# Ecological Limits > **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] provides the evolutionary and computational context for this supporting concept. **Domain:** Ecology / Systems **Doc Type:** Supporting Canonical Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition Ecological limits are thresholds or constraints beyond which environmental systems lose capacity, stability or regenerative function. ## Nexus Context They are not fixed independently of technology and behavior, but neither are they abolished by optimization. Compute and continuity infrastructures remain planetary systems. ## Relationships [[wiki/Ecological Constraint|Ecological Constraint]], [[wiki/Planetary Boundaries|Planetary Boundaries]], [[wiki/Sustainability|Sustainability]], [[wiki/Systems Ecology|Systems Ecology]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “We’re more concerned with what’s going to happen next week than we are about what’s going to happen next century, and I’m afraid that it’s very difficult to get people to worry about what happens next century.” > **— Desmond Morris**, *Open University, “Earth in Vision,” updated May 4, 2016* [[reminders/Human Animality/The Human Time Horizon Favors Next Week by Desmond Morris|The Human Time Horizon Favors Next Week by Desmond Morris]] > “We have changed the world so much that scientists say we are now in a new geological age - The Anthropocene - The Age of Humans.” > **— David Attenborough**, *World Economic Forum Crystal Award speech, January 21, 2019* [[reminders/Human Animality/Humanity Has Changed the Geological Age by David Attenborough|Humanity Has Changed the Geological Age by David Attenborough]] > “In the past, there have been about eight different ways by which human societies hammered environments, by destroying habitats, exterminating species, overfishing, deforestation, soil erosion, introducing exotic pest species and other ways.” > **— Jared Diamond**, *Scientific American Science Talk, Conservation International address, June 13, 2007* [[reminders/Human Animality/Human Societies Have Hammered Environments by Jared Diamond|Human Societies Have Hammered Environments by Jared Diamond]] > “Nowadays, I’ve gotten used to the fact that societies destroy themselves. But naively, if you don’t know that had happened and you don’t know the details of how it happened, it is counter-intuitive that societies would destroy themselves.” > **— Jared Diamond**, *Freakonomics, “Jared Diamond on the Downfall of Civilizations,” December 10, 2021* [[reminders/Human Animality/Societies Can Destroy Themselves by Jared Diamond|Societies Can Destroy Themselves by Jared Diamond]] > “Given our self-centered nature, it is no wonder that we collectively neglect the broader menagerie of life on this planet. We do not prioritize nature above ourselves, and are likely to pay the ultimate price for our selfishness as we compromise the very substrate on which we—and other species—ultimately depend.” > **— Tom Murphy**, *“Human Exceptionalism,” Do the Math, February 16, 2022* [[reminders/Human Animality/Human Self-Centeredness Neglects Other Life by Tom Murphy|Human Self-Centeredness Neglects Other Life by Tom Murphy]] - **External source comparisons:** [Morris’s Open University interview](https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature-environment/the-environment/creative-climate/earth-vision/desmond-morris-earth-vision) considers short human time horizons; [Attenborough’s Davos speech](https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/david-attenborough-transcript-from-crystal-award-speech/) frames planetary change; [Diamond’s Conservation International address](https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/21d9d2c4-e7f2-99df-3e7fe44d9b7d0a77/) lists historical environmental harms. These are separately attributed analyses. > “De-extinction is much worse than a waste: it sets up the expectation that biotechnology can repair the damage we're doing to the planet's biodiversity.” > **— Stuart Pimm**, *“Unbridled Scientific and Technological Optimism,” Edge Annual Question, 2014* [[reminders/Extinction/De-Extinction Can Foster False Hope for Biodiversity by Stuart Pimm|De-Extinction Can Foster False Hope for Biodiversity by Stuart Pimm]] ## Sources / Provenance - Developed from the cited research in the central article and the surrounding continuity, rights and evolutionary architecture.