The word ecologi is derived from rhe Greek oihos, meaning "household," and logos,

meaning "study." Thus, the study of the environmental house includes all the organ-
isms in it and all the functional processes that make the house habitable. Literally,

then, ecology is the study o[ "life at home" with emphasis on "the totality or pat-
tern of relations between organisms and their environment," to cite a standard dic-
tionary definition of the word (Merriam -Webster's Collegiate Dictionory, 1Oth edition,

s.v. "ecology").
The word economics is also derived from the Greek root oikos. As nom[s means

"management," economics translates as "the management of the household" and, ac-
cordingly, ecology and economics should be companion disciplines. Unfortunately,

many people view ecologists and economists as advercaries with antithetical visions.