Ecology may summon up associations of a researcher wading through wetlands in rubber boots, but the Greek root “oikos” really just means “house.”
America today is in danger of failing in the fundamental duty of every generation: to leave our children a better world than the one we inherited. The house we all share – planet earth – is in danger of becoming much less hospitable to people, both around the world and here in Nashville.
We’ve known the basic science of climate change for decades. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon, which acts as a greenhouse gas and traps warmth in the atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution, humanity has steadily burned more fossil fuels like gasoline and coal, which provide cheap energy and higher standards of living.