Concept
Ecological crisis
Overview
An ecological or environmental crisis occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include:
Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increase of temperature, less significant rainfalls)
Increased pressures from predation
Rise in the number of individuals (i.e. overpopulation)
The evolutionary theory of punctuated equilibrium sees infrequent ecological crises as a potential driver of rapid evolution.
Because of the impact of humans on the natural environment in the recent geological period, the term ecological crisis is often applied to environmental issues caused by human civilizations such as: the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and plastic pollution which have emerged as major global challenges during the first few decades of the 21st century.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
These were of course mostly suppressed, but sometimes increased, by survival of the fittest. When, along with the growing multiplication in forms of life, conflict and competition became continually more active, fortuitous variations of structure of no account in the converse with the medium, became of much account in the struggle with enemies and competitors; and natural selection of such variations became the…
Herbert Spencer, The Factors of Organic Evolution
States what Ecological crisis is.
In looking at Nature, it is most necessary to keep the foregoing considerations always in mind—never to forget that every single organic being around us may be said to be striving to the utmost to increase in numbers; that each lives by a struggle at some period of its life; that heavy destruction inevitably falls either on the young or old, during each generation or at recurrent intervals. Lighten any check…
Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection
Close in meaning to Ecological crisis; the term itself is not named.
But it _must_ now and then occur, that some division of a species, falling into circumstances which give it rather more complex experiences, and demand actions somewhat more involved, will have certain of its organs further differentiated in proportionately small degrees—will become slightly more heterogeneous. Hence, there will from time to time arise an increased heterogeneity both of the Earth’s flora and fauna…
Herbert Spencer, First Principles
Close in meaning to Ecological crisis; the term itself is not named.
Related ideas
Opposing perspectives
Place in the tradition
Part of Environmental philosophy.