Unit
2: Industrial Ecology as a System: A Conceptual Framework
Instructor's Guide to Activities |
Goal
Students learn to examine local and regional industrial processes using
analytical tools from systems theory and thermodynamics. Students
also begin to understand the flexibility of the concept of industrial ecology
and explore their own definitions of it.
Learning Outcomes
After completing the activities associated with this unit, students
should:
-
be able to use systems theory and the thermodynamic concept of entropy
as analytical tools for examining local and regional industrial processes;
-
recognize the difficulties involved in using systems theory when boundaries
are not clearly defined;
-
have formulated their own definition of and goals for industrial ecology;
-
be able to deconstruct claims about the ecological merit of products or
industries according to their own positions on the principles of industrial
ecology; and
-
become aware of the difficulties involved in implementing industrial ecology
on a scale as small as their own home.
Choice of Activities
It is neither necessary nor feasible in most cases to complete all
activities in each unit. Select those that are most appropriate for
your classroom setting and that cover a range of activity types, skills,
genres of reading materials, writing assignments, and other activity outcomes.
This unit contains the following activities:
Suggested Readings
The following readings accompany the activities for this unit.
Choose those readings most appropriate for the activities you select and
those most adequate for the skill level of your students.
-
Background Information to Unit 2 (all students should read)
-
Frosch, Robert A. 1995. Industrial ecology: Adapting
technology for a sustainable world. Environment 37 (10): 16-24,
34-37.
-
Richards, Deanna J., Braden R. Allenby, and Robert Frosch. 1994.
The greening of industrial ecosystems: Overview and perspectives.
In B. Allenby and D. Richards, eds. The greening of industrial ecosystems.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press, pp. 1-19.
| Activity 2.1: Defining Industrial
Ecology |
Goals
Because industrial ecology is a developing field, it is still defined
in many ways. In this activity, students analyze existing interpretations
of the concept and develop their own definitions of the character and goals
of industrial ecology.
Skills
-
critical reading and interpretation
Material Requirements
Time Requirements
20-25 minutes of class time
Tasks
Before class, ask students to read the various definitions of industrial
ecology from some principal authors in the field (provided in Supporting
Material 2.1; photocopy and distribute as needed). In class, ask
students to come up with their own definitions. Begin by asking for
key elements and concepts of industrial ecology. Write these on the
blackboard or on an overhead transparency. Use the students’ definitions
and the information below to lead a brief class discussion about the concept
of industrial ecology.
For Graedel (1995), industrial ecology is a technical matter for designers;
he specifies seven aspects of design that must be considered:
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choosing the right raw materials and avoiding (where possible)
nonrenewable materials and those in short supply;
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minimizing emissions to the air of CFCs, halons, CH4,
N2O, NOx, or volatile organic compounds (VOC) by
specifying more carefully the industrial processes used or by more consciously
sequestering them prior to emission;
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minimizing liquid wastes or specifying those that are more easily
recycled;
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minimizing solid wastes by working closely with suppliers, recyclers,
and marketers;
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designing for energy efficiency through process design, reuse of
energy used in manufacturing, and minimizing energy consumed by products
once they are in circulation;
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designing for recycling during manufacturing, including minimizing
the throughputs of packaging waste from components entering the industrial
site; and
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recycling after use by returning used products to the manufacturer
for reconditioning, disassembly, or other incorporation within the industrial
cycle.
Frosch would agree -- in part -- that technical design considerations are
necessary for industrial ecology to succeed. He stresses, however,
that “the answer will not depend entirely on inventing breakthrough technologies.
Rather, it may hinge on coordinating what are fairly conventional methods
in more prudent ways and in developing legal and market structures that
will allow suitable innovation.” While such practices “will involve
complex considerations of product and process design,” equally important
will be innovations in ways of thinking about “economics and optimization,
as well as regulation and handling of hazardous materials” (Frosch, 1995a:
178).
