Ecology and Climate: Feedbacks Decide the Outcome
Remove one predator and rivers can change course. The size of a change tells you little — what matters is whether the system amplifies it or absorbs it.
Topic
Ecology & Climate
Carrying Capacity: The Ceiling That Can Be Lowered
A population grows until the resource runs short — then often keeps going past the limit. What makes overshoot serious is that it can damage the resource base and leave the ceiling permanently lower.
The Tragedy of the Commons: When Restraint Is Punished
Every herder who adds a cow to the shared pasture captures the whole benefit and pays a twentieth of the cost. Nobody is greedy, everyone is correct, and the pasture dies anyway.