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I Introduction What is human ecology? Sustainable development Organization of this book 2 Populations and feedback systems Exponential population growth Positive feedback Negative feedback Population regulation The practical significance of positive and negative feedback 3 Human population Human population history Social mechanisms of population regulation The population explosion and quality of life 4 Ecosystems and social systems as complex adaptive systems Hierarchical organization and emergent properties Self-organization Stability domains Complex system cycles 5 Ecosystem organization Coadaptation Ecosystem design Ecosystem homeostasis Comparison of natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems Landscape mosaics 6 Ecological succession Ecological succession Human-induced succession Managing succession 7 Coevolution and coadaptation of human social systems and ecosystems Coadaptation in traditional social systems Coevolution of the social system and ecosystem from traditional to modern agriculture 8 Ecosystem services Material cycling and energy flow Ecosystem services The relation between ecosystem services and intensity of use The fallacy that economic supply and demand protect natural resources from overexploitation 9 Perceptions of nature Common perceptions of nature Attitudes of religions toward nature Notes of caution about romanticizing nature and traditional social systems 10 Unsustainable human-ecosystem interaction Human migrations New technologies Portable capital in a free market economy Tragedy of the commons Large inputs to agricultural and urban ecosystems Urbanization and alienation from nature The rise and fall of complex societies Wishful thinking and the precautionary principle 11 Sustainable human-ecosystem interaction Human social institutions and sustainable use of common property resources Coexistence of urban ecosystems with nature Resilience and sustainable development Adaptive development 12 Examples of ecologically sustainable development Dengue hemorrhagic fever, mosquitoes and copepods: an example of eco-technology for sustainable development The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program: an example of regional environmental management Glossary Further reading Index