Why Ecosystem Ecology?

            As an overall discipline, ecology is something that has always interested me.  The manner in which we, and all organisms for that matter, interact with our environment is something that will always control the human race’s ability to grow and survive as a species.  In the past, we have been able to use the land to create tools and transition from hunter-gatherer societies to those based on agriculture.  It will be equally as fascinating to see how we attempt to transition our current food systems into something that can be sustained into the future while still providing for our burgeoning population.

            Ecosystem ecology is refreshing in the sense that there are systems in the world that don’t entirely revolve around people.  While we do impact them significantly, humans are just one of millions of species that play a role in all-encompassing food and energy cycles.  Additionally, there are aspects of ecosystems that humans have no control over; weather plays an extremely important role in the livelihood of billions of people worldwide.  The idea that humans as a whole are part of something way bigger than our daily lives is something that I find really intriguing. 

            This being said, humans are in an unfortunate position of power, as we did not take the limited nature of our most heavily utilized resources and their effects on the global carbon cycles into account when forming our societies.  Many people get too wrapped up in their own societal communities and lose touch with nature and all of the wonders that it has to offer.  The proverbial crossroads are inching closer and closer, and it seems safe to say that millions of people wouldn’t even notice if we had passed them years ago.

            I hope to gain numerous things from this class.  First, some hope for the future would be nice; as someone who has taken numerous natural resource classes, I have listened to many doom and gloom lectures and read tons of articles that paint a terrifying picture of our current path as a society and our general unwillingness to change.  Second, I would love to see how natural ecosystems affect humans, as opposed to vice versa.  At this point, I can safely say that we haven’t been the greatest influence on other organisms on the planet, but it would be interesting to see how they have affected us.  Lastly, I want to have a greater understanding of the processes that affect the abiotic features of global ecosystems and how we influence them.