, the wolves in Yellowstone impact the growth of the vegetation in the area well. One might be confused, because wolves are not at all know to routinely consume notable amounts of plants in their diets, and this is true. However, wolves do heavily influence the deer population in Yellowstone and act as a primary predator to regulate the deer population. Deer graze and consume the local vegetation and without a predator such as the wolf to maintain the population size, deer would breed excessively thereby overrun the landscape and eat much of the local plant life. In this simple example one can see how wolf impacts grass indirectly in the ecological web.

An ecological perspective of the world is important because it reminds us that each component of a system does not exist in isolation, rather it is shaped by all present factors as well. Think how a large rock in the ocean can be shaped by wind, water or even humans amongst numerous other things. It is not a singular entity apart from everything else, rather very much at the mercy of external influence. An ecological view can be handy in an attempt to better understand the larger world around us. Especially since an ecological view can be applied to any system.

One could examine the ecology of an emergency department to better understand why it functions the way it does. When an emergency department is busy, incoming individuals can feel frustrated if they have to wait. They may feel their injury is being ignored or the hospital staff is slow or inefficient, but there is much more to the situation and these assumptions are remarkably incorrect. The emergency department deals with an array of incoming injuries connected to many different individuals. The severity of the various injuries impact the waiting time of each patient, as the most critical injuries are attended to first. An individual with a dislocated knee will be behind incoming patients with broken bones or who are experiencing allergic reactions for example. The rate of which these patients are attended to is then dependent on the number of staff available. This could vary depending on if some staff are sick, if some staff quit, or if the hospital has cut hours to save money. Reasons for cutting hours could be due to the demand for improved equipment in radiology or corrupt intentions of higher level board members. In short, it becomes clear that there are many pieces to the emergency department which have an impact on each other. This is the basis of ecological thinking and its applications in our daily lives are essentially limitless.  — Ian Kent

Ecology is a broad, complex term that strives to describe the endless interactions that are taking place between all of the entities, whether living or nonliving, found on this planet. In other words, a single action made in the environment can have innumerable impacts upon other organisms in an overarching web of interactions taking place at the same time. Often times individuals are completely unaware of the ecology of their environment as they fail to recognize how all of the events taking place are connected and ultimately influence each other. That being said, an “ecological view” of the world can be thought of as a perspective that influences individuals to recognize these interactions and make decisions in order to maximize benefits for all parties.

This view takes a sustainable outlook because it takes into account how something will impact the interconnections taking place in the environment. Instead of looking at the personal benefits of an action, using an “ecological view” of the world is a way for humans to recognize the repercussions of their actions and to better understand how they can affect different living and nonliving organisms. This ultimately leads to a more informed position in the environment and improved responsibility. An example of this is seen in Political Party Ecology, a subfield of the academic area that strives to create efficiencies in the United States government. By recognizing the views of individual members of Congress, this can reveal how representatives will vote and if a piece of legislation will pass. This leads to individuals being able to use their time more efficiently and being able to ignore pointless work. Political Party Ecology is important for individuals to recognize, though, because it can prevent members of government from trying to better their own political career. Sometimes politicians try to make legislation that will please their constituents and boost their own image, even if they know that there is no chance that it will pass. Using Political Party Ecology, this can inform citizens how these actions are futile and will make no difference in the federal government. If constituents understand this and hold their representatives accountable, then members of Congress will eventually end these political games.  Therefore, this can lead to a more sustainable government. If we can prevent politicians from wasting their time developing pointless legislation, then time can be better spent developing legislation that addresses the major issues facing our nation today.

Embracing this discipline of ecology could lead to many benefits that would increase the legitimacy of our federal government. One of the biggest complaints about the government is that it is incapable of passing any legislation or solving major issues. Taking an “ecological view” of political parties can better inform the general public of the individuals in government and influence the development of “passable” legislation. This outlook thus presents a sustainable outlook of our federal government that can increase its productivity.  — John Alessi

An ecological view of the world is looking at all of the connections and interactions between different species, the natural world, ideologies, technology, and statistics. This is a very, very difficult thing to do. It is impossible to know all of the different connections and interactions an organism or item would make. But, one can try to understand it by conceptualizing its relations to everything else in the world. Like a t-shirt it not just a t-shirt. It’s ecology would include the cotton plant(s) it came from, the machinery it came into contact with, its creators/sewers/reviewers, the store it went to, the cashier who handled it, the person who bought it, the store itself, the customer’s mode of transportation, the customer’s abode, the different places, people, and things it will come into contact with from beginning to end. There is no simple answer. Ecology helps someone have a better, deeper view of different items, organisms, and topics.

The ecological perspective alters our perception and relationship to this world. It makes us realize that everything is connected. One action will affect numerous different organisms. The ecological perspective makes us more aware of everything around us, especially the natural world. We realize that so much of an item’s or species’ time is spent in the presence of a human or lives in human-defined constraints. Humans have basically taken over the world. We use most of the land space, most of the clean water, we introduce invasive species to different parts of the world, and we do so much damage. But, the ecological perspective is also supposed to teach us how to make a more sustainable world. Hopefully, we all realize what is happening and we can help fix our actions to be more beneficial to the rest of the world and its’ species.

The ecology of exercise is an example of a new ecology. It involves studying people’s bodily movements to build muscle mass or lose fat, the interactions between exercising people in gyms, classes, parks, or anywhere, the impacts of exercise on the economy, individual, society, and the natural environment. It can possibly find trends between the increased media for gyms and losing weight and the actual lowering of obesity/increasing eating disorders in the world, or the trend between increased media for exercising/working out and the impact on certain foods bought, or the trend between increasing exercising and loss of natural land for gyms/paths.

Exercise ecology could be used to predict the health of future generations, it could predict models for the increase/decrease of gyms worldwide, it could predict the amount of natural land being paved for biking/running/walking paths, create more specialized workout plans for people, and can show the most desired bodily figure.

Exercise ecology would really showcase how humans are changing the natural world, but how can this be made sustainable? Building more gyms and paths is diminishing the natural world and will force more populations out of their habitats and homes. To make exercise more sustainable to the natural world, we can stop building new gyms and paths. We can accept the natural world as is and run on grass and not some paved road. Dance/Zumba classes could be held outside in warmer months; it will waste less energy and cause people to burn more calories, due to the heat. Exercise could easily be more sustainable. People could simply walk/run/bike to work as exercise instead of using some vehicular mode of transportation. Different ecologies and having an ecological perspective shows the interconnectedness of everything on Earth. The realization of these connections will help us fix what we are doing wrong. It will help make the world more sustainable.   — Sarah Bullock