Ecology literally means the “study of our house” from the Greek word oekologie. The term was first postulated by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866. Danish botanist Eugenius Warming authored the first significant book on the subject. He is attributed to be the founder this science of the relationships between living entities (plants and animal) in relation to natural environment and their interactions in the sharing of habitat.

The word "ecology" is often used as a synonym for the natural environment or environmentalism. Being ecological is often taken in the sense of being environmentally friendly, or in the vernacular of the 21st century “Green”. Rachel Carson the American marine biologist writings are credited with advancing the modern environmental movement, Her seminal work Silent Spring in 1962, sparked awareness of “Ecology” in the global consciousness in the latter half of the sixties. In this accord, ecology specifically is attributed to natural systems and habitats.