Meanings

Little Book on Applied Ecology: Draft of a “Glossary”:

The little bird we have on most pages will say on the first page of the glossary: “This might be the most important section of this ‘Little Book’!  Por favor, study it!”

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Glossary (of terms as used in this “Little Book”):

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Agroecology (hopefully Appropriately applied)-An ecological approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices.  Merriam-Webster

Appropriate (often used herein)-“suitable or proper in the circumstances.” Google dictionary  “Appropriate technologies or practices”; “appropriate goals, policy, plans, actions, monitoring, assessment”; etc. may be very inappropriate if overdone … and in particular circumstances, spaces or “wholes”, times, or geo-political situations.

Artificialization-Process of artificializing. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/artificialization  Artificial herein is referring to human-dominated systems which have largely lost touch with the important components of: natural systems, healthy living soils and waters, photosynthesis and net primary productivity, high biodiversity, and sustainable ecological community dynamics. (Much of today’s economy is very artificial and superficial, including conventional and “organic” agriculture, and is not in tune with natural biogeochemical cycles and energetics, and a stable local community social fabric to the extent pre-agriculture, pre-industrialization, or even pre-WW II and the information age.)

Autotrophs & Heterotrophs–Autotrophs are “producing” organisms capable of making nutritive organic molecules from inorganic sources via photosynthesis (involving light energy) or chemosynthesis (involving chemical energy).  Heterotrophs are “consuming organisms which feed on organic matter produced by, or available in, other organisms. http://www.biology-online.org

Biocapacity-Capability of an area to generate an on-going supply of renewable resources and absorb spillover wastes.

Biodiversity-“the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter [& intra;] terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”  …  “Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services to which human well-being is intimately linked.”  www.greenfacts.org https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2018/05/26/a-planetary-census-puts-humans-in-their-place

Biogeochemical cycles-pathways “by which a chemical substance moves through both the biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) components of Earth.”  “The circulation of chemical nutrients like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and water etc. through the biological and physical world.”  https://en.wikipedia.org

Biophilia-“coined by Erich Fromm in The Heart of Man: Its Genius for Good and Evil (1964) to mean ‘love for humanity and nature, and independence and freedom’; extended by Edward O. Wilson in Biophilia (1984) to mean ‘the rich, natural pleasure that comes from being surrounded by living organisms.’”  Dictionary.com

Carrying capacity-No. of people and/or other organisms a region can support w/out environmental degradation.

Cell-“a small usually microscopic mass of protoplasm bounded externally by a semipermeable membrane, usually including one or more nuclei and various other organelles with their products, capable alone or interacting with other cells of performing all the fundamental functions of life, and forming the smallest structural unit of living matter capable of functioning independently”  Merriam-Webster

• Prokaryote-“a small usually microscopic mass of protoplasmbounded externally by a semipermeable membrane, usually including one or more nuclei and various other organelles with their products, capable alone or interacting with other cells of performing all the fundamental functions of life, and forming the smallest structural unit of living matter capable of functioning independently.”  https://www.britannica.com/science/prokaryote “The oldest known fossilized prokaryotes were laid down approximately 5 billion years ago, only about 1 billion years after the formation of the Earth’s crust. Eukaryotes only appear in the fossil record later, and may have formed from endosymbiosis of multiple prokaryote ancestors.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prokaryote
• Eukaryote-“any cellor organism that possesses a clearly defined nucleus. The eukaryotic cell has a nuclear membrane that surrounds the nucleus, in which the well-defined chromosomes (bodies containing the hereditary material) are located. Eukaryotic cells also contain organelles, including mitochondria (cellular energy exchangers), a Golgi apparatus (secretory device), an endoplasmic reticulum (a canal-like system of membranes within the cell), and lysosomes (digestive apparatus within many cell types). There are several exceptions to this, however; for example, the absence of mitochondria and a nucleus in red blood cells and the lack of mitochondria in the oxymonad Monocercomonoides Eukaryotes are thought to have evolved between about 1.7 billion and 1.9 billion years ago. The earliest known microfossils resembling eukaryotic organisms date to approximately 1.8 billion years ago.”   https://www.britannica.com/science/eukaryote
• Organelle-“The term organelle is derived from the word ‘organ’ and refers to compartments within the cell that perform a specific function. These compartments are usually isolated from the rest of the cytoplasm through intracellular membranes. These membranes could be similar to the plasma membrane or made from a different complement of lipids and proteins. The properties of a membrane are due to its origin, such as with mitochondria [with its own DNA] or plastids, or due to its specific function, as seen with the nuclear membrane. A few organelles are not membrane-bound and are present as large complexes made of RNA and protein, such as ribosomes.” https://biologydictionary.net/organelle/  [Study endosymbiosis theory!]
• Rickettsia-“any of a various gram-negative, parasitic bacteria [prokaryote] … that are transmitted by biting arthropods (such as lice or ticks) and cause a number of serious diseases (such as Rocky Mountain spotted feverand typhus)”  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rickettsia
• Virus-“an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host.” Google Dictionary
• Prion-“an abnormal form of a normally harmless proteinfound in the brain that is responsible for a variety of fatal neurodegenerative diseases of animals, including humans, called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.”  Encyclopedia Britannica

Conspicuous consumption-Transformation of energy and consumption of goods at a relatively lavish, glamorous (and very unethical & nonsustainable) scale.

