Discussion Objectives and Intended Outcomes
April 22, 2008 by GREGORY HILTON , NEIL MILLER , Frances , and admin | Filed under: The EM as an Industrial Ecologist [1]
In an attempt to firm up specific discussion objectives and intended outcomes for this discussion topic. I have listed topic questions for the
participants to review and comment on. Please feel free to add and inquire to any of these topic questions.
Importance of Industrial Ecology to the Environmental Manager
1. What are the values that are at the forefront of the environmental management?
2. How does industrial ecology fit with the values of environmental management?
3. What are the changing elements related to industrial ecology that the environmental manager needs to prepare for?
Application of Industrial Ecology Principles
1. What important successes shoulf we build upon and how?
2. Where should we apply the industrial ecology disciplines to maximize results?
3. What resistance or risks should we prepare for?
Define and post the related objectives or intended outcomes for the discussion.
Greg, that is a great summary of the discussions so far. I will add input later after further review of the articles. Thanks for posting.
Thank you, Greg, for the summary. I like question 2 of the “application” section. I think that really hits the head on the topic. I would add,…and to what extent should we apply industrial ecology principles to those situations (i.e. just a waste swap between companies or to the extreme of geoengineering?) And what is our criteria for determining appropriate applications?
The articles spoke a lot about the difficulty of emulating natural systems due to their multiple points of equilibrium and the fact that this multiplicity increases the resilience of the system. Engineered systems on the other hand focus on one point of equilibrium. I think a topic of discussion could be the extent that we can be successful at engineering the environment. Can our brains or computers even handle the complexity of designing around multiple equilibrium?
That kind of leads to another question of what should be the values that industrial ecology, and therefore industrial ecologists, uphold. Should it be more precautionary or more innovative like the geoengineering? Should it be focused on building local business networks, reusing waste and raw materials, emulating natural looped systems, etc., etc?
Could you explain question 3 in the first category? What do you mean “changing elements”? Also, for question 3 of the second section, resistance from whom do you mean?
Frances, Thank you for your input. I will add your questions to the list.
By changing elements I am refering to the emerging methods and knowledge of industrial ecology that the EM needs to prepare for. Are there specific areas of knowledge and technology that need more emphasis?
I would assume that not all organizations, industries, governments, and perhaps communities would agree with industrial ecology principles when it comes to applying them. What might the arguments be? How should we prepare? What is at risk?
Frances, I like the values questiosn you keep bringing up, it should be included in the discussion.