Engineer: I need an ecosystem.
Biologist: Okay, that shouldn’t be to hard.
E: It shouldn’t, but the one I bought on e-bay is just a plastic box, there’s nothing organic in it….
B: You tried to buy an ecosystem? Do you know what an ecosystem is?
E: Um, well, in so many words it’s…. Well I know it’s….It’s an organic thingy that is kind of like a computer? Maybe? Okay, from that look maybe not. It’s… it’s carbon based and it… it… It’s something biologists talk about?
B: An ecosystem is trees, and plants, and carnivores, and prey and predators and all that happy stuff.
E: Like, M&M’s and smiley faces?
B: Uh, no. There are not usually M&M’s and smiley faces in ecosystems.
Before we dive into this whole sustainable culture series I want to take a step back, and review a few definitions. This is for all the engineers out there…
ECOSYSTEM– All the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight.
Why this matters: The ecosystem is the basis for a sustainable habitat. If you know how organisms interact with their environment you can build up (or tear down through biological warfare) the planet.
Note: An ideal ecosystem does not a sustainable human habitat make. Not unless you like to eat your meat raw and live without computers (I shudder at the thought). The human species likes a complex habitat, but we need an ecosystem first, so that’s where our adventure in sustainable living starts. :o)
Over the next few weeks I’m going to post about ecosystems, what humans need for survival, and how to the land influences world-building in a book.
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