An Inseparable Linkage: Conservation of Natural Ecosystems and the Conservation of Fossil Energy

Abstract

The natural ecosystems of the United States using solar energy help to provide the stable and predictable environment upon which we all depend. Yet, they are being subjected to increasing stress and destruction as our population and economy grow and as our profligate use of fossil energy continues. As these natural ecosystems are degraded or destroyed, they lose their capacity to carry on basic biogeochemical functions. If the quality of human life is to be maintained, man must seek engineering or technical substitutes for natural functions. Inevitably, this means substitution of fossil or nuclear energy1 for solar energy. Often this substitution creates a positive feedback syndrome where ecosystem degradation leads to increased fossil fuel use, which in turn leads to more ecosystem degradation. It is my objective, using forest ecosystems as an example, to explore this relationship between fossil and solar energy and to emphasize that the conservation of energy and the conservation of natural ecosystems are inseparably linked together. What is it, precisely, that forest ecosystems contribute to the quality of life in our country? Temperate forests, although modified in varying degree, still occupy about one-third of the land area of the lower 48 states. Clearly these forests are an important economic and aesthetic resource. Revenues from wood and wood products provide about 2% of our gross natural product (U.S.C.E.A. 1974), whereas income from forestrelated recreation and tourism adds hundreds of millions of dollars.