Ecosystems vs Economics
- Alice Brown
- Jul 30, 2017
- 5 min read
Nature doesn't need people. People need nature. - Nature Is Speaking, Conservation International
Ecology & ecosystems
Ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between living things (organisms) and their environments. Ecosystems (ecological systems) are collections of living things and the environments in which they live- they cover the whole world, each connecting with and effecting each other in certain ways. An ecosystem is made up of atmosphere, soil, heat and sunlight, water and the living things that rely on it. All of these ecosystems add up to create the biosphere (or ecosphere), which is the sum of all ecosystems- in other words, our living planet. The biosphere is an infinite web of connections- interrelationships, effects, changes, discoveries and consequences, and these have all been exponentially sped up by human activity. Our human-made systems are having immense unnatural impacts on ecosystems, in ways that are hard to imagine- if we were to see the world pre industry and pre agriculture, we would see a world that many of us in modern societies would think to be unrecognisable.
Back when we were hunters and gatherers, we weren't even at the top of the food chain and we found food as we roamed, rather than grow and trade masses of food in what we now call fields. Industries didn't exist, we didn't sell plastic to the other side of the world, use chemical household products and fly on aeroplanes every year. Everything that lives exploits the earth, and it naturally evolves, replenishes and even benefits, but we have gradually taken more from the earth than it can sustainably give us... it can't keep up with us.
An ecosystem could be a south American cloud rainforest, an African grassland, temperate forests in Europe, the Arctic tundra, a middle eastern dessert, an English pond, your garden... these artworks by Rachel Ignotofsky are a really nice illustration of how a few of them work:
"We are the most powerful actors in ecosystems, yet until recently we have been largely unaware of the ecological consequences of the way we live our lives." - OU, 'Introducing the environment: ecology and ecosystems
Species, genus & why we name things.
In short, the genus refers to the "generic" name of an animal group, and species refers to the "specific" name of the animal. For example, the wolf, dog and coyotespecies' belong to the 'canis' genus. The blue whale, killer whale and striped dolphin species', belong to the 'cetacea' genus. There are further classifications as part of the 'Taxonomic rank', if you'd like to learn more. Richard Fortey, a palaeontologist and natural historian had this to say on why we name and class everything, in his book 'Life: An Unauthorised Biography': "[naming] is a means to gain an appreciation of the richness of the environment and our human place within it. The variety of the world is the product of hundreds of millions of years of evolution, of catastrophes survived, and of ecological expansion. To begin to grasp any of this complexity the first task is to identify and recognise its component parts: for biologists, this means the species of animals and plants, both living and extinct."
Ecological health Ecological health is the health of our ecosystems and as a result our biosphere. A healthier ecosystem is widely seen as one where there is the most biodiversity (the variety in living things), as each species of plant or animal performs it's 'job' in the web. It is important though that that biodiversity is native, because any plant or animal that has been introduced by humans can tip balances and potentially wipe out certain species. For example, England used to be populated by the native Red Squirrel, but as humans brought the grey squirrel from Europe the Red has really suffered. Ecological health is seriously threatened by so many human cause problems- over farming, over fishing, deforestation, toxic waste and chemical pollution, soil depletion and climate change.
Ecosystems vs economics Traditionally, economic growth and development have been modelled on infinite growth and an obsession with producing things or services for people to buy- much of which is unsustainable and destructive. Until relatively recently, we didn't fully understand how bad an impact these models were having on the planet, but we now know we can't carry on using them.
Trade has always been a part of human nature: sharing of resources, ideas and as a result cultures- it benefits many of us, and we now totally depend on it in it's mass scale. But planets resources are finite, and much of what we make uses it's resources and creates inequalities for people, animals and the earth itself- in other words, our ecosystems. Change is needed urgently, and requires serious political will and social change. Even if you were to feel no desire to preserve wildlife, protection of ecosystems means protecting human life- we just often overlook the connection.
How did we form this economy? In 1937, a man called Simon Kuznets coined a way of measuring money, called gross domestic product (GDP). It measures the value of how much a country produces in an amount of time and the higher the GDP, the 'healthier' a country is seen. As a result, it's what economists have studied, and what our economy has been build on over the back 70 or so years. This has lead to a short-sighted obsession with having the most amount of product and money, and ignores everything else. GDP does not measure 'negative externalities' aka the consequences of production the environment. With monetary growth, comes also a wrecking of natural resources, not to mention a disregard for putting money into things like education and social care. Al Gore, former vice-president of the USA and author of 'The Future', describes it as 'functionally insane'. Even Simon Kuznets, the man who coined GDP himself, told us not to measure our economic policy by this."The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income as defined by the GDP", he said.
Donut Economics One alternative way of looking at economics that is better suited to the our planet's future, is Kate Raworth's model of 'donut economics'. This fairer, more sustainable way of thinking considers what GDP does not- value that is created with no money changing hands, wellbeing and the environment that everything comes from. Her idea sets out to "rethink economic development in the face of planetary boundaries and social inequalities." 'Economics is deeply rooted in the environment' - Kate Raworth
Here is a short video explanation of her, '21st century style of economics' that Kate passionately believes that students should instead be learning and that we should all be following. This is her model to “meet the needs of all within the means of the planet”:
Kate outlines in detail how this style of economics could work, in her book, "Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist", and is really worth reading if you care about this. Can the next generation persuade those who learnt one way, to change the economic system so that we can thrive whilst also taking care of our planet well in to the future? We think so!
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