Cultural ecology theory has drawn a great deal of criticism, primarily for its strong emphasis on environmental determinism. This has been argued to be a potentially dangerous oversimplification of social and cultural processes. Such critics state that cultural ecology theory tends to ignore the importance and power of social and individual agency.

While some of the critiques lodged against cultural ecology theory are important to keep in mind and are valid, the value of the theory and its impact on the social sciences cannot be denied and today can still be used very effectively.

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The study of human behavior and its culture response to a changing environment is happening all over the world in great numbers. There are more people living today on the planet than ever before, and there are pressures from the environment from shortages of resources. This includes many basic necessities such as food and water. The entire ecosystem is changing. Ice is melting, waters are rising, temperatures are changing; there are droughts in areas where there was once rain, a flooding in unexpected regions. All of this is effecting crops, domestic animals raised for food, as well as clean water. With all of the information gathered in the past, there is now a wealth of real time data being generated all over the world.

Today the field of anthropology is more important than ever before. Originally this area of study was focused on small groups, but with the population of the world merging, what one group does in one place of the world can affect others thousands of miles away. The cultural adaptations may benefit one group but hurt another. New technologies are creating unexpected adaptive cultural behaviors that are not always positive on the environment. The future of a changing physical environment will have dramatic influence on the importance of the study of cultural ecology and may in turn lead to new cultural adaptations.

Some examples may better illustrate the concept of cultural ecology. For example many people connect Adobe-style housing with the Southwest and the native American culture that once thrived there. The home, while a symbol of the culture, is a prime example of cultural ecology. The people who built the homes did so with the purpose of surviving the hot, dry climate. The bricks use abundant dirt as the staple of building. The lack of windows keeps heat in when needed and out when needed and the flat roofing catches the rainfall that is precious and scarce in the southwest. To those in other parts of the world it’s just a structure, but to the people of the southwest it was survival.

Alternatively the people of India revere their cows. They believe eating such a sacred animal to the paramount of terrible deeds. For some people in other cultures it seems quirky and strange, but for the Indian population the cow is sacred. Cows in India provide milk, a precious entity; in order to preserve a cow and ensure the milk is always available one must keep the cows alive and well cared for. The cow is a food source, even if not in the way that, say, an American or European would view it. The sacredness of the Cow was an adaptive measure by the Indian people to keep a precious, renewable resource safe.

Culture happens all over the world, there are thousands upon thousands of cultures, but what is truly interesting is how we, as a group, adapt, change and meet the needs of our society in order to form our cultures. Culture ecology touches on all of those very abstract concepts and makes them concrete.

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Though not likely to happen in the near future, the consequences of a society in this state could be dire.

What if that medication were to run out — would we still be able to reproduce?

Though it’s certainly not yet clear that this is a course that the human race will take for some time, but cultural ecology tells us that adaptations such as this are a serious consequence of widespread societal use of pills as a means of stimulating reproductive success.
Cultural ecology studies how human culture impacts the past and future of human evolution. For the majority of evolutionary history, aspects of a species’ environment have largely determined how that species adapts to living in its environment. Through small, random physiological changes, members of the species that develop adaptations that make them better suited for survival in a particular environment are more likely to survive and produce more offspring with similar traits.

Consider a species of bug that spends its life on leaves — bugs that are more green will tend to outlive bugs who are less green (because predators can more easily see and kill the not-green bugs), so more green bugs will live long enough to reproduce, passing on their greenness to later generations.
Now consider sexual performance. If, among the newly adapted green bugs, some of the bugs have significantly better sexual performance than others. Because these “super-sexual” bugs are more able to reproduce their superior sexual performance, like their greenness, will get passed on to later generations (and “bad” sexual performance will not). If, like in the bugs, humans with greater sexual potency are better able to pass on their genetic traits, high levels of sexual performance should be passed on from generation to generation.
However, in a complex society like the one that humans inhabit, there are lots of cultural factors that can impact this process. Today, a male with bad sexual performance, who should be unable to reproduce and pass on his genetic traits, can now take potency pills that increase his sexual performance beyond what it may naturally be. This way, “bad” sexual performance gets passed on to the next generation, who also end up needing potency pills to be able to reproduce effectively.

And so on generations will progress, while in general male potency will be reduced. Eventually, if potency pill use becomes widespread, this could lead to a corresponding decline in natural human sexual performance. Thankfully, this will only happen if males increasingly become dependant on pills for reproduction and not simply continued sexual pleasure beyond the age where sexual performance comes naturally. So, at least for the time being, we should be in the clear.

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How Do People Remain Ecologically Sound

There are ways people can remain ecologically sound even if they do not have enough land to make compost heaps or have easy access to recycling facilities. If a person lives in an urban area, he may be able to find a place that will take his recycling. He may need a car to get to the facility, but many places have recycling pick up. The recycling pick up will take care of the bottles, paper and plastic.

Ecological Movements

Some ecological movements are related to the need for people to save money. The high gas prices have caused people to find ways to reduce money on gas. People may decide to use more public transportation or use their cars less frequently. They may even replace their vehicles. Many people who switch their vehicles do not do so because they are ecologically sound. They do so because more fuel efficient cars save them money.

The cultural landscape requires concerned citizens to show they care about the environment, even if they do not. While few people will berate people who show no interest in the environment, they will criticize people who actively engage in activities known to damage the environment. The landscape is often that people simply do things because other people are doing them. This is one care where the herd instinct of most people is a good things.

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Just as an ancient city was not built in a day, it was not used for only a day, and and it was usually not abandoned in a day either. An ancient site has been used by countless societies, sometimes interweaving and sometimes distinct. Some of societies persist so long that they change, or “evolve,” into something quite different.

Over the years some conditions stay the same, but many more change. The area may grow colder or hotter, wetter or cooler. The food supply may change, and the neighbors might too. Technology can revolutionize or decimate. But people survive, and thrive, and humanity tends to overcome obstructions and continue to grow. The study of this is “cultural ecology.” Scientists know that just as plants and animals grow in their environment, human beings do too. Many of the same tools science would use to describe an animal society are perfectly apt for human society. Cultural ecology marks the point where science turns its powers of discernment in the mirror, and views our society as part of the animal kingdom.

If one wishes to trace how the simple oyster farmers of the prehistoric River Thames came to build the London Stock Exchange and Westminster Abbey, or describe the overlapping waves of settling and migration that created modern Asia, cultural ecology offers a precise and scientific method of deduction and description. The scientific study of literary culture, pop culture, and even scientific culture is properly in the domain of cultural ecology. Words and thoughts can themselves be described as forms of life, and followed as they multiply, combine, and propagate. It is a truly fascinating mode of inquiry, and there are many more amazing discoveries to come.

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