Environment And The Tragedy Of The Commons

The tragedy of the commons can be defined as “In order to live a comfortable life, societies are provided with freedom to do as they wish which cause harmful effects that leads to a decline”. The common pasture and the common road network are best described examples. The examples are mainly within a local region and so called as ‘local commons’. But when it is the same with air or water, this causes consequences on a global scale and called ‘global commons’. Maximum economic yield is considered greater than the maximum sustainable yield. Due to the tragedy of the commons, the common pool resources are used extensively.

Therefore, it is a massive concern in industrial ecology and sustainable engineering. ii. The master equation is used to determine the environmental impact for a geographical region. Environmental Impact [I] = Population [P] × (GDP/Person) [A] × (Environmental impact/Unit of GDP)[T]With the help of the master equation the goals for technology and society can be determined. By considering the three terms of the equation, various constrains with respect to environmental impacts can be found. We know that the first and second term will tend to increase in the future as we develop.

To remain in a safe zone, Technology[T] must be maintained at lower levels. Industrial ecology and sustainable engineering mainly use the last term [T] to make decisions to achieve a smooth transition towards sustainability. iii. Industrial symbiosis can be defined as the waste of one industry can be utilized by another industry. This would help in evolving the industrial ecosystem. Industrial symbiosis can be divided into five categories.

1. Creating a waste exchange platform
2. Using waste within the same industry
3. Sharing the waste within a specific region
4. Sharing the waste with other regions
5. Sharing the waste on a global scale

By the above-mentioned categories, the possibility of moving from a linear flow environment to a circular environment can be achieved. The adverse effects of losses to the environment can be reduced and avoid depleting of resources around the world.

The use of biological metaphors in human systems has always been apart for more than a century. The idea of linking the biological processes and comparing it to industrial processes helps us in assessing the similarities in the two processes. Many of today’s industrial systems follow similar processes as that of biological systems. By using the biological metaphors, the human systems can apply concepts such as reuse, recycle and renew. A comparison between biological systems and human systems shows a lot of similarities.

Human Systems

1. They behave independently and make decision by themselves
2. They perform their activities independently
3. They require energy and resources to transform materials
4. They too use energy and resources to produce new products
5. They create waste while transforming materials
6. They produce enormous amounts of waste
7. They can create new life and reproduce
8. They are capable of creating new offsprings
9. They react to changes in the surroundings
10. They have an effect when there is a change in external factors
11. They can grow during their lifetime
12. They are capable of growth
13. They have limited lifespan
14. Very similar to biological systems
15. They are capable of evolving

Evolution is an ongoing process

From the above similarities we can draw a conclusion that human systems behave very much like biological systems. Biological systems show us that they do follow various processes during their lifespan. The same when applied to human systems can provide results on resource usage, energy required, rate of waste and disposal of a material. Hence, the use of biological metaphors helps to create an assessment for human systems as they are very much similar in most cases.

The surrounding in which biological and industrial systems work is known as ecosystem. In the early stage of life, the ecosystem had large amounts of resource with less inhabitants on the planet. This provided a linear approach to utilization of resources. This showed there was unlimited resources and created unlimited waste. The concept of recycle and reuse were not a concern for both biological and industrial ecosystems. But as the two systems multiplied, the linear flow wasn’t a sustainable solution. This showed depleting resources and needed other solution to maintain a balance in the ecosystem. The best solution was to make the resources to follow a cyclic path. Recycle and reuse are methods used to reduce waste. The use of limited resource with energy as an input and constrained waste is the present-day circular flow that we follow. The best solution is to create 100% circularity in the system.

In this case, waste produced will be zero. We look to move into this form of circular flow as it provides the best sustainable option. The concept of symbiosis wherein one organism’s waste is utilized by another organism is most beneficial in creating a completely closed loop. The two factors that play an important role is the temporal and spatial scales. It is quite easy for biological organism to follow a spatial scale as they are small. They temporal scale for biological organism can vary but shorter periods are recommended. For industrial organism the temporal resource may be expensive and could affect the ecosystem. The spatial scale for industrial organisms is better when its small. Large spaces would require more energy and may have few constrains. Industrial systems are more applied on a global scale and could afford using larger spaces unlike biological organism. On the whole circularity is the best option but at times linear flows needs to be applied.

