Ecology abandoned stability theories for models of complex change.

Evidence

Finally, there are implications for environmental law of the changing attitudes within the scientific field of ecology: away from grand theories of ecological stability and balance in favor of more modest efforts simply to understand how specific complex ecosystems change and evolve over time. The assumptions of many lawmakers in the 1970s that there exists a discrete, discoverable, set of ecological principles akin to physics’ laws of thermodynamics proved misplaced. Science will not supply the fixed standard for what constitutes the appropriate level of ecosystem protection for simple application by environmental lawmakers. Society must instead ultimately derive that standard from its own cultural, ethical, religious, and spiritual norms regarding the relationship between humankind and nature, and not from hard science. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 986

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Soundscape course thread — the idea that regulatory baselines fail because the natural system lacks fixed standards parallels similar points about noise regulation. — connects to: Ecological relationships can remain continuous through constant change — Kyle Whyte, Settler Colonialism, Ecology, and…, 30; Resilience and stability are distinct ecological concepts describing different recovery properties — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1907; Equilibrium succession models give way to a kinetic view accepting site instability — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 367 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: This claiming science cannot supply the standard is worth holding against the technical, science-driven chapters (regulatory science, dioxin) — where does the line fall?
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• Equilibrium succession models give way to a kinetic view accepting site instability #exemplifies (0.90) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 367
• Resilience and stability are distinct ecological concepts describing different recovery properties #complicates (0.75) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1907
• Fragmented-landscape populations rarely reach equilibrium, defeating deterministic management #exemplifies (0.75) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1233