Custodio, Terrence Mari B.

BSPT 3-1
Section: GES 0013-1 Environmental Science

Laws of Ecology
1. Everything is connected to everything else
- Every action of man resulted in an action of nature. Man’s action is always connected
to some of the catastrophes that had occurred in the past. That is why some are called
man-made catastrophes. Example is when flash floods occur in an urban area. Since
man had removed trees and altered the landscape of the area, flooding is now
possible since there are no more trees to displace the huge amount of water in the
area.
- Another example is the water we drink. Every living organism needs water to survive
and is an essential part of identifying if an area is capable of hosting life. we are all
connected through our need of water.
2. Everything must go somewhere
- Water, since water has no calories, once you drink water, you will eventually excrete
water through perspiration and excretion. The water excreted will eventually be
evaporated through the skin and into air in the form of vapor, it is still water, but the
state is only altered. Then the vapor will return into a water state trough
precipitation/rain, then that fresh water can be stored through a dam and will be
filtered again for humans to drink.
3. Nature knows best
- Humans tend to imitate nature in terms of design and structure, for example, modern
aircrafts are designed after the body structures of birds for increased aerodynamics.
Examples is the Wing tip of a bird that flies for a long duration of time; the wing tip is
slightly curved upward that is why human engineers also made the wing tip of
airplanes like that of a bird.
4. There is no such thing as a free lunch
- The advancement in technology can lead to human convenience but with a price of
destruction. Example is if we compare the amount of greenhouse gases and pollution
from 100 years ago to our present time. Yes, it is easier to live today since humans
have now the help of technology, but the effect of this advancement is seen in the
difference of our planet in terms of waste production from a hundred years ago. In
simpler terms, convenience comes with a price, just how convenience stores always
have higher prices for products than large supermarkets.
5. Everything has limits
- Nature will always try to balance everything by putting a limit. An example is an
extinction. Extinction occurs when a species has reached its limits since their
environment can no longer accommodate their lives, an eventually they all became
extinct. Life itself the definition of limit. Life is defined and limited by death. Without
a limit, it wouldn’t be called life.