No living being exists in isolation; all, whether animals, plants, or microorganisms, maintain various types of relationships with one another. They depend on plants for shelter, refuge, and food. Plants, in turn, are subject to beneficial or harmful actions from animals. Living beings not only maintain relationships with each other but also with the environment in which they live. It is the environment that provides animals and plants with the light, air, water, and soil they need to survive.
The importance of studying ecology is necessary so that all areas of science, or not, concern themselves with living beings in general and their reciprocal relationships with the environment, seeking to guide human knowledge in order to ensure the survival of species in their environment and in perfect balance.
Ecology gained social importance in the 20th century due to global concerns about environmental degradation. A significant event that marked the history of environmental defense occurred in 1967 in France when a major accident involving the oil tanker Torrey Canyon caused the spill of 120,000 tons of crude oil. The first ecological defense organizations began to emerge in the 1940s. Among the first and most important organizations are the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Greenpeace. Soon, the movement took on a political character with the birth of green parties.
On June 5, 1972, the United Nations (UN) held the Stockholm Conference (Sweden) to discuss issues related to ecology and the environment. Due to the importance of its recommendations and the international repercussions of the meeting, the UN General Assembly declared June 5 as “World Environment Day.”
This date aims to protect the genetic diversity and habitat of animals, plants, and microorganisms. On the planet, there are about 874,000 species of insects, 248,000 tall plants, 116,000 invertebrates, 73,000 short plants, 36,000 microorganisms, 19,000 fish, 9,000 birds, 4,000 mammals, and 8,000 reptiles and amphibians. In total, there are about 1.4 million known living beings. However, there is an estimate that, when including those not yet known, terrestrial biodiversity encompasses 30 million beings.
The word Ecology originates from the Greek “oikos,” meaning house, and “logia,” meaning study or reflection. Thus, it is the study of the house, or more generically, the place where one lives. It was the German scientist Ernst Haeckel, in 1869, who first used this term to designate the part of biology that studies the relationships between living beings and the environment in which they live, as well as the distribution and abundance of living beings on the planet.
To delimit the field of study in ecology, we must first understand the levels of organization among living beings. We can say that the simplest level is that of protoplasm, defined as living substance. Protoplasm is the constituent of the cell; therefore, the cell is the basic and fundamental unit of living beings. When a group of cells with the same functions is gathered, we have a tissue. Several tissues form an organ, and a set of organs forms a system. All systems together give rise to an organism. When several organisms of the same species are gathered in the same region, we have a population. Several populations in the same place form a community. All of this gathered and working in harmony forms an ecosystem. All ecosystems gathered in the same system, like here on Planet Earth, make up the biosphere.
The evolution of these concepts and the verification of changes in various ecosystems, especially their degradation by humans, led to the concept of Human Ecology, which studies the relationships between humans and the Biosphere, mainly from the perspective of maintaining their health, not only physical but also social.
On the other hand, the concepts of Conservation and Conservationism have emerged, which have imposed themselves on government actions, either through regulations on the use of the natural environment and its species or through various environmental organizations that promote the dissemination of knowledge about these interactions between humans and the Biosphere.
Dichotomy
On one hand, scientists, ecologists, and celebrities argue that humans are responsible for environmental degradation and global warming, making it our responsibility to reassess our development with the aim of saving the planet and ensuring living conditions for future generations. On the other hand, another current argues that global warming is an illusion and that humans do not have the power to influence the climate or the planet at this level.
The ecology of the end of the world
The fear industry that generates environmental business relies on pre-Darwinian science. Are the prospects of the end of human civilization real if we do not control risks such as global warming? Can the high frequency of hurricanes be attributed to irreparable damage that humans have caused to the climate?
Assuming that the theory of global collapse due to global warming has some utility, current strategies to escape it indicate that, through control and reduction of carbon emissions, the Earth’s temperature increase could be less than 0.1º C per decade, on average, between 1990 and 2100, allowing various ecosystems to adapt. At the same time, technological development should be pursued in the direction of “dematerialization” of production processes to reduce pressure on the environment through the consumption of physical resources. In other words, the strategy to avoid warming aims to influence, at the same time, what modern biologists call “macroevolution” and “microevolution.”
Curiously, something that can be seen as a real threat to humanity has quickly become a kind of currency resulting in the financialization of nature. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change assumes, for example, a 30% reduction in the rate of deforestation in the Amazon. The pact that represents the Kyoto Protocol recognizes that tropical forests provide “a wide range of environmental services: biological diversity, soil and groundwater conservation, and carbon retention” and, therefore, “developing countries (all tropical) should be compensated for the environmental services they provide to the entire planet.”
What do we really know about the great laws that drive nature? Witnessing an earthquake in southern Chile in 1835, Darwin realized that the Earth was not “finished” and that its processes of change were so grand that it would be impossible to know their laws from the limited perspective of human historical time. What determines the ice ages? What is the periodicity of adjustments in tectonic plates? The claim to know the “thermal cycles” in order to categorically assert that we are experiencing a global and progressive warming due to pollution is something that Darwin, modestly, would refuse to endorse. It remains to be seen whether we would be able to intervene in nature in such a way as to change its course.
Humans are capable of destroying the planet or making their own life untenable on it or, conversely, saving it by changing their attitude towards natural resources.
These “domestications” of nature create the illusion that all of it can be subdued, circumventing the notion of finitude.
