The Metabolic Pattern Of Societies

Author : Mario Giampietro
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136619941
Total Pages : 438 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Metabolic Pattern of Societies written by Mario Giampietro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-10-12 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is increasingly evident that the conventional scientific approach to economic processes and related sustainability issues is seriously flawed. No economist predicted the current planetary crisis even though the world has now undergone five severe recessions primed by dramatic increases in the price of oil. This book presents the results of more than twenty years of work aimed at developing an alternative method of analysis of the economic process and related sustainability issues: it is possible to perform an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of socio-economic systems using indicators and variables that have been so far ignored by conventional economists. The book’s innovative approach aims to provide a better framework with which we can face the predicaments of sustainability issues. It begins by presenting practical examples of the shortcomings of conventional economic analysis and examines the systemic problems faced when trying to use quantitative analysis for governance. In providing a critical appraisal of current applications of economic narratives to the issue of sustainability, the book presents several innovative concepts required to generate a post-Newtonian approach to quantitative analysis in the Musiasem approach. An empirical section illustrates the results of an analysis of structural changes in world and EU countries. Finally, the book, using the insight gained in the theoretical and empirical analysis, exposes the dubious quality of many narratives currently used in the sustainability debate. Overall, the performance of modern economies across different hierarchical levels of organization and across different disciplinary knowledge systems is fully analyzed and a more realistic measure of happiness and well-being is devised. The book should be of interest to researchers and students looking at the issue of sustainability within a variety of disciplines.

Author : Mario Giampietro
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136619933
Total Pages : 453 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Metabolic Pattern of Societies written by Mario Giampietro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-10-12 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is increasingly evident that the conventional scientific approach to economic processes and related sustainability issues is seriously flawed. No economist predicted the current planetary crisis even though the world has now undergone five severe recessions primed by dramatic increases in the price of oil. This book presents the results of more than twenty years of work aimed at developing an alternative method of analysis of the economic process and related sustainability issues: it is possible to perform an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of socio-economic systems using indicators and variables that have been so far ignored by conventional economists. The book’s innovative approach aims to provide a better framework with which we can face the predicaments of sustainability issues. It begins by presenting practical examples of the shortcomings of conventional economic analysis and examines the systemic problems faced when trying to use quantitative analysis for governance. In providing a critical appraisal of current applications of economic narratives to the issue of sustainability, the book presents several innovative concepts required to generate a post-Newtonian approach to quantitative analysis in the Musiasem approach. An empirical section illustrates the results of an analysis of structural changes in world and EU countries. Finally, the book, using the insight gained in the theoretical and empirical analysis, exposes the dubious quality of many narratives currently used in the sustainability debate. Overall, the performance of modern economies across different hierarchical levels of organization and across different disciplinary knowledge systems is fully analyzed and a more realistic measure of happiness and well-being is devised. The book should be of interest to researchers and students looking at the issue of sustainability within a variety of disciplines.

Author : Mario Giampietro
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136264000
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Energy Analysis for a Sustainable Future written by Mario Giampietro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The vast majority of the countries of the world are now facing an imminent energy crisis, particularly the USA, China, India, Japan and EU countries, but also developing countries having to boost their economic growth precisely when more powerful economies will prevent them from using the limited supply of fossil energy. Despite this crisis, current protocols of energy accounting have been developed for dealing with fossil energy exclusively and are therefore not useful for the analysis of alternative energy sources. The first part of the book illustrates the weakness of existing analyses of energy problems: the science of energy was born and developed neglecting the issue of scale. The authors argue that it is necessary to adopt more complex protocols of accounting and analysis in order to generate robust energy scenarios and effective assessments of the quality of alternative energy sources. The second part of the book introduces the concept of energetic metabolism of modern societies and uses empirical results. The authors present an innovative approach – Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) – capable of characterizing the quality of alternative energy sources in relation to both environmental constraints and socio-economic requirements. This method allows the metabolic pattern of a society to be described in relation to its feasibility, when looking at biophysical factors, and desirability, when looking at socio-economic factors. Addressing the issue of scale in energy analysis by cutting through the confusion found in current applications of energy analysis, this book should be of interest to researchers, students and policy makers in energy within a variety of disciplines.

