What is Ecological
Engineering?
Who can join EES?
How do I join EES?
What's the difference between Ecological Engineering and Environmental
engineering?
What's the deal with wetlands?
Does the OSU EES group do
anything?
What is Ecological Engineering?
Ecological engineering is an emerging field of study. Here are some historical definitions:
Odum 1963- a branch of engineering and field of science in which solutions to
society’s environmental problems would be grounded in the technology available
from natural systems so that the human engineering required would be
supplementary rather than primary (overhead).
Mitsch and Jorgensen 1989 - the design of ecosystems for the
mutual benefit of humans and nature.
Ma et al. 1988- …a specially designed system of production
processes in which the principles of the species symbiosis and the cycling and
regeneration of the substances in an ecological system are applied…”
Some popular (but by no means comprehensive) examples of ecological engineering:
Ecological restoration projects: streams, wetlands, rivers, forests, etc.
Ecosystems for waste treatments, such as Living Machines, wastewater treatment wetlands
Organic farming and permaculture
Stormwater treatment wetlands
Chinese aquaculture systems
Clearly, ecological engineering is a broad field. Some cultures have been practicing it for thousands of years, but Western culture is just starting to rediscover it.
Anyone who is interested in working to benefit both humans and nature can join. Undergraduates, grad students, professors, and non-students are encouraged to join. Don't be intimidated by us! This is a broad field and we want members of all backgrounds and knowledge levels.
Come to one of our meetings, join us at happy hour, or contact the Student Liaison to get on the email list. There is no official registration. If you do stuff with us, you are a member, if you don't, you aren't.
What's the difference between Ecological Engineering and Environmental
engineering?
Environmental engineering is considered a traditional engineering field. Originally called "sanitary engineering," environmental engineering adopted a broader name when it expanded beyond just sewage treatment. Now, environmental engineering encompasses not only sewage treatment, but also environmental toxicology, and pollution mitigation of air, water, and soil. Environmental engineering contains aspects of ecological engineering.
Traditional engineering fields typically aim to maintain static systems. Ecological engineering, on the other hand, embraces resiliency, evolution, and self-design of systems. For example, traditional sewage treatment systems work best when a steady stream of waste water is inputted. A small ecology of bacteria and other organisms is regulated in the form of activated sludge to break down waste. An ecological engineered system for waste treatment, on the other hand, may contain many thousands of organisms from bacteria to insects, to plants, to fish. This system may thrive and adapt under pulsed conditions. The goal of such ecological designs is for the system to maintain itself with a minimum of human management and artificial energy input.
What's the deal with wetlands?
Many people immediately think of wetlands when they think of ecological engineering. Indeed, if you read the journal Ecological Engineering, the majority of the articles have something to do with wetlands. Why? The answer is not exactly clear, but I'll take a quick stab at it.
Water is one of our most precious and threatened resources. Our water is threatened by industrial and agricultural pollution in the form of poisonous chemicals and unnaturally high nutrient levels. This does not only affect humans through tainted drinking water, but it severely threatens delicate aquatic ecosystems, from streams and lakes to oceans and coral reefs. Traditional engineering systems cannot afford to treat the huge volumes of water and low concentrations of pollutants that are a threat. Wetlands have been found to be nature's way of filtering out pollutants and reducing dangerously high nutrient levels in water. And they ask no payment in return. Wetlands have become the center focus of ecological engineering because of our environmental needs and the function that wetlands perform. But wetlands are not the extent of ecological engineering.
Other polluted media, such as soil and air are also candidates for ecological engineering. Because air pollution is even more voluminous and dilute than water pollution, and there are no obvious atmospheric-based ecosystems, this may remain a problem to be solved by regulation. Many plants, however, are known to clean air. This ability is utilized directly to purify air in enclosed buildings and outside along freeways. There are ecological engineering applications to treat or improve soils. Ecological principles can be applied to agriculture to improve soil quality and decrease the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Other ecological principles, such as phytoremediation, can be used to clean polluted soils. Plants have even been used to extract and accumulate heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, from contaminated soils.
Wetlands will remain an important aspect of ecological engineering, at least for the near future, but ecological engineering has almost no bounds.
Does the OSU EES group do
anything?
Many of us are full-time students, parents, employees, and/or combinations thereof. Although we may not be as actively involved in as many EES projects as we would like due to time considerations, we are an active organization. We have tried and will continue to try to take part in ecological engineering projects. We often have speakers and do other educational activities together. And if we are really stressed out and busy, we always enjoy good fellowship and friendship at our informal gatherings, such as happy hour. Yeah, we chat about ecological engineering, but any topic is fair game. Join us! Take Part! Help us in our goal of becoming a vibrant community at OSU!
See our activities page to see what we do, and contact us.
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