The ecological problem is a crisis of perception
If an extraterrestrial ship invaded Earth’s airspace, surely its crew would say that no intelligent civilization inhabits this planet, given the degree of destruction of natural resources. These are the words of a renowned American scientist. I would say that, despite the technological advances made, humanity has not yet discovered the fundamental values of existence.
What we proudly call civilization is nothing more than a true aggression against natural things. Broadly speaking, this civilization means the devastation of forests, the pollution of rivers, the poisoning of lands, and the deterioration of air quality. What we call progress is nothing more than a deliberate and systematic degradation that humans have been promoting for a long time, an authentic war against nature.
This is the legacy we have received, which placed humans as the kings of the Earth and ignored that all species are equally important in maintaining the web of life. It is necessary for a new era of convincing and at the same time lasting growth from a social and environmental perspective to emerge. If we fail to convey this urgent message to today’s parents and managers, we risk compromising our children’s fundamental right to a healthy environment that promotes life.
How to awaken ecological sentiment to halt the destruction of nature and reintegrate humans into their habitat? For deep ecology, it is a crisis of perception. Our comforting notion of the permanence of our natural world, the belief that it will only change gradually and imperceptibly, if it changes at all, is therefore the result of a subtly distorted perspective. This perception is linked to a life review, to concepts and values, to a meeting of each of us with the depths of our selves. Ultimately, it is connected to spiritual and religious values.
Crises
During the two-day event, representatives from Portuguese-speaking countries spoke, including the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, the leader of the Indigenous Council of Roraima, Sinéia do Vale, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Action of Portugal, João Pedro Matos Fernandes.
In a message about International Day, Guterres stated that the planet “is at a critical point” and calls on people to make peace with nature.
The UN chief stated that “humanity continues to abuse nature,” recklessly plundering the Earth’s resources, depleting its wildlife, and treating the air, land, and seas as garbage dumps.
According to him, “crucial ecosystems and food chains are on the brink of collapse.” For the Secretary-General, this behavior is “suicidal.” The Secretary-General emphasizes that the world needs to “end the war against nature and take care of it so that it can become healthy again.”
The UN chief later highlighted the steps that need to be taken, such as limiting temperature rise and adapting to the changes that will come. He also called for stronger measures to protect biodiversity, a reduction in pollution, and more contributions to circular economies that reduce waste.
According to Guterres, these steps will safeguard “the only home” of the global population and “create millions of new jobs.”
Recovery
For the UN Secretary-General, the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic “is an opportunity to put the world on a cleaner and more sustainable path.”
The message ends by asking everyone to commit “to the hard work of restoring the planet and making peace with nature.”
Climate change, driven by human actions on nature, as well as crimes affecting biodiversity and the growing illegal wildlife trade, can increase contact and transmission of infectious diseases from animals to humans, such as Covid-19.
According to the UN, a new infectious disease emerges in humans every 4 months. About 75% of these infections come from animals, showing the relationships between human, animal, and environmental health.
Ecosystems sustain all life on Earth. For the organization, restoring damaged ecosystems will help end poverty, combat climate change, and prevent mass extinction.
To encourage this mission, the UN launches on World Environment Day, the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
Despite efforts, biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide at unprecedented rates in human history. It is estimated that about 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction.
A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that the crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are interconnected and pose an “unacceptable risk” to the well-being of current and future generations.
The study states that ambitious and coordinated action by governments, businesses, and individuals can prevent and reverse the worst impacts of environmental decline, rapidly transforming key systems, including energy, water, and food, so that land and ocean use becomes sustainable.
According to the research, “fragmented and uncoordinated actions on climate change are far from what is needed to prevent environmental decline.”
In the last 50 years, the global economy has grown nearly fivefold, largely due to a tripling of natural resource extraction that has driven production and consumption growth.
The global population has doubled to 7.8 billion. Prosperity has also doubled, but about 1.3 billion people remain in poverty, and 700 million go hungry.
UNEP states that this failure threatens the future of humanity, putting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) out of reach.
At the current pace, the world is heading for a warming of at least 3°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, which would violate the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming well below 2°C.
None of the global goals for protecting life on Earth and halting land and ocean degradation have been fully achieved. Deforestation and overfishing continue, and 1 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction.
The research notes that the Earth’s protective ozone layer is being restored, but states that much remains to be done to reduce air and water pollution and safely manage chemicals.
Consequences
The environmental burden disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable, with wealthy countries exporting some of the impacts to poorer nations.
There are also health consequences, with about a quarter of diseases stemming from environmental-related risks. Air pollution causes up to 7 million premature deaths each year.
Environmental risks, such as heatwaves, floods, droughts, and pollution, hinder efforts to make cities and other human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the risks of ecosystem degradation, as well as the need for international cooperation and greater social and economic resilience.
According to UNEP, “ensuring that investments triggered by the crisis support transformative changes is key to achieving sustainability quickly.”
The research proposes measures such as carbon taxes and phasing out harmful subsidies, annual investment in areas such as fossil fuels, agriculture, and unsustainable fishing, as well as for developing countries that also need more support to face environmental challenges, including low-interest financing.
Sources: “The ecology of the end…” by Carlos Alberto Dória, “The ecological problem…” by Afrânio Primo & “Global Leaders…” & “Crises” and “Consequences” by https://news.un.org