PLM Flashcards
During the 20th century, for the first time in history humankind had the technological means to radically alter the complete planetary environment. These activities led to e.g.:
Ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere
Disappearance of many animal and plant species
Contamination of the food chain
Escalating rates of soil erosion and salinity
Global warming
Pauperization of a considerable percentage of humankind
In the last decades of the century, the catastrophic developments were recognized and first countermeasures were initiated under the header „Sustainable Development“.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are
an extensive chemical group of organic compounds that are used as propellants (spray cans) or refrigerants.
Chronology: 1971: first article in ‚Nature‘ (largely unappreciated): „Atmospheric Fluorine Compounds as Indicators of Air Movements“ 1974: first analysis on ozone destruction by CFC (largely unappreciated): “Stratospheric sink for chlorofluoromethanes: chlorine atom-catalyzed destruction of ozone” 1985: Observation of ‘ozone hole’ over Antarctica: “Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClOx/NOx interaction” 1985: Wien Agreement on the protection of the ozone layer 1987: Montreal protocol on substances that lead to a depletion of the ozone layer
Malthus – 1798
Population grows exponentially; food production grows linearly. Population growth ceases when incremental person doesn’t have resources to survive
The Tragedy of the Commons
Competition regarding a limited but freely available resource leads to a conflict between self-interest and the conservation of the resource. The logical consequence is a lose-lose situation.
Sustainable Development is a
development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Alternative Definitions of Sustainability
Sustainability is preservation of productive capacity for the foreseeable future (Solow, 1992).
Biophysical sustainability means maintaining or improving the integrity of the life support system of earth (Fuwa, 1995) .
Sustainability is a vision of the future that provides us with a road map and helps us focus our attention on a set of values and ethical and moral principles by which to guide our actions (Viederman, 1997).
Analyzing the Brundtland Definition
Development:
Economic Growth
Social Progress
Environmental Protection
Present:
Present needs to be respected
Immediate action required
Future:
Lifetime of past Damages
Time Scale of Effects
Areas of sustainable development
Economic Development:
Economic Growth
Technological Progress
Personal economic well-being
Social Development:
Right to shelter, education and health-care Equal opportunities
Ban of Discrimination
Political participation/representation
Environmental Development:
Allow natural resources to be replenished Avoid degradation of environment Conserve biodiversity
Weak Sustainability
Sustainable development can be achieved, as long as TOTAL capital stays constant (Hartwick‘s rule). As long as diminishing natural capital stocks are being replaced by gains in the man-made stock, total capital will stay constant and the current level of consumption can continue.
Strong Sustainability
NATURAL capital has to be kept constant independently from man-made capital (non-substitutability paradigm).
Aquafarming problems
Inadequate animal housing, high stress potential for the animals.
Massive use of medic mentation, antibiotics and biogenetics.
High environmental impact due to effluents, wastes, pesticides and other chemicals.
Are sustainable development and economic progress incompatible?
Economic growth is quantitative. Considering a baseline, it is an economic change or variation related to investment, output, income and consumption.
Economic growth does not necessarily result in a better living (Thring‘s sufficiency concept)
Sustainable development refers to a
qualitative change. This requires changes not only to economy, but also institutional, social and environmental changes.
Sustainable development is not a goal but a process.
Economic growth can assist sustainable development.
Subjectivity problem
What value is to be assigned e.g. to human health, human life, biodiversity …..
The value of objective measures may change with growing scientific insight into impacts of e.g. pollutants.
The value of objective measures may be weighted differently according to subjective background.
Data base is incomplete in many respects.
It is assumed that the sustainability impact S of a technologically intensive activity is influenced by:
How many people use the technology
The role of the technology in the economy
The resource consumption or the environmental degradation caused by the technology
The influence factors a) to c) can be expressed by the following quantities:
a) Population (P)
b)Per capita gross domestic product (GDP/P)
c)Energy consumption per GDP (E/GDP)
The equation for the sustainability impact is thus:
S = P * (GDP/P) * (E/GDP)
The Kaya equation can be further modified…
to include additional impacts known or suspected to be harmful (e.g. air pollution, water consumption, degradation of wildlife habitat, climate modification).
White‘s Law
“Culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased,
or the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is
increased.” (Leslie White, 1943)
𝐂 = 𝐄 𝐱 𝐓
(Technological) culture = energy times technology
Per Capita Average Energy Use
Energy is one of the key building blocks of
technical and economic development,
and of social organization.
Patterns of energy use are a fingerprint
of society, and of our impact on the
environment.
Vastly different ways exist to use energy
to achieve economic, industrial, and
household goals. Sane energy policy,
when applied, makes a huge difference
Energy, social, and environmental issues
are coming to a crisis point.
In order to compare alternative systems (e.g. energy systems) regarding sustainability, quantification of
impacts is required.
Impact types are…
Economic
Safety-related
Environmental impacts
The complexity of measures for these impacts varies heavily. Some measures can be described in
straightforward terms, other are highly uncertain, complex and subject to individual opinions.
Indicators are defined as measurable quantities that can be related to some aspect of sustainability.
Indicators for the three major areas of sustainable development are…
Environment:
Biodiversity (protected area as % of total land)
Energy use (GDP per unit energy)
Water use (intensity of freshwater use)
Economic:
GDP
unemployment rate
national debt
Social:
poverty rate
infant mortality rate
HIV prevalence
Usable indicators for determining relevant potential of environmental impact must satisfy the following
requirements:
Scientific foundation
Deliver transparent and reproducible estimates of environmental impacts for all processes, goods
and services
Ease of application in practical use
Applicability on local, regional and global level.
Indicators can be categorized as follows:
Stock indicators (measures of total inventories of resources)
Flow indicators (changes in stock indicators)
Distributional indicators (distribution about mean values of indicators)
Composite indicators (combinations of multiple individual indicators)
Pressure-State-Response Analysis
Ecological Footprint
MIPS / Ecological Rucksack
Ecological Footprint (EF) is a measure of…
human demands on the resources of the Earth’s ecosystem.
Balances demands against the planet’s ecological capacity to regenerate
resources
Defined in hectares or hectares per person and represents the amount of
biologically productive land and sea area required to replace resources
consumed by the population or person and to convert waste/residual
materials produced
Closely linked to question of sustainable population size for the planet
