The Approach of the Four Laws of Ecology

Abstract

This article paper has been provided and composed as a reflection to the Four Laws of Ecology of Dr. Barry Commoner as well as the perspective in the environment we live in sustaining a sustainable climate that everyone is looking for. The environmental problems are everywhere that must be resolved accordingly as there is no such thing as free lunch on this Earth but some points of concern with Awareness, Sustaining and Protection must prevail.

Insight

In the first place, I stand to agree with the theories formulated of the beloved and known Environmentalist Barry Commoner, who made the arguments of the four laws of ecology, which is the justification of what the society we are living now. But who is Barry Commoner in the first place and why he is concerned with the ecology?

Dr. Barry Commoner is a cellular biologist and college professor during his time and known for his books with The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology in 1971 and Making Peace with the Planet in 1990. He was featured in 1970 edition of TIME Magazine cover story entitled “the Paul Revere of Ecology.” With all the achievements and contributions to the world, he became famous with the Four Laws of Ecology, which his life reaches as 95-years old from 1917 to 2012. He was devoted and shared helping people in understanding the benefits of ecological thinking and their purpose to our generation with the set of laws of ecology.

But let us define first the term, Ecology, to widen our understanding. Based on the dictionary, Ecology means as the study of the relationships and the processes which are linking living things to the physical environment and the chemical environment. And thus, Commoners Four Laws of Ecology had explicitly developed the cohesive within the ecological aspects and simplifying generalizations that are already evident and true with all the circumstances we have now known to refer to the ecosphere that has been organized into a set of laws of ecology, which I am agreed upon.

"Ecology means as the study of the relationships and the processes which are linking living things to the physical environment and the chemical environment."

The Four Laws of Ecology are the followings;

• Everything Is Connected To Everything Else
• Everything Must Go Somewhere
• Nature Knows Best
• There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

Everything Is Connected To Everything Else

I do agree that the first law of ecology as we have one ecosphere and that’s true, which are referring to all of the living organisms on Earth that what might affects one, generally affects all and consistently happening like a domino effect within the society. The situations reflect on whatever existence within the elaborate network of interconnections throughout the ecosphere. These can be simplified the relationship among different living organisms in the environment and the populations between populations which are tremendously increasing with their physicochemical surroundings and behavior. To give you an example of this theory is the result of environmental possibilism to the humans and other species which genuinely connected with whatever changes or development in the competitive landscape. 

For further details, you can read the article as an example can be found in this link;

However, the ecological systems explicitly similar cycles we have and often concealed by the effects of the daily activities or the impact of seasonal variations in weather and environmental agents which are experiencing now and then.

Everything Must Go Somewhere

I agree with this law, and one of the examples which I already provided and explained in my article, “Ethical Position and Perspective on the Environment We Live In” on the LinkedIn publishing platform with this link;

Whatever we have on Earth that have been extracted are in the form of recycling methods and with the help of technologies in today's generation, they are converted into new ways which we are using in our daily routine, and perhaps everybody is enjoying it. On the other hand, all wastes are being discharged into the environment we live in without taking into account that everything we have has to go somewhere. Like what I have mentioned in the article with the using of modern trash into another perspective that can be used in the cycling process in another form into grid.

Commoner law clearly emphasizes that within nature we live in or within the competitive landscape have no such thing we called “waste” but recycling into a new form into the grid for our resources we need. Another example is within the natural system we have in the environment are those excreted by one organism on Earth as wastes that have taken up by another body as their food. From the biology subject, we learned in our school days, and those animals have released their carbon dioxide which they called as a respiratory waste. However, this respiratory waste is an essential nutrient for the green plants we have in the environment in sustaining their plant's cycle. On the other hand, the plants also excrete pure oxygen that has been used by the animals and of course, the human itself. In contrary, the animal produces an organic waste which nourishes the bacteria of decay in the cycling process. And thus, again, based on biology, the scraps they created is an inorganic material identified to nitrate, phosphate, and carbon dioxide, which become an algal nutrient.

Therefore, this is the way to counteract the prevalent notion we heard as the nuisance from the colleagues that something useless as “goes away” whenever their wastes have been discarded. But merely these wastes have been transferred from place to place into a recycling process which our biology subject justified through conversion from one molecular form to another on the life processes.

Nature Knows Best

In the world of hypocrisy, the humankind around the world is fashioned with the technological innovations have changed our life passionately and with those notions intended to improve the quality of nature where we are living with, which can be referred to my article in this link;

However, Commoner says that with such change in a natural system is likely to be detrimental to that system, which is our environment within the negative and positive aspects as we are experiencing in today’s generation. This is because of the technological innovation and greediness has valuable environmental impact that needs to be addressed with the climate change as an example.

Nevertheless, with the second of law applies within somehow. But most of them as part of the law where the nature are providing foods we need, the clothing we dress in our daily routine, the shelter that we live and securing ourselves with values, as well as the means of communication which are available to anyone in nature that I appreciate.

There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

This law applies everywhere where you can’t be able to asks someone for free, but passionately we need to work harder to gain something that we need within the environment we live in a world of hypocrisy. Which, therefore, the equation must be balanced as we are doing and solving the algebraic equation, whereas in economics, means with the Credit and the Debit in the ledger spreadsheet that have to be balanced somehow otherwise mentally ill.

Illuminating for the environmental problems that we have created must be resolved accordingly so that the upland and the lowland areas will satisfy their needs. If within the government agencies where the officials are practicing graft and corruptions must be stopped and passionately do the things according to the work you are doing for the common good and following the rule of law.

Therefore, whatever we owe to our nature and to someone must be restored and regain into a sustainable environment we are dreaming of. Greediness, graft, and corruption must be stopped because there is no such thing as a free lunch at all.

"Greediness, graft, and corruption must be stopped because there is no such thing as a free lunch at all."

Conclusion

Dr. Barry Commoner Four Laws of Ecology identifies the importance of environment and applies everywhere passionately and therefore, with all the facts shown with the examples I have provided I stand to agree as an Environmentalist. We need to take care our Mother Earth at all cost, similar thing as we take responsibility and care for ourselves, not for greediness, graft and corruption practices, but securing a sustainable environment for your children in the future and the next generations.

Reference

Gomeseria, R. V. (2019, September 26). The Approach of the Four Laws of Ecology. Retrieved from osf.io/uvsm4

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I am hoping I can share and give you some points on the ecological view on the Four laws of Ecology in sustaining a sustainable environment in the prevention of Climate Change. Of all the above discussions, it is the AUTHOR intent to share for educational purposes, guidelines and awareness. Any comments, please share and let us discuss, Thank you for your time, I really appreciate and regards to all.