Description
Taylor & Francis Ecological Sustainability Understanding Complex Issues 2013 Edition by Robert B. Northrop, Anne N. Connor
Complex Systems is a new field of science studying how parts of a system give rise to the collective behaviors of the system, and how the system interacts with its environment. This book examines the complex systems involved in environmental sustainability, and examines the technologies involved to help mitigate human impacts, such as renewable energy, desalination, carbon capture, recycling, etc. It considers the relationships and balance between environmental engineering and science, economics, and human activity, with regard to sustainability. Table of contents :- Human Ecological SustainabilityIntroductionIs It Possible to Model Human Ecological Sustainability?Why Human Sustainability Is a Complex Issue Chapter Summary Review of Complexity and Complex Systems Introduction to Complexity Human Responses to ComplexitySignal Flow Graphs and Mason's RuleModularityChapter SummaryMultidimensional Challenges to Human Sustainability Introduction The Challenge of Population GrowthGlobal Warming Water and SustainabilityBees, Pollination, and Food CropsSpecies Size Reduction Due to Habitat Warming: Another Challenge to Our Food SupplyFF Energy and Sustainability Chapter Summary Mitigations of Human Impacts through Technology Introduction Biofuels Desalination Carbon-Free Energy Sources Carbon-Neutral Energy Sources Energy Storage MeansFusion PowerNuclear Energy Carbon Capture and Storage Water Vapor Engineering Energy EfficiencyChapter Summary Sustainable Agriculture Introduction Animal Husbandry: Concentrated Animal FeedingOperations Industrial AgricultureLoss of Genetic DiversityGenetically Modified Organisms Sustainable Agriculture Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed the World? Competition for Cropland Chapter SummaryUnconventional Foods: Insects, Plankton, Fungi, and In Vitro MeatIntroductionNutritional Value of InsectsCan Insects Be Farmed?Plankton as a Source of Human FoodFungi: Food and More Food from Tissue Culture Using Animal Stem Cells Chapter Summary Complex Economic Systems and Sustainability Introduction to Economic Systems Basic Economics; Steady-State S&DIntroduction to ABMs and Simulations of Economic and Other Complex Systems Economic Challenges to Human SustainabilityChapter SummaryApplication of Complex Systems Thinking to Solve Ecological Sustainability Problems Introduction Doerner's Approaches to Tackling Complex Problems Frederic Vester's "Paper Computer"Sensitivity Model of Vester Can We Learn From Our Mistakes? Chapter Summary What Will Happen to Us? FAQs on Sustainability Introduction Will Technology Sustain Us? FAQs Concerning Sustainability Chapter Summary GlossaryBibliography and Recommended Reading Index