Ecological thinking is taking into consideration the way living systems relate to their environment. As technology gets better, we are able to consume more resources and make things more efficiently. Of course this planet does not have an infinite amount of resources, so we must take into consideration the environmental consequences of our actions.
Ecological thinking emphasizes the importance of sustainability of systems for the present and into the future. We must not just think about ourselves, but also the environment and how it will react to what we create. We need to be responsible when thinking ecologically.
Mitchel Resnick’s walking tree example is a great way to define ecological thinking. This basically says that ecological thinking is making decisions strategically and adaptively to local and changing conditions. These decisions change often as the environment changes. Each decision should make sense and allow the environment to coexist without any negative effects.
Sources:
1. http://telstar.ote.cmu.edu/environ/m3/s5/index.shtml
2. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html
3. http://llk.media.mit.edu/courses/readings/thinking-like-tree.pdf
6. Keiny, Shoshana. Ecological Thinking: A new approach to educational change. University Press of America.
7. Werner, Ulrich. Some Difficulties of Ecological Thinking, Considered From a Critical Systems Perspective: A Plea for Critical Holism. Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York, 1993.
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