Ecological Economics
Final Module
Group 8
February 22, 2008
Han Duong, Charles Schaefer, Cara Schaefer, Kellen Ryan, Henry Eric Walth, Henry Pfeffer
The Economy as a Subset of the Earth System
Introduction:
For the past 10% of human history, it seems as though many of us have lived lives based of off an incomplete understanding of the nature of our allocation of scarce resources to our ends. This model is the neoclassical view of the economy (Daly, Farley, 8). It is incomplete in the way that it ignores the fact that the resources that it depends on are fixed in their amount, and that we can deplete them. Think about it, how long can the stock of oil on the planet power our infrastructure? Is the answer forever? Neoclassical economics would agree with that. This is because the model does not take into account the amount of oil the ecosystem can produce over time. Ecological economics however sees this problem. The model that it uses sees the economy as a subset of a finite earth system (Daly, Farley, 15). It would say that the oil we use will eventually run out if we use it faster then the ecosystem can replenish the stock.
To gain further understanding of why this concept of ecological economics is true, we examine three main objectives. The main objectives that we will focus on to accomplish this are as follows:
- To know and understand the differences between the three types of systems
- Open System
- Closed System
- Isolated System
- To Learn why the systems interact within one another the way they do and how these interactions play a role in our lives
- To understand our contributions to these systems and the impact that we leave within them
Objectives:
The first of these three objectives is to be able to differentiate between the three systems that impact our way of life. An open system, is a system which takes in and gives out both matter and energy. In ecological economics we see that our economy can be classified as an open system. Our Planet on the other hand is a closed system. This is because it only imports and exports energy. Matter stays within the system but does not actually flow through it. Finally, an isolated system is one in which matter or energy cannot enter or exit. One can look at these three systems and see that they build upon or house one another. An isolated system contains both the closed and open systems. The closed system holds the open system.
If you look at the Universe as an isolated system, you can see the planet Earth inside of it. Furthermore, within the Earth as a system you find our economy. One way to remember how this works is to think of a diagram or a model to help see the boundaries. When talking about matter and energy, they are meant to represent the materials and energy used to create all of the everyday objects we use. We use energy to draw the matter from the earth, and then more energy to turn the matter into what we find useful, and the whole time these different types of matter are being used and sent back to the environment through these systems.
The economy takes matter and energy from the planet, uses it and sends back what is left in waste. This works the same way for the planet with the exception that the matter or energy does not flow through the system. It is more like it provides these things for the economy. Lastly you can look at the Universe itself as the isolated system and see that in all actuality nothing enters or exits the earth. What is created here stays here or is used here. What is in space stays in space and rarely makes its way towards earth.
Our second objective is designed to show why the economy is controlled by the earth and how that affects our lives. Primarily, the earth provides the goods and resources used in our economy and most of these resources are finite. This means that overtime our resources will diminish or be converted to waste and the economy will have less to work with. With less organized forms matter and energy (low entropy), fewer goods and services can be created which means the economy would have to downsize. What does this mean to us as humans? We would not have as much “stuff.” We base our lives on the things we get from the economy and without all of the goods and services it provides us the human lifestyle would have to change. Our way of life, the economic system is controlled by the closed earth system
Our third main objective is for individuals to understand how we influence these systems. It is important to understand that we demand products from the economy and we supply products for the economy. This helps it to grow. The economy takes all the resources it needs from the earth, transforms them into goods and services, and then gives us the things we want or need. This inevitably does damage to the earth, as we are sure that the resources are finite (closed system). We take away resources which could be used in future lifetimes because we demand too much. Then once we get what we want we often decide that something better has come along and we throw away the old, or less desired stuff and get something new. We contribute to the constant flow of the economy, the open system through our supply and demand lifestyle and it is depleting the resources from our planet the closed system.
Activities:
It is important to have a number of activities to represent these dense concepts in order for people to understand them in relation to their everyday lives. Therefore, we have come up with the follow exercises which will transform the above information from concepts to hands-on activities to engage the mind.