Curricula-“totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process.”  https://en.wikipedia.org  Herein this book we use curricula for experiences in any (continuing) education process, including in governmental entities, non-governmental not-for-profits, businesses, etc.  …  We hope for PEACE, or Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology across curricula.

Death ideology-An ideology through which we are destroying our own humanity and killing Earth because of a fallacy of misplaced concreteness which allows us “to measure our success in term of gross national product without asking what is being produced, to whom it is being distributed, or what the production process is doing to the worker or the environment.”  L.E. Schmidt, L.E. & S. Merrato. 2008. The End of Ethics in a Technological Society.

Deep ecology-“environmental philosophy and social movement based in the belief that humans must radically change their relationship to nature from one that values nature solely for its usefulness to human beings to one that recognizes that nature has an inherent value. Sometimes called an “ecosophy,” deep ecology offers a definition of the self that differs from traditional notions and is a social movement that sometimes has religious and mystical undertones.”  Encyclopedia Britannica

Earth—

• Commons-The Commons “is a general term referring to the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable earth. These resources are held in common, not owned privately.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commons
• Land– The Land is Nature with humans in it who have significant knowledgeable interactions with and consideration of non-human elements such as soils, waters, plants, animals, and other biota. Aldo Leopold can largely be credited with this Land Ethic.
• Nature-Living systems on Earth which are somewhat as they were 15,000 years ago.

Eaarth-the new Earth of the Anthropocene, the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence in producing an environment detrimental to life as humans have known it, perhaps beginning in ca. 1950, but maybe much earlier.  From Bill McKibben, Eaarth, 2010.

Ecosystem-Abiota & biota interacting in a relatively closed system in an area of the ecosphere/Earth/Eaarth/world.  Community-All of the organisms interacting in an area.  Population-The individuals of one species interacting in an area.  Deme-A very local sector of a population.

Ecological footprints-“the impact of human activities measured in terms of the area of biologically productive land and water required to produce the goods consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated.”  …  “it is the amount of the environment necessary to produce the goods and services necessary to support a particular lifestyle.”  http://wwf.panda.org

Elder-“someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and lore, and who has permission to disclose knowledge and beliefs.”  http://www.indigenousteaching.com

Energy, energy transformation, energetics, & the energy pyramid– Energy is the ability to move and build things, or the capacity to do work.  Energy transformation or a changing to various forms, may involve electrical, thermal, nuclear, mechanical, electromagnetic, sound, and chemical forms.  As it is transformed it is degraded, i.e., entropy (see definition below, 2^nd Law of TD) is increased.  Energetics deals with the properties of energy and the way in which it is redistributed in physical, chemical, or biological processes.  The energy pyramid in biology illustrates how useful energy (ca. 90%) is lost to entropy as it moves from the autotrophic-producer trophic or food chain level to heterotrophic levels.

Energy units–

• British thermal unit-“amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.” (1055 joules or 252 calories)  Google dictionary
• calorie-“the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C (or 4.1868 joules).” Google dictionary (A kilocalorie is the large Calorie that we commonly use in the U.S.A. for measuring energy; 1000 calories equals a Calorie or a Kilocalorie.)
• Joule-“one joule is equal to the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves one meter in the direction of action of the force, equivalent to one 3600th of a watt-hour.” Google dictionary

Equity-Fair and just such that everyone is a success vs. equality in which everyone is treated the same.

EROEI-“In physics, energy economics, and ecological energetics, energy returned on energy invested (EROEI or ERoEI); or energy return on investment (EROI), is the ratio of the amount of usable energy (the exergy) delivered from a particular energy resource to the amount of exergy used to obtain that energy resource.”  https://en.wikipedia.org  Related pieces:  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eroi-behind-numbers-energy-return-investment/  https://ourfiniteworld.com/2016/12/21/eroei-calculations-for-solar-pv-are-misleading/  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_returned_on_energy_invested

