Simply spoken: because engineering is the most influential human practice on Earth. “It is no longer possible to understand, predict, or successfully manage ecological pattern, process, or change without understanding why and how humans reshape these over the long term“, Erle C. Ellis, a well-known anthropoecologist, stated in 2015 [1].

We humans have learned to engineer machines, devices, tools and processes across several orders of magnitude, ranging from lakes or mile-deep open-pit-mining holes to molecules, nanoparticles or microorganisms. The outcomes of engineering – and the waste it produces – heavily influence our climate and all ecosystems. The effects can be measured at the highest mountain summit and in the deepest ocean abyss.

IEES aims to become an umbrella organization for ecologists, engineers and a wide range of other professionals who share a holistic view on Earth’s ecology and the human influence on it. IEES promotes the idea that a sustainable co-existence of humans and nature can be achieved. Interested in ideas how this works in practice? Stay tuned to this weekly blog.

[1] Erle C. Ellis, Ecology in an anthropogenic biosphere, Ecological Monographs 85(3), 2015, pp. 287-331