Four Laws of Ecology (Part I)

Text Appreciation

I. Text Analysis: Introduction

This text is a piece of scientific writing and is taken from Chapter 2 “The Ecosphere” of the book entitled The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology. This book is one of the first to bring the idea of sustainability to a mass audience.

The text is not hard for even ordinary readers to understand. Commoner explains everything clearly by using everyday vocabulary as much as possible, and by using examples to illustrate technical terms in ecology.

I. Text Analysis: Theme

The writer defines the term ecology as the science that studies the relationships and the processes linking each living thing to the physical and chemical environment. Through the discussion of the four laws of ecology, the author reveals the interdependence and coexistence of various species in the vast network of life on the earth.

Ⅰ. Text Analysis: Text Organization

Part 1 (Paras. 1-3): Introduction: the basic concept of ecology. It also provides the discussion boundary for the following two rules. Part 2 (Paras. 4-18): The first law of ecology: everything is connected to everything else. Part 3 (Paras. 19-21): The second law of ecology: everything must go somewhere.

I. Text Analysis: Further Understanding（文本解读）

Nowadays everybody is talking about ecology. We talk about an ecological crisis and ecological protection. We try to build an ecological civilization. We rank cities according to their ecological standards. We promote an ecological lifestyle. We are urged to eat ecological foods produced on ecological farms. We take part in ecological tourism. We read literature from an ecological perspective. And so on and so forth. But what does ecology mean? What are the basic laws of ecology? How is the logic of ecology related to the environmental crisis we are faced with? How many of us can answer these questions adequately?

Barry Commoner's book entitled The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology addresses the fundamental issues about ecology. "Four Laws of Ecology" is taken from Chapter 2 "The Ecosphere" of this book. In this book Commoner suggests that the American economy should be restructured to conform to the unbending laws of ecology. For example, he argues that polluting products (like detergents or synthetic textiles) should be replaced with natural products (like soap or cotton and wool). This book is one of the first to bring the idea of sustainability to a mass audience. Commoner suggests a left-wing, eco-socialist response to the limits to growth thesis, postulating that capitalist technologies were chiefly responsible for environmental degradation, as opposed to population pressures.

Barry Commoner is regarded as one of the founders of the environmental movement. His The Closing Circle is one of the early important books on the environmental crisis. Although written in 1971, it is still a profoundly useful book for those who are interested in gaining a basic understanding of ecology. In this book, the writer is concerned with the links between the environmental crisis and the social systems of which it is a part. The book shows that the logic of ecology sheds considerable light on many of the troubles which afflict the earth and its inhabitants. An understanding of the environmental crisis illuminates the need for social changes.

In the part chosen as our text, the writer defines the term ecology as the science that studies the relationships and the processes linking each living thing to the physical and chemical environment. Ecology is the science of planetary housekeeping. There are four basic laws of ecology. The first law is "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else." This law reflects "the existence of the ecosphere: among different living organisms, and between populations, species, and individual organisms and organisms, and their physicochemical surroundings."

The second law is "Everything Must Go Somewhere." This is simply a somewhat informal restatement of a basic law of physics—that matter is indestructible. Applied to ecology, the law emphasize that in nature there is no such thing as "waste." This also means that nothing "goes away," but it is simply transferred from place to place, converted from one molecular form to another, acting on the life processes of any organism in which it becomes, for a time, lodged. This explains that one of the chief reasons for the present environmental crisis is that great amounts of materials have been extracted from the earth, converted into new forms, and discharged into the environment. The third law is "Nature Knows Best." The writer points out, "One of the most pervasive features of modern technology is the notion that it is intended to "improve on nature" to provide food, clothing, shelter, and means of communication and expression which are superior to those available to man in nature." However, the third law of ecology holds that any major man-made change in a natural system is likely to be detrimental to that system. The fourth law is "There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch." In ecology the law is intended to warn that every gain is won at some cost.

The text is a piece of scientific writing. Such writings can be very difficult for readers without the relevant educational background. But Commoner manages to write so that it is not so hard for ordinary readers to understand. To achieve this end, he explains everything clearly by using everyday vocabulary as much as possible, and by using examples. for instance, he illustrates the first law by using the example of the fresh-water ecological cycle: fish—organic waste—bacteria of decay—inorganic products—algae—fish of course there are technical terms in the piece that cannot be avoided. But to gain a basic understanding of the major laws of ecology, the effort to tackle the difficulty is worthwhile.

1. The science of ecology  _______

  A. studies the relationships between animals and the physical and chemical environment

  B. is the science of planetary housekeeping

  C. a well-developed science

  D. has developed many cohesive, generalized laws as physics

2. Ecological cycles are usually not easily observed because ________________

  A. few people are dedicated to studying it

  B. they involved a long period of time

  C. they are subject to daily or seasonal variations in weather and environmental agents.

  D. they are implicit in the environment

3. In the rabbit-lynx system, the lynx population is __________negatively related to the number of rabbits and the rabbit population is positively related to the number of lynx

  A. positively; negatively

  B. positively; positively

  C. negatively; negatively

  D. negatively; positively

4. Which of the following statements is true?

  A. The ecosystem will not collapse because it can compensate itself

  B. Soil ecosystems turn over faster than aquatic ecosystems.

  C. Branching of the system will decrease the resistance  of an ecosystem to stress.

  D. External intrusions usually threaten the stability of an ecosystem.

5. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

  A. Certain environmental constituents concentrate in bodies of the largest organisms at the top of the food chain.

  B. The slower an ecosystem can turn over, the more stress it can handle.

  C. Harmful substances go into to human organs finally.

  D. Nothing really vanishes even when it is discarded.