Industrial ecology
Industrial ecology is an interdisciplinary field that examines the flows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities and their environmental impacts. It draws parallels between human-created systems and biological ecosystems, applying ecological principles to industrial processes. By analyzing the interactions between economic, political, and social factors with material flows, industrial ecology seeks to understand and mitigate the negative effects of industrial production on the environment. The concept has roots in the "tragedy of the commons," which highlights the challenges of shared resources and environmental degradation due to self-interested behavior.
The discipline employs methodologies like life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impact of products from raw material extraction to disposal. This approach has gained significance in the context of climate change, as it helps identify anthropogenic contributions to atmospheric alterations. Through research and collaboration among academics, industry professionals, and policymakers, industrial ecology aims to promote sustainable practices and reduce the ecological footprint of industrial activities. Current studies, such as those on biodegradable plastics, illustrate the ongoing need to critically assess materials and their long-term impacts on the environment.
Industrial ecology
Definition
Industrial ecology is the study of the flows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities and their impact on the environment. It includes the effects of economic, political, and social factors bearing on those flows and their environmental consequences. The discipline is an adaptation of the concept of a biological ecosystem, which has been at the core of environmental studies for many decades, applying the same analysis to the human-created world as had been applied to the biological world. It is also an adaptation of the idea of materials flow, which has been applied to geologic and industrial evaluations, applying the concept to industrial production and to the consumption of industrial products.
The roots of industrial ecology go back to the “tragedy of the commons,” defined by Garrett Hardin in 1968 in an article of the same name. Hardin pointed out that while humans are very sensitive to the costs of generating income from producing goods that they personally own, they are largely insensitive to the costs of production that derive from assets owned in common. That same self-centered approach has been adapted to industrial production, particularly in the framework of a market-based economy (though the unraveling of the Soviet system in the late 1980s and the 1990s arguably showed that it also applied in systems of collective ownership).
The result of this self-centered approach has been that environmental assets have not enjoyed the kind of value recognition that has gone into private ownership. The reevaluation of those assets’ value has been driven by those who maintain that failure to maintain and protect the environment has caused environmental assets to lose a great deal of value. This loss of value has been documented by individuals such as Rachel Carson, whose paradigm-changing work on the effects of DDT pointed out that environmental damage can harm humans as well. Industrialists responding to such studies applied the methodology of systems analysis to industrial and ecological processes, producing “materials flow assessments.” The techniques involved came to be called “life cycle assessment,” or LCA.
In the 1990s, scientists began to observe what looked like systemic changes to the atmosphere and began looking for causes and defining the consequences through the absorption of carbon into the atmosphere. As a result, people began to realize that the human-created world might have a very important part to play in climate. The conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that atmospheric changes were to a substantial extent caused by human activities, put a focus on evaluating those activities, especially those carried out by industry. Industrial ecology offered a method of analysis that, by tracing the flow of materials through the industrial system, could provide detailed information on the influences on global climate.
Because of the multiplicity of industries that convert various materials into saleble products, performing LCAs for the manufactured world involves several kinds of disciplinary expertise. Raw materials, very often taken from the ground, are subjected to a number of alterations to convert them into a form that humans need, so geologists play a significant part in the analysis, as they have specialized knowledge that reveals how the raw materials can be altered. Very often, chemical processes are employed in this alteration, and for this to be fully understood requires sophisticated knowledge of those processes. Moreover, in most cases, industrial production involves the application of forces generated by energy, for which an understanding of the physics of energy use is essential. Finally, most manufacturing processes create waste by-products. Indeed, life in the industrialized world in general generates enormous amounts of waste, and its disposition, without harming the environment or generating environmental changes that affect the climate, is a major political and social concern requiring knowledge of ecology and biogeochemistry to achieve.
Significance for Climate Change
Since anthropogenic changes to the environment have been identified as major contributors to the changing climate, ways need to be found to minimize this impact. Full knowledge of the effects of the various parts of industrial production is essential to changing those effects. Industrial ecology, a specialized branch of environmental studies, has its own journal, the Journal of Industrial Ecology, edited at the Yale School of Environmental Studies. It draws on contributions from academics, members of the business community, and government officials. The International Society of Industrial Ecology owned and managed the Journal of Industrial Ecology as of 2022. The publication continued to publish research focusing on comprehension of the environmental impacts and motivators of the stocks and flows of resources in activities surrounding production and consumption. Through this journal and in other academic, private, and public forums, ideas and processes that can serve to modify industrial production and thereby reduce its negative impact on the climate are spread.
Researchers at the Yale School of the Environment have been studying how biodegradable plastics affect the environment and impact climate change. A study published in 2024 indicated that much of the 20 million tons of plastic dumped in landfills each year are microplastics, which are harmful to the environment. While biodegradable plastic was believed to be more sustainable, the researchers found that only 50 percent of it was actually biodegradable. The other 50 percent had the same impact on the environment as microplastics. They also found that, in general, biodegradable plastics took less time to degrade than conventional plastics, they released the same harmful greenhouse gases. The researchers hoped that their findings would change the composition of biodegradable plastics so they do not contribute to climate change.
Bibliography
Ayres, Robert U., and Leslie W. Ayres, eds. A Handbook of Industrial Ecology. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England: Edward Elgar, 2002.
Campbell, Leah. "New Study Helps Quantify Climate Change and Ecotoxicity Impacts of Biodegradable Microplastics." Yale School of the Environment, 17 Oct. 2024, environment.yale.edu/news/article/new-study-helps-quantify-climate-change-and-ecotoxicity-impacts-biodegradable. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Graedel, Thomas, and B. R. Allenby. Industrial Ecology. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, 2003.
Lifset, Reid. “Industrial Ecology and Forestry.” Journal of Forestry 98, no. 10 (October 2000).
Schandl, Heinz. "International Industrial Ecology Day on 30 November 2022." Australian Circular Economy Hub, 17 Nov. 2022, acehub.org.au/news/international-industrial-ecology-day-on-30-november-2022. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.