Water Usage per Person
The point of this activity is to make you understand and appreciate the concepts of non-renewable resources and the idea of Earth's limited resources. This activity is 3 days long and will hopefully make you appreciate Earth's resources and imagine what life will be like when our resources are almost depleted. Below you will find what looks like a reporting log. The activity is designed to elicit emotion so please write down your frustration and thoughts freely. On day 1, you are going to only take a shower for 10 minutes. On the second day you are going to shower for only 5 minutes and on the third day only for 2 and a half minutes. This is going to be extremely frustrating but think about what it would be like if our water was really depleted so it was true! For the second activity, the idea is the same but for flushing the toilet. One day one you will flush the toilet however frequently is necessary. On day 2 you will flush the toilet half as frequently as you did on day 1 despite how many times you went to the bathroom, #1 or #2. On the third day, you will only flush half as much as you did on day 2. The idea is to be kind of gross and uncomfortable so try to do it accurately to get the most out of it. This is only for three days but imagine if this was the way it was for the rest of your life!
Shower
Day 1 (10 Minutes)
______
Day 2 (5 Minutes)
______
Day 3 (2 ½ Minutes)
______
Toilet Flushing
Day 1 (As much as necessary)
______
Day 2 (Half as much as Day 1)
______
Day 3 (Half of Day 2)
______
Weighing of Waste
Step #1
Weigh all purchased goods including all food and packaging for a week. At the end of the week add all of the daily weights and record the total. Throughout the week, make sure to put all trash into one garbage can.
Day 1 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Day 2 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Day 3 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Day 4 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Day 5 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Day 6 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Day 7 ______Pounds of Purchased goods
G=Week's Total ______Pounds of Purchased goods
Step #2
Weigh The trash inside of the garbage can and record.
T=Week's Total ______Pounds of Trash from consumed goods and packaging.
Step #3
Now Divide the total weight of the trash T by the total weight of the purchased goods G and multiply by 100 to find the percent of waste produced during a week.
T/G*100= %waste
%Waste=______
Step #4 (The Dirty Part)
Sort out the trash and separate into items that are recyclable, reusable, compostable, or simply unnecessary. Remove the recyclable, reusable, and compostable items and weigh them. We will call this mass R for recyclable. R/T gives the percent of recyclable trash thrown out. This percent should be minimized.
%Recyclable Trash______
Step #5
Make a list of all of the items that you should have recycled but didn't. Along with this, make a list of all of the items that had unnecessary packaging or garbage involved. Now write down some changes in your consumptive patterns that could minimize the amount of waste you produce in any given week.
Step #6
Recycle, Reuse, or Compost all of the sorted items that you can. Put your garbage away and think twice the next time you buy something or throw something away.
Textbook Reading
Since some people learn by reading, the next activity has been designed to give you a brief background to this new way of viewing the economy as a subset of the ecosystem. The textbook is an online version written by the founding fathers of ecological economics. The textbook can be found at this url;
Read the first chapter. Reflect on how ecological economics differs from what we were previously taught. List three ways in which ecological economics is different than neoclassical economics. Explain what an open system, a closed system and an isolated system and provide examples different from the ones in the reading.
Conclusion:
What does all this mean? The three types of systems (open, closed, and isolated) provide us with an understanding of the flow of resources and its function in the economy. We must put away the underlying assumption that the economy is infinite. The economy exists as a subset or part of the Earth system; in another word, the economy is dependent upon the Earth for resources.
As previously mentioned, the economy is seen as an open system which gives us the ability to control it. Looking at the economy alone, humans have the capability to expand or suppress it as much as we want. On the other hand, the Earth is a closed system and can only expand so much; this is why the human economy has to stay within a boundary.
Humans can produce and consume as much products as we desire, but the Earth will not be able to keep up with our demands and our resources will eventually diminish. If we keep exploiting natural resources, we may deplete these resources faster than the Earth's capacity to regenerate. We do however, have the power to use them in a sustainable way and provide for future generations.
Open System
Closed System
Isolated System
Works Cited
Daly, Herman E., and Joshua Farley. Ecological Economics Principles and Applications. WashingtonDC: Island P, 2004.