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Author: Mario Giampietro
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136619933
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 453
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Book Description
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: 1136619933
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 453
Get Book Here
Book Description
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: 0415539668
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 362
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Book Description
This book explains why conventional energy analysis and statistics are not useful for generating robust energy scenarios and effective assessments of the quality of alternative energy sources. Then it presents an innovative multi-scale approach, illustrated with empirical results, for effectively dealing with sustainability in face of the coming energy crisis.
Author: Manuel González de Molina
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319063588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368
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Book Description
Over this last decade, the concept of Social Metabolism has gained prestige as a theoretical instrument for the required analysis, to such an extent that there are now dozens of researchers, hundreds of articles and several books that have adopted and use this concept. However, there is a great deal of variety in terms of definitions and interpretations, as well as different methodologies around this concept, which prevents the consolidation of a unified field of new knowledge. The fundamental aim of the book is to conduct a review of the past and present usage of the concept of social metabolism, its origins and history, as well as the main currents or schools that exist around this concept. At the same time, the reviews and discussions included are used by the authors as starting points to draw conclusions and propose a theory of socio-ecological transformations. The theoretical and methodological innovations of this book include a distinction of two types of metabolic processes: tangible and intangible; the analysis of the social metabolism at different scales (in space and time) and a theory of socio-ecological change overcoming the merely “systemic” or “cybernetic” nature of conventional approaches, giving special protagonism to collective action.
Author: Mario Giampietro
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
ISBN: 9789251079645
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Human wellbeing relies upon the availability and wise management of food, energy and water. The interconnections between these resources make clear that the management of each of them cannot be considered in isolation but in an integrated and holistic way. This report presents the results of the application of an integrated analysis approach, the Multi-Scale Integrated Assessment of Society and Ecosystem Metabolism to three case studies: an analysis of the option to produce biofuel from sugarcane in the Republic of Mauritius; an exploration of the future of grain production in the Indian state of Punjab; an assessment of two alternative energy sources to produce electricity in the Republic of South Africa.
Author: Mario Giampietro
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317962087
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
The demands placed on land, water, energy and other natural resources are exacerbated as the world population continues to increase together with the expectations of economic growth. This, combined with concerns over environmental change, presents a set of scientific, policy and management issues that are critical for sustainability. Resource Accounting for Sustainability Assessment: The nexus between energy, food, water and land use offers an approach for multi-scale, integrated assessment of this nexus. It presents a comprehensive and original method of resource accounting for integrated sustainability assessments. The approach is illustrated with three detailed case studies: the islands of Mauritius, the Indian state of Punjab, and the energy economy of South Africa. The relationships between flows of goods, services and materials in these case studies offer valuable insights. The book provides a much needed quality control on the information used in deliberative processes about policy and planning activities. This innovative book will be of interest to researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of sustainability science, international development, industrial ecology, sustainable resource management, geography and ecological economics.
Author: Mario Giampietro
Publisher: Earthscan
ISBN: 1849770204
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 337
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Book Description
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: Francesca Greselin
Publisher: Universitas Studiorum
ISBN: 8899459711
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 698
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Book Description
This book is the collection of the Abstract / Short Papers submitted by the authors of the International Conference of The CLAssification and Data Analysis Group (CLADAG) of the Italian Statistical Society (SIS), held in Milan (Italy) on September 13-15, 2017.
Author: J. Gerber
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230361854
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 396
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Book Description
The human imprint on the biosphere has become so pronounced in recent years that there has been talk of a new geological era, the 'Anthropocene'. Gathering contributions from some of the world's foremost heterodox economists, this book explores the new economic directions and paradigms that are required to respond to this crisis.
Author: Eva Fraňková
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319692364
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 373
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Book Description
This book delves into diverse local food systems and critically assesses their ecological and societal benefits and trade-offs, their limits and opportunities for improving sustainability of food production, and framework conditions which either hinder or promote their development. More and more people with gradually meat heavier diets will demand growth in food production, whilst our increasingly industrialized and globalized agri-food system has already caused serious sustainability problems in the past. This calls for a change in the way we produce, distribute and consume food. A re-emerging debate on food security and food sovereignty seems to support this quest. But what are the promising alternatives to mainstream developments? Such a discussion regarding sustainability of local food systems requires a sound systemic understanding and thus invites a socio-metabolic reading of local cases by analyzing the nexus between material and energy flows as well as land and time use. This approach is needed to complement the so far mostly qualitatively-based local food studies. Applying socio-metabolic approaches to local food systems fosters a better understanding of promises and pitfalls for sustainable pathways in the future.
Author: Frano Barbir
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9048195659
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 375
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Book Description
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.
