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Sustainability
There are four “don’ts” of sustainability, adapted on the following slides, are taken from “the Natural Step”, originated by Karl Henrik Robert of Sweden.
http://www.naturalstep.org/
PCBs in the Arctic PCBs enter the St. Lawrence and other waterways Initially picked up by algae and zooplankton in Gulf
of St. Lawrence These in turn are consumed by relatives of shrimp
called copepods. Copepods are the primary food of smaller fish, who
are consumed by mackerel and larger fish Ultimately seals, whales and finally polar bears and
humans. PCBs concentration in human breast milk of Inuit's
on the west coast of Greenland and Baffin Island rises to the level of toxic waste. http://eces.org/articles/000754.php
3. Don’t harvest renewable resources at a faster rate than they can recover.
www.esig.ucar.edu/rates/
The Favela (Brazil) vs. McMansion (USA)
4. Don’t allow a skewing of resources to select parts of the human population.
The do’s of sustainability Move closer to solar as the primary energy source. Use local resources first. Keep resources in place. Natural systems are best, imitate local ecosystems as
much as possible in designing human systems. Account for Nature’s services. Do not externalize costs, internalize them. Develop communal resource management systems. “Small is Beautiful”: example - microlending
Industrial Ecology
The “science of sustainability” Predicated on two precepts:
– We are interested in sustainability– We want to remain industrial
The Master Equation ISAT 428: Industrial Ecology
Industrial Ecology
Two personalities:– An analogy with the cyclic nature of biological
economies– A set of methodologies for pursuing
sustainability Goal: mimic the inherent efficiency of
nature Information is key
What are the analogs to
Species? Population? Community? Ecosystem? Niche? Predator/Prey relationships? Succession?
Master Equation
where– Population is growing (as is growth rate)
– GDP is the country's Gross Domestic Product, also growing in rough proportion to the drive toward increased quality of life
– Env_impact is largely technology driven, and has a somewhat bell shaped curve with time. Env_impact per unit_GDP must shrink if overall Env_impact is to shrink.
GDPunit
impactEnv
person
GDPPopulationimpactEnv
_
__
Life Cycle Assessment
An underpinning tenet of Industrial Ecology Predicated on the ability to evaluate the
(relative) impacts of production or design decisions throughout the life span of the product in question.
Three Major Elements of LCA
Inventory Analysis: This optimization problem first requires information about impacts
Impact Analysis: Then alternative strategies are compared
Improvement Analysis: Evaluation and implementation of opportunities to reduce environmental impacts
Design for Environment
One of the DFx family:– Manufacturability– Reliability– Cost– &c
Brings results of LCA to product/service design
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