About this book
Business-as-usual in terms of industrial and technological development - even if based on a growing fear of pollution and shortages of natural resources - will never deliver sustainable development. However, the growing interest in recent years in the new science of industrial ecology (IE), and the idea that industrial systems should mimic the quasi-cyclical functions of natural ecosystems in an "industrial food chain", holds promise in addressing not only short-term environmental problems but also the long-term holistic evolution of industrial systems. This possibility requires a number of key conditions to be met, not least the restructuring of our manufacturing and consumer society to reduce the effects of material and energy flows at the very point in history when globalization is rapidly increasing them. This book sets out to address the theoretical considerations that should be made implicit in future research as well as practical implementation options for industry. The systematic recovery of industrial wastes, the minimization of losses caused by dispersion, the dematerialization of the economy, the requirement to decrease our reliance on fuels derived from hydrocarbons and the need for management systems that help foster inter-industry collaboration and networks are among the topics covered. The book is split into four sections. First, the various definitions of IE are outlined. Here, important distinctions are made between industrial metabolism and IE. Second, a number of different industrial sectors, including glass, petroleum and electric power, are assessed with regard to the operationalization of industrial ecology. Eco-industrial Parks and Networks are also analysed. Third, the options for overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of the closing of cycles such as the separation and screening of materials are considered and, finally, a number of implications for the future are assessed. The contributions to "Perspectives on Industrial Ecology" come from the leading thinkers working in this field at the crossroads between a number of different disciplines: engineering, ecology, bio-economics, geography, the social sciences and law.
Contents
Foreword Jacques Chirac Introduction Dominique Bourg, Troyes University of Technology, France Part 1: Concepts and ideas 1. Industrial ecology and material flow analysis: basic concepts, policy relevance and some case studies Stefan Bringezu, Wuppertal Institute, Germany 2. On the history of industrial metabolism Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Vienna, Austria 3. Technology, global change and industrial ecology Arnulf Grubler, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria 4. Industrial ecology: philosophical and political meanings Dominique Bourg, Troyes University of Technology, France Part 2: Ideas in action 5. Industrial ecology and services to enterprises: cell metabolism versus industrial metabolism Anne Bablon, CReeD, France 6. Physicochemical characterisation and recycling of industrial residues Maurice Morency, University of Quebec at Montreal and Environmental Research Centre UQAM/Sorel-Tracy, Canada; Denise Fontaine and Guoji Shan, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada 7. The ecodesign process Thierry Kazazian, O2 France 8. Eco-industrial sites and networks Jean-Francois Valles, Oree Association, France 9. Metropolitan industrial ecosystem development Judy Kincaid, Triangle J Council of Governments, USA 10. Towards a methodology for assessing effectiveness of recovery systems: a process system approach Kjetil Roine and Helge Brattebo, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Industrial Ecology Programme 11. Recycling of zinc-containing secondary products from the galvanising and steel industries: a new case of applied industrial ecology Jean-Paul Wiaux, Titalyse SA, Switzerland 12. The chemical industry from an industrial ecology perspective Colin G. Francis, Institute for the Communication and Analysis of Science and Technology (ICAST), Switzerland 13. Industrial ecology in motion: enterprise integration Raymond Nyer, IBM Europe-Middle East-Africa, France; Diana Bendz, IBM Corporation, USA 14. Electric power consumption and sustainable consumption Paul Baudry and Arnaud Ansart, Electricite de France 15. Industrial ecology and metallurgy Rolf Marstrander, Hydro Aluminium Metal Products, Norway 16. Industrial ecology and the oil industry Bernard Tramier, Elf Aquitaine, France 17. Industrial ecology and the glass industry Guy Tackels, Saint-Gobain Conceptions Verrieres, France 18. Applied industrial ecology and technology transposition: steelmaking slag and dust co-products, and secondary slag metallurgy Claude N. Gentaz, TRANSTEC, Switzerland Part 3: Future challenges 19. The future of the industrial system Indur M. Goklany, US Department of the Interior 20. Obstacles and opportunities for a 'green' industrial policy Jan Nill and Ulrich Petschow, Institute for Ecological Economic Research (IOW), Germany 21. A systems option for sustainable techno-metabolism: an ecological assessment of Japan's industrial technology system Chihiro Watanabe and Bing Zhu, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan 22. The functional society: the service economy Walter R. Stahel, The Product-Life Institute, Switzerland 23. Urban transportation and industrial ecology Thomas E. Graedel and Michael Jensen, Yale University, USA 24. The adoption of cleaner production technology and the emergence of industrial ecology activity: consequences for employment Laurent Grimal, Laboratoire Intelligence des Organisations, Universite de Haute Alsace, France 25. The relevance of industrial ecology in developing countries Ramesh Ramaswamy, Independent Consultant and Associate, Institute for Communication and Analysis of Science and Technology (ICAST), Switzerland 26. The impact of industrial ecology on university curricula Helge Brattebo, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) 27. From ecology of natural systems to industrial ecology: the need for an extension of the scope of ecology Gilles Billen, UMR Sisyphe; Centre National de Recherche; Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, France 28. Perspectives on industrial ecology Suren Erkman, Institute for Communication and Analysis of Science and Technology (ICAST), Switzerland Bibliography List of abbreviations Author biographies Index
Customer Reviews
Biography
Dominique Bourg is a Professor at the Troyes University of Technology, France, where he is head of the Centre of Research and Interdisciplinary Studies on Sustainable Development (Centre du Recherches et d'Etudes Interdisciplinaires sur le Developpement Durable [CREIDD]). He also teaches at the National Foundation of Political Sciences, Paris. His fields of research are linked to environmental ethics, technology and risk assessment, as well as public debate. Among his recent publications are: L'Homme-artifice: Le sens de la technique (Gallimard, 1996); and Le Nouvel age de l'ecologie (Descartes et Cie, forthcoming). Suren Erkman has an academic background in philosophy and biology. After working for a number of years as a science and business journalist for various media, he created in 1994 a company headquartered in Geneva, the Institute for Communication and Analysis of Science and Technology (ICAST). He is also a lecturer in industrial ecology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and at the Universite de Technologie de Troyes as well as an editor of The Journal of Industrial Ecology.