Socolow (1994) presents “six perspectives” on environmental management
from within industrial ecology that resonate with the terminology for human
dimensions of global change. These perspectives are:
-
long-term temporal scale -- replacing the “short-term insult”
of conventional industrial processes with those that provide for long-term
habitability of environments;
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global scope -- expanding our view of the boundedness of systems,
moving from a focus on local impacts to a conscious effort to “think globally”
(which includes overcoming the “not in my back yard” or NIMBY sentiment);
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sensitivity of natural systems -- identifying components of natural
ecosystems that are particularly sensitive to fast-paced impacts
of industrial activity;
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vulnerability -- identifying the sensitivity of human systems
to the impacts of industrial activity, including: emissions, incidence
of disease, bioavailability, exposure, and dose, loss of ecosystem function,
and resilience or resistance;
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mass-flow analysis -- unifying the analysis of materials through
an integrative approach that considers sources, transport media, and receptors,
particularly those that are indestructible or persistent over a long term;
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centrality of the industrial firm and the industrial farm -- seeing
industry as a central decision maker in environmental affairs, demonstrating
“that environmental objectives are no longer alien, to be resisted and
then accommodated reluctantly [but] part of the fabric of production, like
worker safety and consumer satisfaction” (Graedel, 1994: 12-13).
Represented in this way, we see industrial ecology firmly planted within
a study of the human dimensions of global change. Implicit is a “goal”
for industrial ecology:
“the evolution of the world’s industrial activity into a sustainable
and environmentally benign system [that] requires a long-range view and
a deep analysis of the environmental implications of today’s industrial
systems, and a creative approach to the design of services, products, and
governmental policy” (Socolow, et al., 1994: frontispiece).
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| Activity 2.2: Critiquing Success
Stories |
Goals
Students use their own principles of industrial ecology to investigate
whether local industries live up to them.
Skills
-
hypothesis formulation
-
library/Internet research
-
writing a research paper
Material Requirements
Time Requirements
20 minutes in class for film; 4 to 5 weeks outside of class for research
project.
Tasks
Introduce this activity by showing the suggested video on the collaboration
between McDonald’s and EDF to reduce solid waste. After the film,
discuss with students whether McDonald’s has really moved toward industrial
ecology in any significant way.
In the remainder of the activity, students conduct extended research
on the developments made within one of the four industries presented in
the case studies in Supporting
Material 2.2a. Allow students to select the industry
of their choice, but try to ensure that students are spread evenly among
the four cases. Encourage students to use a variety of research tools
including the library, the Internet, interviews, phone calls, and other
sources of information. Some sources of information are provided
in each case study.
In an eight to ten page research paper, students summarize their findings
and provide an analysis of their chosen industry’s steps toward industrial
ecology (based on the principles they defined; see Activity 2.1).
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| Activity 2.3: The Entropy of
Your Home |
Goals
Students develop an understanding of entropy by recording the flow
of energy and materials through their home over a one-week period.
Students gain hands-on experience in gathering and processing quantitative
and qualitative data and become aware of problems involved in reducing
entropy on a personal level.
Skills
-
quantitative and qualitative data analysis, interpretation, and presentation
-
critical examination of personal lifestyle habits
Material Requirements
Time Requirements
15 minutes to introduce activity in class; one week outside of class
for data collection and an additional 3 to 4 days for students to analyze
their data and prepare their reports. An additional class period
may be required for optional in-class presentation of results.
Tasks
Ask each student to record the flow of materials through his or her
household, dorm living area, or apartment for a one-week period.
By imagining their home as a system, students note the inputs and out-flows,
the internal reuse, and the disposal of the materials and energy within
it. Depending on the depth at which you wish to pursue this activity, you
may choose to have students simply record the materials and energy they
use, recycle, and waste, or you may have them go a step further by quantifying
these variables (i.e., weighing material inputs such as food, purchases,
and packaging or measuring water, gas, or electric usage via recent utility
bills or by reading meters). By identifying and recording the flow of energy
through the home, students can see how entropy is increased by the use
and transformation of energy and materials.