“Sustainability is the possibility that humans and other life flourish on the Earth forever. ” (Ehrenfeld,2008)

To be sustainable we consider nature, life support and community. To be developed we consider people, economy and society. When nature provides for the human population without exhaustion of resources it is known as strong sustainability. When humans use most of the natural resources which could lead to exhaustion of these resource it is known as weak sustainability. To remain sustainable, the following must be quantified.

1. Net usage of raw material
2. Divide usage of raw material equally
3. Determine reusable rate of material
4. Compare usage with sustainable rate

The concept of sustainability helps determine the grand objectives with respect to environmental burdens. The grand objective are:

1. Survival of humans
2. Capability for sustainable development along with the coexistence of the human system
3. Protection of the diversity of life.
4. To maintain the richness of the planet

Yes, industrial ecology is the science of sustainability. The methods used in industrial ecology help determine the path to sustainable development. Industrial ecology helps in studying the material and energy flows between industries and the natural environment. The use of industrial symbiosis, life cycle assessment gives an insight to various sustainable concepts. At times industrial ecology can lead to limitations. When the behavior of the material shifts from one system to another, this could cause an uncertainty in the material. The role of sustainability and ecology play an important role in industrial ecology. In conclusion industrial ecology is the science of sustainability as it deals with resilience, adaptive capacity and integrity.

As an industrial ecologist it is most important to maintain and protect the wildlife and biodiversity of the forest as well as look at the most efficient way to develop the company. They key categories that are investigated to manage the forest are as follows:

Water Quality: The water must be potable for wildlife and marine life. Pollution of water must be very low or completely eradicated. The quantity of water present in the region must be adequate for the whole forest ecosystem. Well designed drainage systems must be built to connect all water sources in the region. Use of bridges over river and streams are preferred. The eroded soil must not mix with water and keeping the water clear is important to the marine ecology.

Soil Quality & Revegetation: The soil must be rich with minerals that are necessary for the growth of the region. Erosion and landslide must be kept under control to avoid natural disasters. The use of roads and other pathways must be natural and must avoid creating new ones that can cause a change in wildlife processes. The process of planting new trees must be carried extensively.

Wildlife & Natural habitat: Food and other important resources for the animals and trees must be maintained without causing any inconvenience to their territories.

Aesthetics and Recreation: Must maintain the surrounding with its pristine beauty and avoid unwanted felling of trees. To create an atmosphere which will bring wildlife and humans to interact. (Smallidge and Goff, 1998)The government needs to play a major role in maintaining the transparency on the proceedings of the area. The amount of felling of trees need to be monitored and analyzed. Illegal poaching and cutting of trees must be heavily punished. Prohibition of harmful materials within the region must not be allowed. The active hours of the wildlife must be considered and human activities during this period must be forbidden. Precautions must be under taken to avoid natural calamities such as fires, flooding and epidemics.

The concept of life cycles is used as a tool to determine the environmental impacts of a product. In the late 70’s and 80’s only the manufacturing and its emission was the focus. But by the 90’s the entire life cycle, its flows and impacts were examined. They are used to provide a quantitative analysis for the life cycle of a product. The use of LCA is to determine the goal, inventory and impact of the product in a set boundary. They quantify the material flow of the complete life cycle of the product Analysts could find out specific quantities at each part during the product life. They help in in choosing different approaches to tackle environmental impacts of a product. The life cycle for a product were divided into four components.

They are:

1. Extraction and processing of resources
2. Manufacturing
3. Use and distribution
4. Recycling and disposal

The Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) provide results that are approximate values. SLCA do not determine the environmental impingement such as land use and biodiversity. Comparison and ranking of environmental impacts cannot be done using SLCA. It does not provide a quantitative assessment of the product. Hence, mainly focuses on the qualitative approach. It provides awareness to environmental issues. It also takes a shorter time and cost lesser than LCA. It is also useful during the early design phase. SLCA provide generic analysis with respect to the product. It is helpful in providing historical data.