Ecology

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Ecology is the science that studies the interactions of organisms with their environment and with one another. It comes from the Greek words oikos (habitat) and logos (study). It deals with energy relationships and tracing them to our sun, the source of energy used in photosynthesis.

Ecology, biology and other Life Sciences overlap with zoology and geography, which describe the things that ecology tries to predict, and energy economics which describes mostly human food chains and trophic levels.

Terrestrial ecoregion and climate change research are two areas where ecologists (people studying ecology) now focus.

[edit] Ecology in politics

Ecology gave birth to many powerful philosophical and political movements - including the conservation movement, wellness movement, environmental movement, and ecology movement we know today. When these are combined with peace movements and the Six Principles, they are called green movements. In general, these put ecosystem health first on a list of human moral and political priorities, as the way to achieve better human health and social harmony, and better economics.

People with these beliefs are called political ecologists. Some have organized into the Green Parties, but there are actually political ecologists in most political parties. They very often use arguments from ecology to advance policy, especially forest policy and energy policy.

Also, ecology means that it is the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.

[edit] Ecology includes economics

Many ecologists also deal with human economics:

• Lynn Margulis says that economics studies how humans make a living, while ecology studies how every other animal makes a living.
• Mike Nickerson says that "economy is three-fifths of ecology", since ecosystems create resources and dispose of waste, which the economy assumes is done "for free".

Ecological economics and human development theory try to separate the economic questions from others, but it is difficult. Many people think economics is just part of ecology now, and that economics that ignores it is wrong. "Natural capital" is an example of one theory combining both.

[edit] Ecology mirrors anthropology

Sometimes ecology is compared to anthropology, because both use a lot of methods to study one thing we cannot live without. Anthropology is about how our bodies and minds are affected by our environment, while ecology is about how our environment is affected by our bodies and minds. There is even a type of anthropology called ecological anthropology, which studies how people interact with the environment.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery stated: "The earth teaches us more about ourselves than all the books. Because it resists us. Man discovers himself when he measures himself against the obstacle."