Define industrial ecology in a way that fits with your
national culture/discipline , and make explicit what the specific national elements in your
definition are.
For
this assignment., I chose some Industrial Ecology (IE) definitions and concepts
extracted from existing literature, that best define what this field of study
is all about,however, some of these definitions do not comply with the key elements (principles) of the
Biology perspective of IE, a few examples include :
Industrial
Ecology is a new approach to the industrial design of products and processes
and the implementation of sustainable manufacturing strategies. It is a concept
in which an industrial system is viewed not in isolation from its surrounding
systems but in concert with them. Industrial ecology seeks to optimize the total
materials cycle from virgin material to finished material to component, to
product, to waste products, and to ultimate disposal. . . . Characteristics
are: (1) proactive not reactive, (2) designed in not added on, (3) flexible not
rigid, and (4) encompassing not insular.
—
L.W. Jelinski, T. E. Graedel, R. A. Laudise, D. W. McCall, and C. Kumar N.
Patel, “Industrial Ecology: Concepts and Approaches,” Proceedings of National Academy
of Sciences, USA 89 (February 1992).
Somewhat
teleologically, “industrial ecology” may be defined as the means by which a
state of sustainable development is approached and maintained
—
Braden Allenby, “Achieving Sustainable Development Through Industrial Ecology,”
International Environmental Affairs 4, no.1 (1992).
Industrial
Ecology is the study of how we humans can continue rearranging Earth, but in
such a way as to protect our own health, the health of natural ecosystems, and
the health of future generations of plants and animals and humans. It
encompasses manufacturing, agriculture, energy production, and transportation —
nearly all of those things we do to provide food and make life easier and more
pleasant than it would be without them.
— Bette Hileman, “Industrial Ecology Route to Slow Global
Change Proposed,” Chemical and Engineering News (Aug. 24 ,1992): 7.
Perspective:
From
the perspective of biological sciences, the main element on which IE is defined
is based upon a straightforward analogy
with natural ecological systems. In nature an ecological system operates
through a web of connections in which organisms live and consume each other and
each other’s waste. Industrial ecology is a relatively new field that is based
on the ideology of nature. It claims that industrial ecosystem may behave
similar to the natural ecosystem where everything gets recycled
It is also worth mentioning that many key
terms in Industrial Ecology are derived from Biology such as a) Industrial
Metabolism. Biological metabolism, is the ''totality of the biochemical
reactions in a living thing. These reactions proceed down metabolic pathways,
sequences of enzyme catalyzed reactions, so ordered that the product, of one
reaction is the substrate for the next''
. Comparatively, ''Industrial
Metabolism'',is defined as "the
whole integrated collection of physical processes that convert raw materials
and energy, plus labor, into finished products and wastes..."
— Ayres, R.U., 1994. ''Industrial metabolism: Theory
and policy''. In: Ayres, R.U.,
Simonis, U.K. (Eds.), Industrial
Metabolism: Restructuring for Sustainable Development. United
Nations University Press, Tokyo, pp. 3–20.
b)Symbiosis
is another important phenomenon in Biology, which is a ''close and often
long-term interaction between two or more different biological species''
. When applied to industrial systems, Industrial symbiosis in turn, is a subset
of Industrial Ecology is known to be sharing and interaction of services,
utility, and by-product resources among diverse industrial actors in order to
add value, reduce costs and improve the environment.
Accordingly,
these proceeding existing definitions are found to clearly define Industrial
Ecology, in relation to Biology
''
Industrial ecology is the study of the physical, chemical,and biological
interactions and interrelationships both within and between industrial and
ecological systems.''
—Arun J. Basu
''Industrial Ecology framework for achieving cleaner production in the
mining and minerals industry'' Journal of
Cleaner Production Volume 14, Issues 3–4,
2006, Pages 299–304
Industrial
ecology can be best defined as the totality or the pattern of relationships
between various industrial activities, their products, and the environment.
— C. Kumar N. Patel, “Industrial Ecology,” Proceedings of
the National Academy of
Sciences, USA 89 (February
1992).
Industrial
ecology involves designing industrial infrastructures as if they were a series
of interlocking manmade ecosystems interfacing with the natural global
ecosystem. Industrial ecology takes the pattern of the natural environment as a
model for solving environmental problems, creating a new paradigm for the
industrial system in the process. . . . The aim of industrial ecology is to
interpret and adapt an understanding of the natural system and apply it to the
design of the manmade system, in order to achieve a pattern of
industrialization that is not only more efficient, but that is intrinsically
adjusted to the tolerance and characteristics of the natural system. The
emphasis is on forms of technology that work with natural systems, not against
them.
— Hardin B. C. Tibbs, “Industrial Ecology: An Environmental
Agenda for Industry,” Whole Earth Review 77 (December 1992).
