BIOL 350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Ecosystem Services, Homo Sapiens, Newsprint
Document Summary
Where are we now: can be thought of as a drop in a bucket, 1 species in the 30 million species co-occuring. 0. 1% of all species that have ever existed: humans only existed recently, being the last 75 seconds (3 million years) of the 24 hour clock of the history of life (3. 5 billion years) Habitat for wildlife, capturing sunlight energy, formation of soil, materials like wood, pollination services, regulation of climate, and making available opportunities for recreation and enjoying nature. What is the state of civilization: politicians, big businesses, scientists and media generally say the state is ok, but it is under control, assessed in terms of the problems of inputs and the problems of outputs. Inputs: sources or natural resources that we use (materials and fuels) Sources can be regenerated or recycled from wastes. Some resources are renewable (ex. soil, water, forests, and fisheries)