The following is an article by Dr. Ong Boon Lay of the University of Melbourne;
Is there an environmental crisis? If so, just how bad is it? Experts and the media seem divided on this and many of us are probably confused about exactly where we stand. Are the recent weather extremes and natural disasters evidence of climate change? Are we headed for inevitable doom?
To be honest, we simply don’t know.
What we do know is that small changes can affect the climate quite dramatically. And, the amount of CO2 we are emitting into the atmosphere is not helping us. We also know that our modern society, which now includes Asia as well as Europe, Australasia and North America – and will soon become truly global as South America and Africa get on board – is not sustainable. And climate change or not, if we want to ensure our children and grandchildren’s inheritance, this needs to change.
The key to approaching this sustainability, is to recognise the fact that we are part of the earth’s ecology.
When I first began my research into this subject, I was asking: why don’t ecologists study the built environment as part of natural ecology? And conversely, why don’t architects and other building professionals study natural ecology?
Fortunately the situation has improved since then. People now think in terms of urban and human ecology, and building professionals are now adopting ecological ideas.
So what are the key findings when we look at our built environment as an ecosystem?
Well firstly, there is no ‘shortage of energy’. Indeed we get enough energy from the sun alone, to support the entirety of human civilisation more than five thousand times over.
Climate is also a product of the sun’s energy, involving the atmosphere, the earth’s topology, planetary movement and the universe. An ecological perspective reveals that, in fact, the energy budget of our planet is already well in balance. However the impact our quest for energy has on the environment doesn’t lie solely in our CO2 production. Depending on the scale of our intervention, we can have other impacts on the ecosystem that are just as destructive.
Secondly, we need to conserve biodiversity and enlarge the natural resources of our planet. Ecosystems survive through interdependency. The various species that inhabit any particular ecosystem depend on each other in an intricate food and resources web. Each ecosystem depends on its neighbouring ecosystem. Even the planet earth, as an ecosystem, depends on the larger ecosystem of the universe to survive. It is not just those species that are useful to us that we need. We depend on the entire ecosystem in all its richness for our survival.
Thirdly, and most relevant to the building industry, we need to redesign or restructure our built environment to better fit the earth’s ecology; and how we go about this is the challenge ahead.
It demands that we conceptualise our built environment as an ecosystem. For one thing, we have to recycle our waste. This is already widely recognised, but has to be taken to the realm of ecological recycling – where our “waste products” become resources, or at the very least, are benign to the environment.
This requires integrating human processes with nature, such as using constructed wetlands to clean our wastewater and help ensure healthy streams and rivers.
We also need to look at recycling our natural resources as part of the global ecosystem. In today’s global economy, important minerals and resources are often exported to foreign places, but do not find their way back. Which raises the question of whether we need to replenish these resources locally, and if so, how?
Another necessity is dramatically reducing our ecological footprint. Currently, mankind requires about 1.5 earths to replenish our global consumption; so our ecological footprint must be reduced to a more proportionate share of the environment. Fortunately this may not be as difficult as it first appears, it requires us to look at the process of recycling in greater detail and not just worry about reducing our consumption to prehistoric levels.
The positive result is that a more ecological society is one more in harmony with nature. Such a society has rich historical precedence. Many religions and cultures enshrine this in their teachings and value systems. Enriching our symbiotic relationship with nature will both improve human wellness and enhance psychological health. An ecological society is better for both us and the environment.
A key feature of evolution is that it never repeats itself. The demise of the dinosaurs did not result in the evolution of another dinosaur species, but rather an intelligent mammal who can actually intervene in the processes of ecology and evolution around him. Whether we will do so to our benefit or our demise remains to be seen.
Sustainability or Ecology: Does it Matter?, Award Magazine, May/June issue, 2011, pg 14.
Reflection:
Is there an environmental crisis? If so, just how bad is it? Experts and the media seem divided on this and many of us are probably confused about exactly where we stand. Are the recent weather extremes and natural disasters evidence of climate change? Are we headed for inevitable doom?
To be honest, we simply don’t know.
What we do know is that small changes can affect the climate quite dramatically. And, the amount of CO2 we are emitting into the atmosphere is not helping us. We also know that our modern society, which now includes Asia as well as Europe, Australasia and North America – and will soon become truly global as South America and Africa get on board – is not sustainable. And climate change or not, if we want to ensure our children and grandchildren’s inheritance, this needs to change.
The key to approaching this sustainability, is to recognise the fact that we are part of the earth’s ecology.
When I first began my research into this subject, I was asking: why don’t ecologists study the built environment as part of natural ecology? And conversely, why don’t architects and other building professionals study natural ecology?
Fortunately the situation has improved since then. People now think in terms of urban and human ecology, and building professionals are now adopting ecological ideas.
So what are the key findings when we look at our built environment as an ecosystem?
Well firstly, there is no ‘shortage of energy’. Indeed we get enough energy from the sun alone, to support the entirety of human civilisation more than five thousand times over.
Climate is also a product of the sun’s energy, involving the atmosphere, the earth’s topology, planetary movement and the universe. An ecological perspective reveals that, in fact, the energy budget of our planet is already well in balance. However the impact our quest for energy has on the environment doesn’t lie solely in our CO2 production. Depending on the scale of our intervention, we can have other impacts on the ecosystem that are just as destructive.
Secondly, we need to conserve biodiversity and enlarge the natural resources of our planet. Ecosystems survive through interdependency. The various species that inhabit any particular ecosystem depend on each other in an intricate food and resources web. Each ecosystem depends on its neighbouring ecosystem. Even the planet earth, as an ecosystem, depends on the larger ecosystem of the universe to survive. It is not just those species that are useful to us that we need. We depend on the entire ecosystem in all its richness for our survival.
Thirdly, and most relevant to the building industry, we need to redesign or restructure our built environment to better fit the earth’s ecology; and how we go about this is the challenge ahead.
It demands that we conceptualise our built environment as an ecosystem. For one thing, we have to recycle our waste. This is already widely recognised, but has to be taken to the realm of ecological recycling – where our “waste products” become resources, or at the very least, are benign to the environment.
This requires integrating human processes with nature, such as using constructed wetlands to clean our wastewater and help ensure healthy streams and rivers.
We also need to look at recycling our natural resources as part of the global ecosystem. In today’s global economy, important minerals and resources are often exported to foreign places, but do not find their way back. Which raises the question of whether we need to replenish these resources locally, and if so, how?
Another necessity is dramatically reducing our ecological footprint. Currently, mankind requires about 1.5 earths to replenish our global consumption; so our ecological footprint must be reduced to a more proportionate share of the environment. Fortunately this may not be as difficult as it first appears, it requires us to look at the process of recycling in greater detail and not just worry about reducing our consumption to prehistoric levels.
The positive result is that a more ecological society is one more in harmony with nature. Such a society has rich historical precedence. Many religions and cultures enshrine this in their teachings and value systems. Enriching our symbiotic relationship with nature will both improve human wellness and enhance psychological health. An ecological society is better for both us and the environment.
A key feature of evolution is that it never repeats itself. The demise of the dinosaurs did not result in the evolution of another dinosaur species, but rather an intelligent mammal who can actually intervene in the processes of ecology and evolution around him. Whether we will do so to our benefit or our demise remains to be seen.
Sustainability or Ecology: Does it Matter?, Award Magazine, May/June issue, 2011, pg 14.
Reflection:
