The development of ecology reveals our interconnected world, but also highlights various forms of environmental collapse.

• Ecology shows how all life shares one biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
• We are becoming aware of various kinds of environmental collapse in our 'fragile house'.

Efforts to control the natural world have had mixed results, including both life-saving outcomes and devastating consequences.

• Scientific efforts to control Nature have led to both positive and negative impacts.
• Weather control projects like Operation Popeye and Project Stormfury were largely ineffective.

Agricultural advances in the 20th century increased food production but also caused significant environmental problems.

• Large irrigation projects and dams altered ecosystems and agricultural practices.
• The Haber-Bosch process for synthetic nitrogen fixation increased crop yields but also led to environmental pollution and dependence on fossil fuels.

The Green Revolution greatly increased food production in developing countries but also introduced new challenges.

• Hybrid crops and synthetic fertilizers boosted yields but promoted monoculture farming.
• The Green Revolution was a form of soft power used by the United States to influence other nations.

The widespread use of pesticides to control disease-carrying insects led to ecological harm and human health risks.

• DDT was used extensively to control insect populations but was harmful to wildlife and had long-term human health implications.
• Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' raised awareness of the dangers of synthetic pesticides, sparking the modern environmentalism movement.

Accidents and disasters have underscored the risks inherent in attempts to control nature, leading some to consider geoengineering.

• Industrial accidents like the Bhopal disaster and the Chernobyl meltdown highlight the dangers of attempting to control nature.
• The threat of climate change is leading to renewed interest in geoengineering as a means of maintaining a habitable world.