UNIB10003 Lecture 1: lecture 1 notes
1
The sixth extinction: Introducing an ‘ecological history of humanity’
• Seeing human history as part of a larger web of life
• Take into account the material facts of life as well as the human ideas and actions that
occur
Problems facing the world today?
• Human activity
• Environmental issues
• Nuclear weapons
• Self awareness
• Arrogance
The 5 great extinctions
• End Ordovician
• Late Devonian
• End Permian
Geology and stratigraphy
• Geology divides the earth’s strata
• Currently in Cenozian epoch, quaternary era,
• Anthropocene – new ecological era
• Humans have impacted the geology of the planet
The world before ecology
Great chain of being
• European perspectives
• John Ray – one of the first to insist that fossils had been living animals
• Notion of extinction
• George Cuvier – believed that species were probably created by God
• Species were fixed – specialised in demarcating boundaries between species
An ecological perspective (how ecology started evolving)
• Alexander Von Humboldt
• Solved problems by looking at them in a deep holistic way
• Charles Darwin
• Interconnection between species
• Ernst Haeckel
• Ecology
• Properties
Document Summary
Problems facing the world today: human activity, environmental issues, nuclear weapons, self awareness, arrogance. Geology and stratigraphy: geology divides the earth"s strata, currently in cenozian epoch, quaternary era, anthropocene new ecological era, humans have impacted the geology of the planet. The sixth extinction: introducing an ecological history of humanity": seeing human history as part of a larger web of life, take into account the material facts of life as well as the human ideas and actions that. An ecological perspective (how ecology started evolving: alexander von humboldt, solved problems by looking at them in a deep holistic way. Interconnection between species: charles darwin, ernst haeckel, ecology, properties.