After collecting this information for a one-week period, students evaluate
the sustainability of the home system by answering the questions on the
student worksheet and preparing a table that lists the inputs, internal
reuse, disposal, and final state of their material and energy flows.
A blank table has been provided in Supporting
Materials 2.3. Based on your time constraints and on
the skill level of your students, you may provide the blank table as a
hand-out or ask each student to create his or her own using a standard
spreadsheet or word-processing software program.
Students will summarize their findings in a two to three page report
that includes their table and their responses to the questions on the Student
Worksheet. In addition to (or instead of) the written report, you
might ask each student to prepare a poster-sized flowchart that illustrates
the flow of materials and energy into and out of the home. If desired,
allow one class period for students to present their findings and/or posters
to the class.
This activity could be expanded by asking students to include a discussion
of the geographic origin of the inputs they identified (i.e., electric
power, water, vegetables, and clothing).
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| Activity 2.4: Putting Local Industry
in A Global Context |
Goals
Students put the analytical tools implied in systems theory and the
second law of thermodynamics to use by researching local industrial processes.
Students gain a more thorough understanding of how local industries contribute
to global environmental change.
Skills
-
research using the analytical framework provided in the Background Information
to Unit 2
-
team collaboration
-
flow chart construction
-
group discussion
Material Requirements
-
Student Worksheet 2.4
-
The original notes on the local industry discussed in Activity 1.1 may
be helpful if the class decides to continue with the same company.
Time Requirements
15-20 minutes to introduce the activity; two to three weeks of research
outside of class; one class period (50 minutes) to develop a flow chart
with the class and discuss the results.
Tasks
Divide the class into small groups and ask each group to investigate
an industrial firm to answer the questions about it below. If you
live in a small community with few industrial firms, ask each group to
focus on the same firm. If there are several large industrial firms
in your area, ask each group to focus on a different one.
Questions to consider:
1. What are the major products of the industrial firm?
2. What are the major inputs in terms of sources of materials
and energy?
3. Where do the major materials and energy come from?
Are there any impacts at the source of extraction?
4. How long are the sources of materials and energy likely to
be economically feasible to use?
5. What are the major outputs in terms of the disposition of
products and byproducts?
6. Where do the products and byproducts go and what are the
impacts of the outputs at the sites of disposition?
7. How long will the products and by-products last?
Encourage students to use a variety of means to answer these questions,
including library and Internet research, interviews with firm representatives,
company brochures and other publications, and site visits. Allow
at least two to three weeks for students to conduct their research.
Each group should prepare a three to four page report (to be handed in)
that addresses the questions. The report should also include a list
of sources and references.
On the assigned day, hold a wrap-up session for the activity.
Use the information students have gathered to draw a simple systems flow
chart on an overhead transparency or on the blackboard. If each group
looked at the same industrial firm, use input from each group to create
a single flowchart. If the groups looked at several different industrial
firms, you will need to create several flowcharts. Discuss all of
the inputs and out-flows connecting the business with sources and sinks
for materials and energy.
Use the following questions to initiate a class discussion and to close
the activity:
-
What links with global change can you identify upon viewing our flowchart?
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How sustainable is this system? What do you mean by sustainable?
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How can some of the wastes be reduced? Can the industry make use
of any recycled products as inputs?
Note: This activity may be combined with Activity 2.5.
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| Activity 2.5: You Are What You
Buy |
Goals
Students learn about the scale and variability of the social and environmental
impacts associated with the mass production, use, and disposal of a specific
product. This activity is designed to expand the level of the analysis
done in Activity 2.2 to the regional scale with a focus on a particular
product.