Ethics, Ethos; Morals, Mores; Values–

• “Values – The basis of harmony in relationships.  Values are intrinsic principles that govern relationships. If one lives in accordance with values in relationships then those relationships become balanced and both the related persons feel the joy in that relationship. For example, if one lives with mutual respect, trust, affection, gratitude then that relationship becomes balanced and harmonized. In this one can see that Values are the basis for harmony in relationships. Valueless living is unfulfilled life full of mistakes.
• Morals – The basis of harmony in community.  Morals are intrinsic principles that govern community living. Morals are mainly in terms of ‘earning wealth’, ‘marital propriety’ and ‘propensity towards kindness/cruelty in work-behavior’. If one generates wealth through our own genuine efforts without cheating or stealing, then it is considered righteous wealth which is considered a high moral value. Secondly, if one maintains marital propriety by being sincere, loyal & committed, then it is righteous spouse, a high moral value. Thirdly, if a person in his-her daily interactions exhibits propensity towards kindness/nurturing in work-behavior instead of cruelty/exploitation, then that is considered high moral value. Immoral living is sin and leads to crime.
• Ethics – The basis of harmony in society & social order.  Ethics is the policy of living in the society. It is a way of living which nurtures the order in society. The order in society needs to be established and sustained to ensure the continuity of the humankind from one generation to the next forever. This can only be achieved if the resources in form of mind, body and material are purposefully utilized & protected from generation to generation. The policy to do the same is by abundant production, proper distribution & full utilization of all the resources for social welfare so that there is no scarcity, no waste, no deprivation, no exploitation. The sustainability of these resources can be achieved by 1) Proper education, 2) Guarding natural cycles, 3) Protecting the sources of resources, 4) Protecting the goods in transit and storage etc. Only such practices can ensure the continuity of availability of the splendor of this life sustaining planet for the future generations. To live in accordance with these principles is to be ethical. To waste, to horde, to deprive, to destroy, is to be unethical. Unethical living leads to imbalance, exploitation, struggle and conflict/war.”  https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-relationship-between-ethics-values-morals-and-attitude

Ethic of reciprocity/The Golden Rule-That we strive for equity for all (including other species).  All humans should enjoy basic human rights, including access to potable water, food, health care, etc. as rights.

Evapotranspiration rate– “Evapotranspiration is the water loss occurring from the processes of evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation occurs when water changes to vapor on either soil or plant surfaces. Transpiration refers to the water lost through the leaves of plants.”  Evapotranspiration rates are a major factor in determining biomes/ecosystem/ecological communities of a region.  http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu

Externalities-usually a cost but … a “cost or benefit that affects a party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit.”  Ecologists generally strive for policies that internalize an externality, so that costs and benefits will affect mainly parties who choose to incur them.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality

Food web, “special” species–

• Climax-“speciesthat will remain essentially unchanged in terms of species composition for as long as a site remains undisturbed.”  https://en.wikipedia.org
• Decreasers-species which become scarce under herbivory
• Dominant-“one of a small number of species which dominate in an ecological community” https://en.wikipedia.org
• Increasers-species favored under herbivory
• Keystone-“a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.” Google dictionary

“Forty-five/45”-Donald Trump, his administration, and supporters/enablers.  He and his administration’s policies and actions (e.g., those of Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Jeff Sessions, Mick Mulvaney, Elisabeth DeVos, and others) have been the antithesis of being sabido, simple, small, slow, sharing, and sustainable.

Fossil energy-Fossil energy sources, including coal, oil, shale, tar sands, & natural gas, formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and their chemical bonds (energy) were gradually buried/protected from decomposition by layers of rock.

Geothermal energy-“heat from the Earth. It’s clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.”  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com

Haber-Bosch process– “a complex chemical procedure that takes nitrogen from the air [78% nitrogen] and under high pressures and temperatures combines it with hydrogen to produce ammonia. This ammonia is the base of the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers increasingly used around the world today.  Nitrogen, a key component of all proteins, DNA, and RNA, is vital to life here. Plants can only use fixed nitrogen and the lack of fixed nitrogen is often the limiting factor in an ecosystem or for crops. Our ability to fix nitrogen ourselves seemed to be a perfect solution. However, the enormous blessings of the Haber Process are balanced by some serious curses.

On the blessing side synthetic nitrogen fertilizer produced by the Haber Process is credited with feeding a third to half the present world population. In fact, about half the nitrogen in each of our bodies is there thanks to the Haber Process.  On the curse side we have several issues including:

• Serious imbalances to the nitrogen cycle.
• High fossil fuel energy inputs.
• Negative effects on soil organisms and soil organic matter.
• Excess runoff cause ocean dead zones.
• Major component of weapons including all those roadside bombs.”  www.the-compost-gardener.com

Haves and Have-nots-“the people who are very wealthy and the people who are very poor.”  https://www.collinsdictionary.com

Holistic Management or Holistic Resource Management-“a systems thinking approach to managing resources”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic_management_(agriculture)  paul bain martin believes HRMer/HMer, Allen Savory, did contribute to pragmatic systems thinking with his little “decision-making framework” or thought-model.  https://www.context.org/iclib/ic25/wood/  However, he did go somewhat overboard in promoting his holistically-planned/controlled rotational-grazing ideas as THE solution to many of the world’s ecological problems (especially when he did not always have a good scientific foundation for what he was pontificating).

Homeostasis-The tendency of an organism or a cell (organ system, individual, deme, population, ecological community, ecosystem, Nature, all of the living Earth) to regulate its internal conditions, usually by a system of feedback controls, so as to stabilize health and functioning, regardless of the outside changing conditions.  http://www.biology-online.org  There are limits to homeostasis.  …  The Gaia hypothesis, also known as the Gaia theory or the Gaia principle, proposes that organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet. Topics of interest include how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms affect the stability of global temperature, ocean salinity, oxygen in the atmosphere, the maintenance of a hydrosphere of liquid water and other environmental variables that affect the habitability of Earth.

