Industrial ecology: shedding more light on its perspective of understanding nature as mode
December 19, 2007 by amathew , amathew , Brian Butler | Filed under: Literature Review,The EM as an Industrial Ecologist [1]
Isenmann, Ralf. “Industrial ecology: shedding more light on its perspective of understanding nature as model. “Sustainable Development 11.3 (2003): 143.In this article the author reviews the theory of industrial ecology when nature is used as model for material flows and processing in industry. It describes the goal of industrial ecology as producing a more sustainable system for industry to follow by utilizing closed loop systems. The article then poses the problem that it is impossible for one to understand the full systems of nature and thus the closed loop process of nature can only be mimicked instead of replicated. The author then investigates how industrial ecology mimics nature and how general consensus compares industrial processes to natural systems, including the minute differences in using and overusing metaphor and environmental analogies. The author supports changing the view of the environment as a fashionable jargon and to view nature as something to use a framework in our attempts towards sustainability.