ECOSYSTEMS

(https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem)

An ecosystem is a large community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a

particular area.[2] The living and physical components are linked together through nutrient cycles
and energy flows.[3] Ecosystems can be of any size, but usually they are in particular places.
Each ecosystem has its own community. An aquarium community, for example, can have small
fishes and other organisms. A desert community may have cacti, small snakes, and scorpions. A
pond community can have frogs, insects, snakes, and plants, and a forest community may have
rabbits, foxes and pine trees. The species in a community are divided into populations according
to the particular habitats and ecological niches in the ecosystem.

The STATE of PHILIPPINE ECOSYSTEMS

(https://fpe.ph/biodiversity.html/view/the-lay-of-the-land-ecosystem-diversity-in-the-philippines)

Here in this country, topography varies to a great extent, ranging from coastal wetlands to upland
region watersheds. It follows, thus, that the country is home to several types of ecosystems,
which can be classified according to their defining features as follows:
The FOUR LAWS of ECOLOGY
(http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=13345)

Known to many general readers as the formulator of “The Four Laws of Ecology,” Dr. Commoner
died last year (the article was posted on January 15th, 2013). A cellular biologist and college
professor, in 1970 TIME magazine featured him as “the Paul Revere of Ecology” in a cover
story. Some today regard him as the greatest environmentalist of the 20th century. His books
include The Closing Circle: Nature, Man and Technology (1971) and Making Peace With the
Planet (1990).

The “Four Laws of Ecology,” with various simple explanations given on different web sites, and
which can be applied to ones daily life, are:

1. Everything Is Connected To Everything Else. There is one ecosphere for all living
organisms and what affects one, affects all. Humans and other species are
connected/dependent on other species. With this in mind it becomes hard to practice anything
other than compassion and harmlessness.
2. Everything Must Go Somewhere. There is no “waste” in nature, and there is no “away” to
which things can be thrown. Everything, such as wood smoke, nuclear waste, carbon
emissions, etc., must go somewhere.
3. Nature Knows Best. Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but such
change in a natural system is, says Commoner, “likely to be detrimental to that system.” The
Creation, one can argue, has an intelligence, and to tinker with that “unintellectually” we get
global warming pollution, etc.
4. There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Exploitation of nature will inevitably involve
the conversion of resources from useful to useless forms. In nature, both sides of the equation
must balance, for every gain there is a cost, and all debts are eventually paid.

Among Commoner’s achievements are these two:

1. As a central figure in the mid-20th century anti-nuclear testing movement, he issued warnings
about radioactive fallout (based on an analysis of children’s baby teeth) that helped lead to a
1963 nuclear test ban treaty that phased out atmospheric testing.
2. He broadened his ecological message by becoming a politician, running as the the USA
Presidential candidate on the 1980 Citizens Party ticket. His running mate was LaDonna
Harris, the Native-American wife of Fred Harris, former Democratic Senator from Oklahoma.

The TRAGEDY of the COMMONS

(https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons)

The tragedy of the commons was an article published by Garrett Hardin in the journal Science in
1968.[1] It describes a problem where many people with their own ideas can make something they
all share worse, even if no one wants to. For example, even if no one wants to pollute water because
that makes it unhealthy, it can still end up like that because so many want to use the water for their
own reasons, like washing and throwing away rubbish. Each person thinks that their small bit of
pollution of the water is too small to affect the quality of the water, but because there are many
people the total effect ends up making the water too polluted for mostly anybody to use for drinking
or even washing. This may occur in slums and other overcrowded places like refugee camps.[2]
The idea was not Hardin's, but a person named William Forster Lloyd who wrote about it in 1833.
In those days herders often grazed cows on common land. Lloyd pointed out that each cow added
benefit to its owner but damaged the land overall for all herders by overgrazing.[3]

The tragedy of the commons is often used in modern debates on ecology. It is also a topic in game
theory.