Skills
-
mapping and map interpretation
-
library/Internet research
-
team collaboration
-
poster or flowchart construction (optional)
-
discerning the variability inherent in regional/global impacts
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essay writing
Material Requirements
-
Student Worksheet 2.5
-
Maps at the scale of the selected industries (i.e., regional, national,
and/or global maps)
Time Requirements
2-3 weeks outside of class
Tasks
Divide the class into groups of two to three students and ask each
group to choose a product that is sold on at least a regional scale.
Each group investigates the type and location of the social and environmental
impacts resulting from the product’s production, use, and disposal.
Students should attempt to answer the following questions:
1. What types of natural resources are used to produce this product?
Where do they come from?
2. What adverse environmental impacts does this product create based
on its constituent materials, processing, use and disposal? Where
do they occur? Are they of the same magnitude and quality in all
those places?
3. What adverse social impacts are involved in the product’s constituent
materials, processing, use and disposal? Where might these occur?
Are they of the same magnitude and quality in all those places?
4. Where did the industry as a whole begin? Where is it centered
now?
5. What forces have caused the industry to operate the way it has in
terms of its spatial expansion or movement (if any), its targeting
of consumer market(s), its method of production?
Using this information, students prepare a four to five page report
that includes the answers to these questions and summarizes their findings.
In addition, depending on the skill level of the class, each group should
include a map of the product’s origin and impacts. Students can use
different colors or symbols to indicate the origins of the product’s constituent
materials, the disposal sites, and areas of environmental and social impacts.
Introductory classes with little prior experience with maps may need additional
assistance; you may need to provide students with blank maps and/or excerpts
from an introductory geography or cartography text book to illustrate various
types of maps. In more advanced classes, students may be able to
use computer-based software programs to create their maps.
In addition to the written report, students can also create a poster
that includes maps, text, diagrams, and other information from their research.
If you choose to use the poster format, allow one class period for students
to display and present their work to the class.
Note: This activity may be combined with Activity 2.4.
Alternative Activity
Use the map developed in Activity 1.2 that depicts the areas
where shirts, shoes, and watches are produced around the world. Rather
than allow groups of students to choose their own products, break the class
into three larger groups, each of which will research the environmental
and social impacts of watch, shirt, or shoe production. Within each
group, individual students could take on the task of researching the product
in one particular country that produces the product.
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| Activity 2.6: It's Not Easy Being
Green |
Goals
Students use their knowledge of industrial ecology to critique the
claims made by producers of “green” or “environmentally friendly” products.
Skills
-
critical analysis of text, advertising, and product labels
-
application of recently learned concepts
-
creative writing to a target audience
-
collage production and artistic creativity
Material Requirements
Time Requirements
7-10 days outside of class; one class period (50 minutes) for presentation
of reports and collages.
Tasks
Students have been hired by a watch-dog environmental group to investigate
the claims made by the producers of “environmentally friendly” or “green”
products. Their task is to scrutinize these products and their advertisements
based on what they’ve learned from systems theory and thermodynamics and
to prepare a two to three page, double-spaced essay summarizing their findings
to be published in the group’s monthly newsletter. Students should
consider whether the products’ claims have any substance (according to
what they identify as important factors in measuring the ecological merit
of a product). Students may need to purchase and use the product, do additional
library research on it or a similar product, or even request a catalog
or other literature from the producer. Using these sources, students
should be able to critically evaluate the advertising claims and assess
their validity. For example, some “green” paper napkins now contain
recycled materials. Students considering such a product should investigate
how much recycled materials the product contains, whether the recycled
material is pre- or post-consumer, and whether the final product requires
bleaching or other inputs that affect its “environmentally friendly” image.
In addition to the report, students also produce a collage of the advertisements
and product labels they’ve examined to be published with the essay.
Encourage students to find as many examples of advertising and packaging
labels as they can for the product they chose that make environmentally
friendly claims. Students can use magazines, newspapers, catalogues,
photographs, or other visual media for this exercise. Allow one class
period for students to present their essays and collages.
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