Science
- Submitted by: bommerang7
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 02/18/2015 06:40 PM
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A. Everything is Connected to Everything Else
B. Everything Must Go Somewhere
C. Nature Knows Best
D. There is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
Barry Commoner’s Four Laws of Ecology play a massive role in our lives as we know them today, even though most of us do not realize it. One of the greatest examples of how Barry’s laws are interconnected is the human/nature relationship on the the terms of garbage.
As Barry Commoner first stated, “Everything is connected to everything else”. In 2006, Americans generated 251 million tons of trash. Fifty-five percent of this ended up in landfills. That is 138.05 tons of trash and roughly 560,000 acres of land that was once home to many living animals. One of these animals possibly being a meadow vole. These creatures make up a significant portion of owls, small hawks, and falcon’s diets. Connecting to Barry’s first law, if the meadow vole is killed or absent from this area, the other predatory animals such as a falcon will also died from a lack or food, or migrate to an area with a greater food supply leaving the area barren of any wildlife.
Today, people(including myself), buy many things such as plastic baggies, soda, and other non bio-degradable products. As stated by Barry, “Everything must go somewhere”. Most people but these products not keeping in mind of where they may end up if not recycled properly. In 2013, 8.7 million tons of total recyclable material was actually recycled. That means the things like plastic bags that take 3,010 years to decompose and soda cans, 2060 years, that are being thrown away have to go someplace. Unfortunately these places are landfills that don’t belong in nature and in turn endangering surrounding wildlife. If every American, myself included, recycled one-tenth of their newspapers we could save 25 million trees per year. This plays in perfectly with Barry’s first law. The 25 million trees being cut down is less trees aiding in the water cycle, more specifically...
B. Everything Must Go Somewhere
C. Nature Knows Best
D. There is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
Barry Commoner’s Four Laws of Ecology play a massive role in our lives as we know them today, even though most of us do not realize it. One of the greatest examples of how Barry’s laws are interconnected is the human/nature relationship on the the terms of garbage.
As Barry Commoner first stated, “Everything is connected to everything else”. In 2006, Americans generated 251 million tons of trash. Fifty-five percent of this ended up in landfills. That is 138.05 tons of trash and roughly 560,000 acres of land that was once home to many living animals. One of these animals possibly being a meadow vole. These creatures make up a significant portion of owls, small hawks, and falcon’s diets. Connecting to Barry’s first law, if the meadow vole is killed or absent from this area, the other predatory animals such as a falcon will also died from a lack or food, or migrate to an area with a greater food supply leaving the area barren of any wildlife.
Today, people(including myself), buy many things such as plastic baggies, soda, and other non bio-degradable products. As stated by Barry, “Everything must go somewhere”. Most people but these products not keeping in mind of where they may end up if not recycled properly. In 2013, 8.7 million tons of total recyclable material was actually recycled. That means the things like plastic bags that take 3,010 years to decompose and soda cans, 2060 years, that are being thrown away have to go someplace. Unfortunately these places are landfills that don’t belong in nature and in turn endangering surrounding wildlife. If every American, myself included, recycled one-tenth of their newspapers we could save 25 million trees per year. This plays in perfectly with Barry’s first law. The 25 million trees being cut down is less trees aiding in the water cycle, more specifically...