Barry Commoner is not a household name, but he has a few things to say about ecology that are worth noting; one of them being: The first law of ecology is that everything is connected.
Commoner’s 1971 The Closing Circle includes the Four Laws of Ecology. The Closing Circle describes the ecosphere, how it has been damaged, and the economic, social, and political systems which have created our environmental crises. It gives us a clear and concise understanding of what ecology means that is evermore relevant today.
And timely. Commoner’s second law – everything must go somewhere.. (We need to be critically questioning single use plastics and acutely aware of plastics’ impact on health and the environment – and be aware of what happens when we throw plastic away – as really, there is no ‘away’)
The First Law of Ecology: Everything Is Connected to Everything Else. There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all. “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” John Muir
The Second Law of Ecology: Everything Must go Somewhere. There is no “waste” in nature and there is no “away” to which things can be thrown. Any waste produced in one ecological process is recycled in another. A core principle for the Circular Economy.
The Third Law of Ecology: Nature Knows Best. Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but any human change in a natural system is, says Commoner, “likely to be detrimental to that system” And in the context of chemicals of concern we are looking to eradicate from buildings (through eg the ILFI Red List) “The absence of a particular substance in nature, is often a sign that it is incompatible with the chemistry of life”
The Fourth Law of Ecology: There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. Exploitation of nature, will always carry an ecological cost and will inevitably involve the conversion of resources from useful to useless. ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Making peace with Nature will include a key CE principle, regenerating natural systems, such as those at Munibung Hill
Lake Macquarie City Council is the first in Australia to employ a full-time Circular Economy Lead and develop a circular economy policy and framework.
Debbie O’Byrne, the woman behind these initiatives, is a shining example of the things be achieved. Here, she shares the achievements of Lake Mac Council at circular economy principles which include strategies, plans and projects, in order to:
- design out waste and pollution,
- keep products and materials in use at their highest possible value
- regenerate natural systems.
We can all help by choosing how we source, share and repurpose household items, and by supporting businesses who are taking a circular approach.
- Choose reusable over single use items such as shopping bags, water bottles and coffee cups. Find a Green Caffeen cafe for your next takeaway cuppa.
- Borrow, rent or share items like tools that you only use occasionally.
- Buy second-hand wherever possible.
- Learn how to repair your household items, and volunteer to help others at a Repair Cafe Lake Mac event.
- Donate, share or repurpose your items when you no longer need them.
- The Australian Circular Economy Hub has inspiration and examples of circular economy initiatives, including the interactive diagram above.
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Imagine the scene – all the waste we generate can’t be off-loaded to the three (3) bins and exported to the Awaba Waste Management Centre (WMC) or Summerhill WMC [or wherever], we had to deal with it on-site (in-house). How would that change our story? We don’t need to keep growing bigger and fatter, we need to grow wiser and leaner.
There is so much waste produced in the name of a so called ‘high standard of living’. But since there is no ‘away’, how do we get out of this waste spiral?
MMM … Issue 23, October 2021
