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- ‘GREEN PAPER ON ECOLOGY “tL 4 _ , _A stable ecosystem preserves its balanced web of relationships from most . natural threats. 5) Some of the relationships that make species dependent on one another are: &e Food chains - grain, chickens, people. Plankton, Little fish, bigger fish, pelicans. ~ By be Breathing cycles - we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, a - - plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. ce Nitrogen cycles - we eat animals and produce wastes that bacteria break mo down into food for the plants that feed the animals we eat. 6) Nothing can be thrown away, really. Everything has to go somewhere. When resources are extracted, shuffled, or discarded, they have an effect on the " ecosystem they are taken from and on the ecosystem in which they are dumped. 7) Nothing is free. Every change in an ecosystem affects another part of the ecosystem. Since the earth's resources are finite, any "progress", “develop- ‘wwe «=6©mment™, "profit", or “expanding economy” in one area robs the resources of another area. —— 8) Human beings are not the center of the global ecosystem. Human beings depend on a wide variety of species for survival, while almost no species depend on =——--- © ., human beings for survival. - . Every activity of man is done within the context of ecology. The demands that nature makes on the behavior of man and other species are non-negotiable. Living in accord with these ecological principles begins to insure a life of quality and meaning. ‘Ignoring these principles is surely courting extinction. Yet our life styles, our cultural and religious values, our industries, our economic expansion and population growth are in blatant defiance of these ecological laws. We throw anything into our garbage and down our drains. We see our relationships with nature and with each other as a never ending battle - we feel we must compete with each other and conquer nature. Our industries pour tons of poisons into what- ‘ever body of water they can find nearby. Our demand for endless economic growth, for a larger gross national product each year, results in mountains of garbage, cavities in the earth, and the permanent exhaustion of much of the earth's irreplace- able resources. Our unprecedented population growth - the global population will double in the next thirty years - will make even major attempts at solutions seem insignificant. Horror stories about our present abuse of the planet could be Listed for pages. But what is most important is that we feel the urgency to develop an ecological awareness and strategy, and begin acting to reverse this destruction of the life support systems of the planet. — This is what ecology action is trying to do. Ecology action is the beginning of a — total, rapid, nonviolent transformation of our values, “economy, Politics, and life | _- styles (revolution). It is not an organization. In the last few months, beginning primarily on the West Coast, hundreds of ecology groups have sprouted. These include — lawyers, children, drop-ins, government employees, radical pacifists, teachers, ministers, doctors, and astronomers. Coming together with a wide variety of personal concerns, they are trying to develop an awareness, a strategy for action, and a kind of hope that can meet our urgent ecological crisis. ~ ee a ere nee