The hypothesis was formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis [who married Carl Sagan] in the 1970s.  https://en.wikipedia.org

Hubris-Excessive pride or self-confidence [e.g., 45]  Google dictionary. Extreme hubris (our inherent ignorance plus a severe lack of humility) enabled humanity to become an agent of global destruction.

Ignorance-Lack of knowledge or information.  Google dictionary This is the state of humans, even collectively.  We have much to learn; much knowledge to gain.  (Yet we continue to reproduce and rampantly consume and develop with hubris … as if we know it all.  …  We must begin to abide by the Precautionary Principle.)

Isms—

• Anarchism-“belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion.” Google dictionary “Anarchists disdain the customary use of ‘anarchy’ to mean ‘chaos’ or ‘complete disorder’. For them it signifies the absence of a ruler or rulers, a self-managed society, usually resembling the co-operative commonwealth that most socialists have traditionally sought, and more highly organized than the disorganization and chaos of the present. An anarchist society would be more ordered because the political theory of anarchism advocates organization from the bottom up with the federation of the self-governed entities – as opposed to order being imposed from the top down upon resisting individuals or groups.”  https://www.theguardian.com
• Conservativism-“political doctrine that emphasizes the value of traditional institutions and practices.” https://www.britannica.com  (However, there should be some adherence to a deeper meaning of the root of the word … and the valuing and conserving of Nature and the natural resource base, and of a sustainable human social fabric.)
• Conventional capitalism-“an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.” Merriam-Webster … The “idea of self-interest is the foundation of conventional capitalism.  Conventional capitalism … self-interest, competition, deregulated markets that naturally adjust themselves, resource exploitation, … profit above all else.  Enter the age of environmentalism. Suddenly the self-interested devourers of resources realized that the world was not as big as they originally thought. Those resources were not infinite. And exploiting those resources for profit was making our world uninhabitable. Air, water and land quality were being polluted with hazardous and poisonous chemicals. There was a massive hole in the ozone layer. The excess carbon in the atmosphere was causing global warming.”  https://advanceconsultingforeducation.wordpress.com
• Egalitarianism-A belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs. Merriam-Webster
• Fascism-A political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocraticgovernment headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition  Merriam-Webster
• Idealism-“The tendency to represent things in an ideal form, or as they might or should be, rather than as they are, with an emphasis on values.” Merriam-Webster
• Liberalism-“a broad spectrum of political philosophiesthat consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal, and emphasize individual rights and equality of opportunity. Although most Liberals would claim that a government is necessary to protect rights; different forms of Liberalism may propose very different policies.”  http://www.philosophybasics.com
• Libertarianism-“An extreme laissez-faire political philosophy advocating only minimal state intervention in the lives of citizens.” Google dictionary  (Compare to anarchy.)
• Neoliberalism-Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning. … “Attempts to limit competition are treated as inimical to liberty. Tax and regulation should be minimized, public services should be privatized. The organization of labor and collective bargaining by trade unions are portrayed as market distortions that impede the formation of a natural hierarchy of winners and losers. Inequality is recast as virtuous: a reward for utility and a generator of wealth, which trickles down to enrich everyone. Efforts to create a more equal society are both counterproductive and morally corrosive. The market ensures that everyone gets what they deserve.”  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot
• Oligarchism-The principle or spirit of an oligarchy in which “a small group of people have control of a country, organization, or institution.” Google dictionary
• Plutocracism-The principle or spirit of a plutocracy in which you have “an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.” Google dictionary
• Postmodernism-“Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding, interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through our interpretations of what the world means to us individually. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, knowing always that the outcome of one’s own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal. Postmodernism is ‘post’ because it denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody – a characteristic of the so-called ‘modern’ mind. The paradox of the postmodern position is that, in placing all principles under the scrutiny of its skepticism, it must realize that even its own principles are not beyond questioning.”  https://www.pbs.org
• Pragmatism-A philosophy in which “… truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief.” Merriam-Webster
• Progressivism– Progressivismis the support for or advocacy of social reform. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development, and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.  https://en.wikipedia.org … According to Senator Elizabeth Warren- “We [Progressives] believe that Wall Street needs stronger rules and tougher enforcement, and we’re willing to fight for it.”  – “We believe in science, and that means that we have a responsibility to protect this Earth.”  – “We believe that the Internet shouldn’t be rigged to benefit big corporations, and that means real net neutrality.”  – “We believe that no one should work full-time and still live in poverty, and that means raising the minimum wage.”  – “We believe that fast-food workers deserve a livable wage, and that means that when they take to the picket line, we are proud to fight alongside them.”  – “We believe that students are entitled to get an education without being crushed by debt.”  – “We believe that after a lifetime of work, people are entitled to retire with dignity, and that means protecting Social Security, Medicare, and pensions.”  – “We believe — I can’t believe I have to say this in 2014 — we believe in equal pay for equal work.”  – “We believe that equal means equal, and that’s true in marriage, it’s true in the workplace, it’s true in all of America.”  – “We believe that immigration has made this country strong and vibrant, and that means reform.”  – “And we believe that corporations are not people, that women have a right to their bodies. We will overturn Hobby Lobby and we will fight for it. We will fight for it!”  …  And the main tenet of conservatives’ philosophy, according to Warren? “I got mine. The rest of you are on your own.”  https://www.theatlantic.com
• Republicanism-A desired system of governance: “In a republic, a constitution or charter of rights protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters. In a ‘pure democracy,’ the majority is not restrained in this way and can impose its will on the minority.”  diffen.com
• Scientism– the cosmetic application of science in unwarranted situations not covered by the scientific method. https://en.wikipedia.org
• Socialism-any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. Merriam-Webster    Communism-“… the political belief that all people are equal, that there should be no private ownership and that workers should control the means of producing things.”  https://www.collinsdictionary.com
• Sociocracism-a whole systems approach to designing and leading organizations. It is based on principles, methods, and a structure that creates a resilient and coherent system. It uses transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability to increase harmony, effectiveness, and productivity. http://thesociocracygroup.com
• Tea Party-ism-A “movement within the Republican Party. Members of the movement have called for a reduction of the S. national debtand federal budget deficit by reducing government spending, and for lower taxes.   The movement opposes government-sponsored universal healthcare and has been described as a mixture of libertarian, populist, and conservative activism.”
• Totalitarianism-“absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution.” dictionary.com
• Transcendentalism-“idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths.” https://www.britannica.com

