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EcologyWhat is ecology
Ecology focuses on the structure and mechanisms of the environment functioning. It studies the relationships of living organisms and relationships between these organisms and the environment they live in. Ecology was distinguished as science in the 19th century. The term originates from Greek words: oikos - which means house or the place of living and logos - science. Literally the word means the science of the place where organisms live, namely environment. Ernst Haeckel, a zoologist, was the first person who used this term in 1969; however, even earlier human and science were interested in the connections between life and the place which organisms live in - and the first scientific premises appeared at the beginning of the 18th century when Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek wrote in his works about the communion of the environment and the organisms which live there. Nowadays the term "ecology" and all its derivatives are broadly and commonly used, from their original meaning, i.e. studies of relations in the nature, and environmental preservation to agricultural, social and artistic activity. This one word describes all kinds of human activities which originate from ecology or refer to ecology. The fashion for ecology - is ecology fashion or necessity?Ecology, or environmental preservation, has become necessity. Human long-lasting wasteful activity, carefree attitude towards using natural recourses and uncontrolled development of industry caused serious damage to natural environment which the threat to life on our planet and thus cannot be continued. Therefore, on one hand ecology is necessity, on the other hand it is also fashion. Ecology and fashion for ecology are, first of all, the result of the fact that we can hear about this threat everywhere. We have become more responsible inhabitants of the Earth, we are more and more aware of the fact that everything we do influences the environment and this awareness makes us adjust to new conditions (the conditions of threat to the environment) and we try to minimize the existing danger - it is nothing other than a basic instinct of every living organism - the survival instinct. This fashion, as every type of fashion, sometimes becomes caricatural and people, for economic reasons, overuse the "ecological" terms, for example in order to increase the sale of various products. However, no matter what we are driven by, all environment-friendly activities, as far as they are in accordance with the interest of the environment we live in, may have only positive effects. The methods ecologists useAt the beginning it has to be said that ecologists differ from each other. There are numerous ecological organizations in the world. Apart from government agencies which deal with environmental protection, there are many non-governmental organizations which propagate ecological slogans. Their aims are, at least in theory, coincident. They differ from each other in the methods they use: from lobbing and education activity to intervention campaigns and radical actions (verging on the illegal). Greenpeace and WWF (formerly World Wildlife Found) are one of the most famous international ecological organizations. Greenpeace often carries out radical international and local activities. Being financed by donors (except for political parties, governments and corporations), it is often criticized for pseudo-ecological and propaganda attitude towards the question of ecology. On the other hand, WWF acts more constructively, it raises respectable funds and devotes them to environmental protection, ecological education and research. In the 1980s WWF, known then as World Wildlife Found, contributed to creating Global Strategy for Environmental Preservation under the auspices of Secretary-General of ONZ. This document laid foundation of the global look at the question of environmental protection and efficient use of natural resources. Ecological catastrophesEcological catastrophes are the cause for drastic changes in the environment. Many species are endangered; sometimes it is even impossible for them to survive. Catastrophes are largely the result of human insouciance towards the exploitation of the nature; they are also often the result of sheer stupidity or greed. There have been many accidents with tragic consequences. According to the information conveyed by the Chinese Environmental Protection Office, smaller or larger ecological catastrophes occur in China every other day. To give the picture of the problem - several examples of such accidents:
Ecological tidbits
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