Author : Mario Giampietro
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136264019
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.16/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Energy Analysis for a Sustainable Future written by Mario Giampietro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: a theoretical and practical critique of the methods (net energy analysis and Energy Return On Investment - EROI) so far proposed to assess the quality of energy sources a critical appraisal of existing energy statistics explaining their shortcomings presents an innovative approach capable of generating flexible protocols of energy accounting (to be tailored on the specificity of different situations) across scales

Author : Manuel González de Molina
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030209008
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Social Metabolism of Spanish Agriculture, 1900–2008 written by Manuel González de Molina and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-11-12 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book provides a panoramic view of the evolution of Spanish agriculture from 1900 to the present, offering a more diverse picture to the complex and multidimensional reality of agrarian production. With a clear transdisciplinary ambition, the book applies an original and innovative theoretical and methodological tool, termed Agrarian Social Metabolism, combining Social Metabolism with an agroecological perspective. This integrative analysis is especially interesting for environmental scientists and policy makers being the best way to design sustainable agroecosystems and public policies capable of moving us towards a more sustainable food system. Spanish agricultural production has experienced impressive growth during the 20th century which has allowed it to ensure the supply of food to the population and even to transform some crops into important chapters in foreign trade. However, this growth has had its negative side since it was based on the injection of large amounts of external energy, on the destruction of employment and the loss of profitability of agricultural activity. But perhaps the most serious part is the strong impact of the current industrialised agriculture model on Spanish agroecosystems, exposed to the overexploitation of hydric resources, pollution of the water by nitrates and pesticides, high erosion rates and an alarming loss of biodiversity; damage which in the immediate future will end up reducing production capacity.

Author : Ghosh, Nilanjan
Publisher : IGI Global
ISBN 13 : 1466649968
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sustainability Science for Social, Economic, and Environmental Development written by Ghosh, Nilanjan and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2014-01-31 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the effects of climate change become ever more apparent and pressing, the discussion of sustainable practices and environmental protection is a common overture among the academic and scientific communities. However, in order to be truly effective, sustainable solutions must be tested and applied in real-world situations. Sustainability Science for Social, Economic, and Environmental Development investigates the role of sustainability in the everyday lives of ordinary citizens, including issues of economy, social interaction, exploitation of natural resources, and sources of renewable energy. In this book, researchers, policy makers, economists, scientists, and general readers will all find crucial insight into the parallels between theory and practice in sustainable development.

Author : Mario Giampietro
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136573658
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Biofuel Delusion written by Mario Giampietro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-09-02 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faced with the twin threats of peak oil and climate change, many governments have turned for an answer to the apparent panacea of biofuels. Yet, increasingly, the progressive implementation of this solution demonstrates that the promise of biofuels as a replacement to fossil fuels is in fact a mirage that, if followed, risks leaving us short of power, short of food and doing as much damage to the climate as ever -- let alone the consequent impact on biodiversity due to additional loss of habitat for agricultural production and on rural development due to the additional stress on traditional farming systems. Worse still, these risks are being ignored. In this definitive expos Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi present a theoretical framework and exhaustive evidence for the case against large scale biofuel production from agricultural crops. This book will be vital, sobering reading for anyone concerned with energy or agricultural policy, or bioenergy as a complex system.

Author : Emilio Padilla Rosa
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 180220041X
Total Pages : 559 pages
Book Rating : 4.16/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics written by Emilio Padilla Rosa and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2023-09-06 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With diverse contributions from over 100 authors around the globe, this comprehensive Encyclopedia summarises the developments of ecological economics from the fundamental contributions to the more recent methodological debates in the field. It provides an expansive list of topics including sustainable development, the limits to growth, agroecology, implications of thermodynamic laws for economics, integrated ecologic-economic modelling, valuation of natural resources and services, and renewable and non-renewable resources management. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Author : Frano Barbir
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9048195659
Total Pages : 375 pages
Book Rating : 4.57/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Energy Options Impact on Regional Security written by Frano Barbir and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-09-02 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy appears to be a fundamental driving force of economic and political strategies as well as planetary stability. Energy-related issues such as (1) the availability of new energy sources and viable technologies, (2) the disparity in access to energy sources, (3) the role of energy in our societies (energy societal metabolism), (4) the energy support to the life of our cities (where about half of world population is going to live very soon), and (5) the energy demand for food security all over the world, are “hot” problems that humans will have to face within the framework of sustainability (ecologically sound production and consumption patterns associated with socially acce- able life styles), in terms of policies, technological development and economic processes. A coherent energy strategy is required, addressing both energy supply and demand, security of access, development problems, equity, market dynamics, by also taking into account the whole energy lifecycle including fuel production, transmission and distribution, energy conversion, and the impact on energy equipment manufacturers and the end-users of energy systems. Issues of energy efficiency and rebound effect must also be taken into proper account. In the short term, the aim should be to achieve higher energy efficiencies and increased supply from local energy sources, in particular renewable energy sources.

Author : Sergio Villamayor-Tomas
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 303122566X
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Barcelona School of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology written by Sergio Villamayor-Tomas and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this open access book, ecological economics and political ecology traditions converge into a single academic school. The book constitutes a common ground where multiple and critical voices are expressed, covering a broad scope of urgent matters at the crossroad between society, economy and the natural environment. The manuscripts composing this compendium offer appealing material for both experienced and younger researchers interested in interdisciplinary exchanges in the field of the social environmental sciences. It combines historical accounts with recent theoretical and empirical developments revolving around the interaction between three foundational notions of the Barcelona School: social metabolism, environmental justice and self-reflective science.