Life-cycle analysis-Comprehensive ecological assessment that identifies the energy, material, and waste flows of a product, and their impact on the environment.  This cradle to grave evaluation begins with the design of the product and progresses through the extraction and use of its raw materials, manufacturing or processing with associated waste stream, storage, distribution, use, and its disposal or recycling.  The objective is to identify changes, at every stage of the life cycle, that can lead to environmental benefits and overall cost savings.  www.businessdictionary.

Life-Matter organized with inputs of (solar) energy.  Ecosystems are important units in the study of life or biology.  Major ecosystem parts include mineral cycles, the water cycle, energy flow, and living organisms.

Maslow’s needs-“In his influential paper of 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation, the American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that healthy human beings have a certain number of needs, and that these needs are arranged in a hierarchy, with some needs (such as physiological and safety needs) being more primitive or basic than others (such as social and ego needs). Maslow’s so-called ‘hierarchy of needs’ is often presented as a five-level pyramid, with higher needs coming into focus only once lower, more basic needs are met.”  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog

McMansions-“… a pejorative term for a large ‘mass-produced’ dwelling, constructed with low-quality materials and craftsmanship, using a mishmash of architectural symbols to invoke connotations of wealth or taste, executed via poorly thought-out exterior and interior design.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMansion

Metabolism-“The complex of physical and chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life” or “any basic process of organic functioning or operating.”  http://www.dictionary.com

Native plants-Plants which existed in a region ca. 500 years ago and still do.

Natural resource base-Soil, water, daily solar energy, and diverse biota of an area, and resultant biogeochemical cycles.

Net primary productivity/human appropriated net primary productivity (HANPP)-The rate at which an ecosystem accumulates energy or biomass, excluding the energy it uses for the process of respiration. This typically corresponds to the rate of photosynthesis, minus respiration by the photosynthesizers.  http://www.biology-online.org  HANPP is “an integrated socioecological indicator quantifying effects of human-induced changes in productivity and harvest on ecological biomass flows.”  Google dictionary. Krausmann et al. 2010 Global human appropriation of net primary production doubled in the 20th century.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.:  “This work analyzes trends in HANPP from 1910 to 2005 and finds that although human population has grown fourfold and economic output 17-fold, global HANPP has only doubled. Despite this increase in efficiency, HANPP has still risen from 6.9 Gt of carbon per y in 1910 to 14.8 GtC/y in 2005, i.e., from 13% to 25% of the net primary production of potential vegetation. Biomass harvested per capita and year has slightly declined despite growth in consumption because of a decline in reliance on bioenergy and higher conversion efficiencies of primary biomass to products. The rise in efficiency is overwhelmingly due to increased crop yields, albeit frequently associated with substantial ecological costs, such as fossil energy inputs, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss. If humans can maintain the past trend lines in efficiency gains, we estimate that HANPP might only grow to 27–29% by 2050, but providing large amounts of bioenergy could increase global HANPP to 44%. This result calls for caution in refocusing the energy economy on land-based resources and for strategies that foster the continuation of increases in land-use efficiency without excessively increasing ecological costs of intensification.”

