EMERGY & ENERGY SYSTEMSEMERGY & ENERGY SYSTEMS

Session 7 Short Course for ECO Interns,

EPA and Partners

Evaluating InformationEvaluating Information

• Learned• Expert services• Biodiversity• Endangered species• Antiquities• Cultural icons and

policy• Aesthetics and other

anthropocentric values

Information and EducationInformation and EducationAttainment Numbers

E6Emergy/Individual

E16 sej/pers/yr

Energy/Individual

E9 J/pers/yr

TransformityE6 sej/J

Preschool 234 3.4 3.8 8.9

High school 83 9.4 3.8 24.6

College grad 28 28 3.8 73.3

Grad. school 6 131 3.8 343

Public status 2 393 3.8 1029

Legacies 1 785 3.8 2054

Information InputsInformation Inputs

• Labor– Transformity: level of education compared to US citizen

if immigrant– Energy: pers-hrs x calories

• Experts– Transformity: level of education– Energy: pers-hrs x calories

Other Kinds of InformationOther Kinds of Information

• Policy– Show as appropriate interaction– Usually tracked as $$ (disaster payments, agricultural

subsidies, etc.)

• Aesthetics– Use tank in diagram– Show components expected to influence– Not an actual table entry at this point in time

More Kinds of InformationMore Kinds of Information

• Genetics– Global empower x evolutionary time / # species: 1.26E25

sej/species

• Biodiversity and endangered species– Estimated from environmental process required to recreate

• One of a kind, Copies versus first– Requires higher energy and emergy to create, low emergy to

copy

• Shared information– More resilient, slow turnover (paradigms, cultural mores)

• Comparison in Environmental Accounting, pg 224

More Kinds of InformationMore Kinds of Information

• Cultural evaluations, archeology– Open for discussion– Area for future research