Ecosytem

What is eco-system?

Ecosystem is the inter-relationship among the living-things inhabiting a certain part of the world and between living and non-living thing at that part of the world.

All parts of the world is part of a system which is highly interconnected, disturbing one component can effect seemingly remote and superficially unrelated component.

why we need functioning ecosystem?

Practically we are dependent on certain product of the eco-system. we need some animals as food, some plants for drugs, wood, etc. We may like to protect them. But there are other plants and animals that are considered menace, we may try to get rid of them. But the point is we can't consider this or that organism separately. All animal and plant are part of a system called eco-system. If we try to exterminate all bad (in naive view) species of life and help the good ones to flourish, it will not work. Because all good or bad are connected in intricate way, destroying one will inevitably effect the other. Non-living part of the environment is also part of the eco-system so should also treat abiotic component of the environment with discretion.
We stumble into the world and we find that the world is ready there to provide us with certain facilities. There are certain systems that keep us alive. oxygen level, co2 level, ozone layer, fresh water etc. A lots of narrow parameters are maintained , the world is in a kind of dynamic equilibrium and we evolved to live in certain fixed condition. Living organism can tolerate mild fluctuation but extreme alternation of the environment they live- is lethal. The dynamic equilibrium observed in the natural world is maintained by a intricate connection among many components. The whole bio-sphere is a kind of machine. Loss of a part can destroy the whole system. All components are important because they are connected. Agitation at one end is capable of reaching the other end so disturbing any part of ecosystem can have very far-reaching effect.

Why we are so frightened about changing the eco-system, after-all if we consider the history of the life on earth it has changed all the way from the very beginning to now?

The truth is that the eco-system was never in a fixed condition. It has been changing all the time. The history of life on earth is mostly about extinction, ecosystem changed (for various reason) some species fall short, other species more suited the need of the changed situation and replaced the unfit ones or some species ramified and given birth to completely new specie. The fact is - about 99.9999% of all life on earth ever existed has gone extinct. So extinction is a natural process it is nothing new. But it's not good for existing species. The life on earth will still survive after all of our activities but we are the ones going to perish.