Oxidation & reduction– Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.  Reduction is the gain of electrons or a decrease in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.  “Plants represent one of the most basic examples of biological oxidation and reduction. The chemical conversion of carbon dioxide and water into sugar (glucose) and oxygen is a light-driven reduction process:

6CO₂+6H₂O?C₆H₁₂O₆+6O₂

The process by which non-photosynthetic organisms and cells obtain energy, is through the consumption of the energy rich products of photosynthesis. By oxidizing these products, electrons are passed along to make the products carbon dioxide, and water, in an environmental recycling process. The process of oxidizing glucose and atmospheric oxygen allowed energy to be captured for use by the organism that consumes these products of the plant. The following reaction represents this process:

C₆H₁₂O₆+O₂?6CO₂+6H₂O+Energy

It is therefore through this process that heterotrophs (most generally “animals” which consume other organisms obtain energy) and autotrophs (plants which are able to produce their own energy) participate in an environmental cycle of exchanging carbon dioxide and water to produce energy containing glucose for organismal oxidation and energy production, and subsequently allowing the regeneration of the byproducts carbon dioxide and water, to begin the cycle again. Therefore, these two groups of organisms have been allowed to diverge interdependently through this natural life cycle.”  https://chem.libretexts.org

PEACE-A relatively tranquil and harmonious state without War and violence in a biotic system.  Relative to human policy & actions, it should be a process of “Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology”.

Permaculture-“is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems. The term permaculture was developed and coined by David Holmgren, then a graduate student, and his professor, Bill Mollison, in 1978. The word permaculture originally referred to ‘permanent agriculture’, but was expanded to stand also for ‘permanent culture’, as it was understood that social aspects were integral to a truly sustainable system as inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s natural farming philosophy.

It has many branches that include, but are not limited to, ecological design, ecological engineering, environmental design, and construction. Permaculture also includes integrated water resources management that develops sustainable architecture, and regenerative and self-maintained habitat and agricultural systems modelled from natural ecosystems.

Mollison has said: ‘Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system.’”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture   (paul bain martin was very disappointed in Mollison when he spoke at the Texas Department of Agriculture, Austin in the 1980s, and has not been impressed with “on the Land” examples of “permaculture” he has seen.  However, the enthusiasm of permaculturalists—young & old is very impressive and hopeful!!)

Policy– Policies can be understood as political, managerial, financial, [legal], and administrative mechanisms arranged to reach explicit goals.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy  Policies can be thought of as objectives to reach a goal, and guidance for decisions and actions.

Poverty & extreme poverty-“Extreme poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, was originally defined by the United Nations in 1995 as ‘a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.’  In 2008, ‘extreme poverty’ widely refers to earning below the international poverty line of $1.25/day (in 2005 prices), set by the World Bank. This measure is the equivalent to earning $1.00 a day in 1996 US prices … .”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_poverty

Precautionary Principle-“the concept that establishes it is better to avoid or mitigate an action or policy that has the plausible potential, based on scientific analysis, to result in major or irreversible negative consequences to the environment or public even if the consequences of that activity are not conclusively known, with the burden of proof that it is not harmful falling on those proposing the action. It is a major principle of international environmental law and is extended to other areas and jurisdictions as well.”  http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org

Quality life-Good health, education, time for play and rest, and plenty of good friends.  Healthy individuals, demes, populations, ecological communities, ecosystems; a healthy ecosphere. Social justice, humaneness, ecological sanity.  Equity.

r- & K-strategists-Those organisms described as r-strategists typically live in unstable, unpredictable environments. Here the ability to reproduce rapidly (exponentially) is important. Such organisms have high fecundity and relatively little investment in any one progeny individual, they are typically weak and subject to predation and the vicissitudes of their environment. The “strategic intent” is to flood the habitat with progeny so that, regardless of predation or mortality, at least some of the progeny will survive to reproduce. Organisms that are r-selected have short life spans, are generally small, quick to mature and waste a lot of energy. Typical examples of r-strategists are salmon, corals, insects, and bacteria

K-strategists, on the other hand occupy more stable environments. They are larger in size and have longer life expectancies. They are stronger or are better protected and generally are more energy efficient. They produce, during their life spans, fewer progeny, but place a greater investment in each. Their reproductive strategy is to grow slowly, live close to the carrying capacity of their habitat and produce a few progenies … each with a high probability of survival. Typical K-selected organisms are elephants, and humans.  https://www.cs.montana.edu

Radioisotopes-“any of several species of the same chemical element with different masses whose nuclei are unstable and dissipate excess energy by spontaneously emitting radiation in the form of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.”  https://www.britannica.com/science/radioactive-isotope

“… radioisotopes are able to help us “treat” diseases such as cancer. They also enable doctors to identify the specific areas or parts of the body of patients, so that they know where the problem lies. That’s what radioisotopes can do for us. They help us in locating problems in bodies; they help us in treating diseases and sicknesses and is widely used in therapies and medicine. They even kill the bacteria in our food, and are sometimes used in the smoke detectors, but as we know, radioisotopes decay as well.

