Ecology is a word minted by Ernst Haeckel in 1866 to describe the “economy” of living things. It comes from the Greek ‘oikos’ which refers to ‘house’, ‘home’, ‘family’, and includes the entire operational unit. To explain the ecosystem, Anton Kerner borrowed the human term ‘community’ and applied it to the natural environment and the set of plants and animals that share it, already implying the element of a certain harmony. Aldo Leopold said that something is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. For this reason, then, ecology presupposes the community of diverse living beings, interacting with each other and with the environment; the interdependence between them and with the environment that keeps changing accordingly; some discernible patterns of healthy interaction; and an order based on the nature of the different agents, which must be respected and cared for.

Human beings have always participated in this ‘community’, interacting and affecting their environment while their life, history and culture were also being shaped by the climate, geography and species around them. Today, more than ever, due to the magnitude of its population and the reach of technology, the human capacity to affect the environment, for better or for worse, is enormous. But this does not only refer to the external activity of the human being. Nature has enriched the spirit and character of man, be it through serene contemplation or in epic confrontation as in adventure or extreme sports. In the same way, it is increasingly clear that for people to contribute to the good of the environment, it is necessary to appeal to their spirit and nobility, to their ability to sacrifice their tastes and interests for the integrity of the planet we share.

Human beings are amazed at the greatness of created nature and recognize in it a mysterious value that goes beyond mere utility. They also recognize that our survival depends on it. This week of World Oceans Day, let us remember that we feed on them, they transport us, they give us recreation and inspire our muses. More important and mysterious is its role in the delicate balance of the planet. The book of life is one. We must strive for the harmonious integration of nature and humanity. The environment, natural and human, forms human ecology, the common good in which we all live.

   Human Ecology brings together two words that tend to be at opposite ends of the debate. There are those who think that the human being is a plague that threatens the nature and survival of planet earth and therefore must be if not eliminated, at least draconianly contained. There are those who minimize environmental problems and criticize ecological policies, arguing their high cost and impact on economies, if not on people’s freedom. Both trends ignore the profound interdependence between the environment and the human race.
It is contradictory to call human beings a plague and at the same time urge them to take measures to improve the ecology. The natural sciences have documented ecological successions in which species replace other ones in process of becoming extinct, but no one sets out to convince plants or animals to be more tolerant or less voracious by preying on the species on which they feed. This shows us that it is the human being who can contribute the most, either to the destruction of nature or to its recovery and harmonious use, and the only one who can freely choose one way or the other.
It is equally contradictory to pretend to establish man as the absolute owner of natural resources and to abuse and exploit them without the corresponding concern for the consequences of those actions. Sacrificing the planet that we will leave to future generations, to the orthodoxy of an economic or market model that demands the unrestricted use of these resources, is extremely selfish and negligent. Ignoring ecological problems assuming that technology will solve them without much effort or sacrifice on our part is naive and seems to idolize technology by giving it almost unlimited powers.
Human Ecology, in the little more than a century of its existence, has come to define areas of study in geography, ecology, sociology, urbanism, architecture, psychology and culture and perhaps some more. It has oscillated between being a multidisciplinary perspective and serving specific disciplines.
Today it is Human Ecology that should seek to integrate natural ecology and what makes up the environment in which human beings develop, seeking a harmonious and fruitful interrelation. In this way it can show people and institutions a positive path to contribute to a healthier and more stable world.

   Ecología Humana reúne dos palabras que suelen estar en extremos opuestos del debate. Hay quienes piensan que el ser humano es una plaga que amenaza la naturaleza y la supervivencia del planeta tierra y por tanto debe ser si no eliminada, al menos contenida draconianamente. Hay quienes minimizan los problemas ambientales y critican las políticas ecológicas arguyendo su elevado costo e impacto en las economías, cuando no en la libertad de las personas. Ambas tendencias ignoran la profunda interdependencia entre el medio ambiente y la raza humana.
Es contradictorio calificar de plaga a los seres humanos y al mismo tiempo exhortarlos a tomar medidas para mejorar la ecología. Las ciencias naturales han documentado las sucesiones ecológicas en que especies reemplazan a otras que se extinguen, pero nadie se propone convencer a plantas o animales que sean más tolerantes o menos voraces al hacer presa en las especies de que se alimentan. Esto nos evidencia que es el ser humano el que puede contribuir más, ya sea a la destrucción de la naturaleza o a su recuperación y uso harmonioso, y el único que puede optar libremente por uno u otro camino.
Es igualmente contradictorio pretender erigir al hombre en dueño absoluto de los recursos naturales y abusar y explotarlos sin la correspondiente preocupación por las consecuencias de esas acciones. El sacrificar el planeta que dejaremos a las generaciones futuras a la ortodoxia de un modelo económico o de mercado que reclama el uso irrestricto de dichos recursos, es de un egoísmo y negligencia gravísimos. El ignorar los problemas ecológicos asumiendo que la tecnología los resolverá sin mayor esfuerzo o sacrificio de nuestra parte es ingenuo y parece idolatrar la tecnología atribuyéndole poderes casi ilimitados.
Ecología Humana, en el poco más de un siglo de su existencia, ha pasado por denominar áreas de estudio en la geografía, la ecología, la sociología, el urbanismo, la arquitectura, la sicología y la cultura y quizá algunas más. Ha oscilado entre ser una perspectiva multidisciplinaria y estar al servicio de disciplinas específicas.
A la Ecología Humana toca hoy busca integrar la ecología natural y lo que conforma el ámbito en que se desenvuelven los seres humanos, buscando una interrelación armoniosa y fructífera. Así puede mostrar a las personas e instituciones un camino positivo para contribuir a un mundo más sano y estable.