Ecotech

Ecotechnology is the field of artificially replicating the services provided by a planetary ecology, or tailoring one to suit a particular environment. Its origins trace back to after the Terran Collapse, when humans faced life on a world rendered much harsher and less stable than earlier in their history. The societies recovering in the aftermath had to learn what made ecologies work and how to ensure they continued to fulfill human needs.
With the advent of space colonization, ecotech came into its own as people needed a way to survive off Terra. Contrary to the visions of some space optimists in earlier centuries, divorcing human existence from the planetary environment in which they had previously lived was a difficult proposition, requiring much research over a long period of time before science was able to create self-sustaining space habitats which could survive independent of the homeworld. But once successful, ecotech made humankind a truly multiplanetary species no longer vulnerable to disasters befalling any one world.
Later on, ecotech became (and still remains) a crucial component in terraforming: the design and deployment of a biosphere once the work of building a planet up to habitable conditions is done. In the present day, ecotech is a fundamental component of modern interstellar civilization, its principles underpinning the functioning and organization of ecologies large and small, from little space habitats to entire terraformed planets. Beyond the principles of how an ecology works and how to design one, it also teaches how to keep it running in a sustainable way. Even so, despite the vast wealth of theory and empirical evidence, some societies still choose to repeat the mistakes of the ancient Terrans and chase after short-term profit while neglecting long-range consequences in such ways as deferred maintenance in space and unchecked industrial expansion on a planetary surface. As history shows, these situations rarely end well unless reforms are made before too much damage is locked in, a tragedy since the common people are the ones who end up suffering most--ecological neglect is often done at the behest and for the benefit of a wealthy elite who can easily escape the consequences of their actions. For this reason, the Stellar Compact readily prosecutes such eco-crimes in order to ensure the continued stability of inhabited space.
Toren scavengers are experts at occupying and refurbishing habitats and even planets left ruined by societies that "went stupid" by neglecting the science of ecotechnology and the lessons of history.

Access & Availability

Ubiquitous, necessity of modern civilization