While radioisotopes have a lot of advantages, they have their disadvantages as well. They are radioactive and can be harmful and kill organisms. If the radioisotopes are given or pointed at a part of the body of a person, which is completely normal, then the radioisotopes would be killing healthy cells, and that would be harmful to the human being. And in addition, we know that isotopes are used in the construction of bombs.”

https://duy13.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/radioisotopes-good-or-bad-i-say-good-and-bad/

Religion-(The important stem-root is ligare, or to link together.)  “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”  Google dictionary  [Karen Armstrong’s writings are good on religious history, including A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.]

Renewable energy-Renewable energy (sources) “capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water, biological processes, and geothermal heat flows.  The most common definition is that renewable energy is from an energy resource that is replaced rapidly by a natural process such as power generated from the sun or from the wind.  Most renewable forms of energy, other than geothermal and tidal power, ultimately come from the Sun.”  https://www.sciencedaily.com  [Problems which the author has with this term include:  1.  The 1st Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed.  Therefore, energy isn’t “renewable”.  2.  The major source of energy from the sun is relatively constant and dependable, as long as tried-and-true homeostatic “Gaia” processes are not disrupted.  However, with the consumption of the Haves and population increases of humans and domesticated species, we have overshot homeostasis.  3.  The term renewable energy tends to provide current human populations false hopes that they can simply continue to develop and begin to mass-produce highly artificial systems of electric car & hybrid cars, wind-turbines, photovoltaic & other solar-energy transformers, wave- & tide-energy transformers, fuel cells and other systems using batteries, and that this will result in quality life for all including other species.  The Truth is that humans must begin to live the 6 Ss!  http://www.paulpeaceparables.com/2018/05/01/renewable-energy-as-the-key-asset-of-commonwealth-in-community-by-paul-bain-martin1/

Sabio (Spanish for wise), Simple, Small, Slow, Sharing, … SUSTAINABLE! (The 6 Ss)-A sustainable world of sustainable livelihoods is one in which we live wisely (sabiamente in Spanish or Portuguese), with a light individual & collective ecological footprint and low number of kilocalories/joules/BTUs used per capita/day (simple, small, slow), … and which shares in solidarity toward equity.

Savanna & Taiga-Most of the biomes (tundra, temperate deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, and deserts) are known by students.  Savanna is a temperate or “a tropical or subtropical grassland (as of eastern Africa or northern South America) containing scattered trees and drought-resistant undergrowth” which generally receives regular fires.  Taiga is “a moist subarctic forest dominated by conifers (such as spruce and fir) that begins where the tundra ends.”  Merriam-Webster

Science (and sexual persuasion, gender, ethnicity, race, species)-Science is the quest for knowledge.  …  We know little, but science and the scientific method has allowed us to develop a considerable body of knowledge.  Despite what genetics, environmental influences, traditions, culture, religion have taught us and brain-washed us to believe, there is a wide variation in sexual urges & behavior and physical, physiological, and psychological gender differences in humans (and other species) and this is natural, and can be normal and contribute to the success of a deme, population, ecological community, ecosystem or the ecosphere.  Variation as to ethnicity and resultant diversity can be very healthy.

There is variation in the human species; however, compared to variation in other species it is relatively small.  Therefore, race for humans is probably not a very useful term in general, and use of it causes more problems than utility.  We humans are all of one race.  (This is not to say that inbreeding and out-breeding has not caused clusters of humans which have certain common problems such as genetically-related problems such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, Marfan syndrome, Huntington’s disease, hemochromatosis, increased susceptibility to obesity, diabetes, or alcoholism, and that these clusters should not be identified.)

Second Law of Thermodynamics/Entropy-“The level of disorder in the universe is steadily increasing. Systems tend to move from ordered behavior to more random [or disordered] behavior.”   “A measure of the level of disorder of a system is entropy.”  As energy is transformed, it tends toward uselessness.  http://physics.bu.edu

Semiochemicals-“a pheromone or other chemical that conveys a signal from one organism to another so as to modify the behavior of the recipient organism.”  Google dictionary

Social ecology-“the interrelationship between social and natural systems in the context of sustainable development. Research [at the Institute of Social Ecology, Vienna] is structured into four main fields (i) society’s metabolism, (ii) land use change and human intervention in natural systems, (iii) environmental history and cultural evolution, and (iv) transition studies.  https://www.sume.at/iff

Social metabolism or socioeconomic metabolism is the set of flows of materials and energy that occur between Nature and society, between different societies, and within societies. These human-controlled material and energy flows are a basic feature of all societies, but their magnitude and diversity largely depend on specific cultures, or socio-metabolic regimes.  Social or socioeconomic metabolism is also described as “the self-reproduction and evolution of the biophysical structures of human society. It comprises those biophysical transformation processes, distribution processes, and flows, which are controlled by humans for their purposes. The biophysical structures of society (‘in use stocks’) and socioeconomic metabolism together form the biophysical basis of society.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_metabolism

Species-the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species.  Dictionary.com  [Species are/is ever-changing/a dynamic process (micro-evolution to evolution)]

Steady-state economics-A steady state economy is an economy with stable or mildly fluctuating size. The term typically refers to a national economy, but it can also be applied to a local, regional, or global economy. An economy can reach a steady state after a period of growth or after a period of downsizing or degrowth. To be sustainable, a steady state economy may not exceed ecological limits.  http://www.steadystate.org

Sufficiency vs. efficiency-Even if systems or subsystems become more and more efficient, as we consume more, or as systems grow, we continue to exacerbate socio-political/economic (ecological) problems for quality life, including for other species.

