House or Home? Musings from Ecologists about Planet Earth
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
21-9-2017 4:00 PM
Description
What do the concepts of “house” and “home” suggest about our relationship with planet Earth, especially if we approach this question from an ecological perspective? Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, “house,” or “environment”; -λογία, “study of ”) hones in on the interactions and relationships that organisms have with each other and with their environment. A commonly stated principle in ecology is that “everything is connected to everything else” (Barry Commoner). In this panel discussion, biologists from Belmont discuss their thoughts on our earth and its interconnected ecosystems as our ultimate home. Through an exploration of life processes, biodiversity, energy, disturbance and change, they will focus on the critical services that ecosystems provide and that make our planet not just a house but, indeed, a home. If the earth is our “home,” then how are we sustaining the relationships and interactions that determine our survival? Or in the words of Henry David Thoreau, “What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
Recommended Citation
Heard, Matthew; Murphree, Steve; Niedzwiecki, John; and Panvini, Darlene, "House or Home? Musings from Ecologists about Planet Earth" (2017). Humanities Symposium. 13.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2017/2017/13
House or Home? Musings from Ecologists about Planet Earth
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
What do the concepts of “house” and “home” suggest about our relationship with planet Earth, especially if we approach this question from an ecological perspective? Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, “house,” or “environment”; -λογία, “study of ”) hones in on the interactions and relationships that organisms have with each other and with their environment. A commonly stated principle in ecology is that “everything is connected to everything else” (Barry Commoner). In this panel discussion, biologists from Belmont discuss their thoughts on our earth and its interconnected ecosystems as our ultimate home. Through an exploration of life processes, biodiversity, energy, disturbance and change, they will focus on the critical services that ecosystems provide and that make our planet not just a house but, indeed, a home. If the earth is our “home,” then how are we sustaining the relationships and interactions that determine our survival? Or in the words of Henry David Thoreau, “What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
Comments
Convocation Credit: Society and the Arts and Sciences