Sustainable livelihoods-A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining natural resource bases.  http://www.fao.org

Sustainability– The ability to continue and to provide quality life.  It involves fairness, and protection of the environment.  …  Social justice, humaneness, ecological sanity.  …  “ensuring life on Earth is an infinite game, the endless expression of generosity on behalf of all.”  Paul Hawken.  2007.  Blessed Unrest.

Transdisciplinary research/work-“research efforts conducted by investigators from different disciplines working jointly to create new conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and translational innovations that integrate and move beyond discipline-specific approaches to address a common problem.”   Interdisciplinary research-“any study or group of studies undertaken by scholars from two or more distinct scientific disciplines. The research is based upon a conceptual model that links or integrates theoretical frameworks from those disciplines, uses study design and methodology that is not limited to any one field, and requires the use of perspectives and skills of the involved disciplines throughout multiple phases of the research process.”  https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/trec/about-us/definitions/   Multidisciplinary research-bringing disciplines together to talk about issues from each of their perspectives. They may collaborate, but they maintain a separation of their disciplines in that process. When the project is done, those disciplines go back to where they came from to start other projects.  Google dictionary

Transnational corporations-Transnational Corporations are businesses that operate across international borders, though most of them have their headquarters in the USA, Europe and Japan.

There were about 7000 TNCs operating in 1970, but the charity Christian Aid estimates that this figure has now increased to about 63, 000 with about 690, 000 subsidiaries which operate in almost every sector of the economy and almost every country in the world today.

The key characteristics of TNCs are:

• They seek competitive advantaged and maximization of profits by constantly searching for the cheapest and most efficient production locations across the world
• They have geographical flexibility – they can shift resources and operations to any location in the world
• A substantial part of their workforce is located in the developing world, but often employed indirectly through subsidiaries.
• TNC assets are distributed worldwide rather than focused in one or two countries – for example, 17 of the top 100 TNCs have 90% of their assets in a different country from their head office.

TNCs are economically very wealthy and thus potentially more powerful than many of the world’s nation states.

Truth-Herein Truth is “what should be”.  Today’s reality is “what is”.  It is “a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality.”  Merriam-Webster  Also,  Truth is subjective or objective, relative or absolute.  “We need scientific truths for deriving practical benefits.  We need religious truths (truths from the humanities) for deriving inner peace and satisfaction.

http://www.metanexus.net/essay/scientific-and-religious-truths “… mythology is the penultimate truth — penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words, beyond images. Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told.”  Joseph Campbell  [For the senior author, fundamental truths are the Ss; seeking knowledge, wisdom, prudence; recognizing limits; abiding by the Precautionary Principle; and living a holistic, comprehensive, & profound Ethic of Reciprocity.]

War-“a state of armed conflict between societies. It is generally characterized by extreme aggression, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. An absence of war is usually called ‘peace’”  “The earliest recorded evidence of war belongs to the Mesolithic cemetery Site 117, which has been determined to be approximately 14,000 years old. About forty-five percent of the skeletons there displayed signs of violent death.^[17] Since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago,^[18] military activity has occurred over much of the globe.”  https://en.wikipedia.org    The root of many human conflicts has been religious differences.  [Herein War is considered to be basically the massive conflict of human against Nature.]

Watershed-An area of land, where all the water that is under the land or drains off the land, goes into the same place.  Geologist, naturalists, and ecologists like John Wesley Powell & Eugene Odum have proposed that these earth unities would be logical political entities and best for making local and global policy through Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology.

Why?? What? How???-Questions which I hope to prod folk into beginning to answer through the publicizing of this little book on “Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology”:

• Why?? have values which begin to move us toward collective efforts in solidarity to have a healthy Earth, quality life for all humans, and ample quality habitat for all species. Why?? should we live:  Sabido-ly, Simply, Smally, Slowly, Sharingly, Sustainably?
• What? actions do we need to take to live these Ss?
• How??? do we realize a commonality of the Why?? with others and How??? do we practice a lifestyle of doing the Whats?

We have been using 2 arrows which point downwards with a horizontal arrow connecting them with 2 smaller arrows pointing up.  This symbol is to remind us:

• that amount of consumption per capita by the Haves, and growth of human populations and domesticated species (all Haves relatively to wild species) must be reduced, and
• that much of the power of the Haves needs to be transferred to human Have-nots and to increasing quality habitat for other species.

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