Summing Santos RC Mackin 15/02/2006

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Summing SantosRC Mackin15/02/2006

• Anthroposystem model looks
• at sustainability via a human
• ecosystem within an inclusive ecosphere,
• modeling both physical and biological
  environments in order to maintain human
  civilization.
• An undermining principle of the concept of
  sustainability is its ambiguity, while the
  anthroposystem forces thought beyond economic
  development, in terms of sustainable human
  systems.
• The broad ideal of a society in balance with its
  surroundings can be conceptually viewed in terms
  of conservation, spaceship earth, federal law,
  ecology, sustainable society, development,
  economics, UN policyjust to name a few
  frameworks, all of which are entwined and
  overlap.
• Four components of the system Matrix / Producer
  / Consumer / Decomposer
• The ideal closed anthroposystem does not grasp
  fully the reality of world, an open system. The
  ideal is broken with the consideration of waste
  generation and byproducts,
• energy inefficiency and dissipation (2nd Law of
  Thermodynamics), and imports/exports.
• Industrial Ecology multifaceted study of the
  link between natural systems, industry, and
  economics, broadening the scale of these
  traditional concepts.
• Call-2-Action Development of universal theories
  to understand, explain and test systems

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Explaining EcosystemRC Mackin15/02/2006

• Ecosystems consist of
• Producers / Consumers / Decomposers
• The physico-chemical environment can be
• conceptualized with flows between
  various pockets, and aided with the use of
  metaphors, i.e. industrial metabolism.
• PlantProducersMobilizers
• AnimalsConsumersEmitters
• MicroorganismsRecyclersReceptors
• The anthroposystem lacks efficient recyclers as
  compared to the strict natural ecosystem, while
  the former system displaces its pockets more
  drastically.
• Mass moved by producer is transferred at the
  surface to be used by the consumer, whose
  products in turn are transferred via the
  atmosphere to be received by the receptors.
• Two-Way linkage of Atmo-, Hydro-, Litho-, and
  Bio-Spheres
• Mechanisms for reducing compounds in
  anthroposystem must be man induced, as opposed to
  naturally occurring in the ecosystem.

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Contrast CompareRC Mackin15/02/2006

• Shining Similarities
• - Use of the same three components
• producers, consumers, and decomposers
• - Present anthroposystem as an ideally open
  system,
• both with shortcomings in the modeling.
• Glaring Differences
• - Santos uses physico-bio environment Ecosystem
  uses physico-chemical environment
• - Ecosystem lacks the 4th dimension of an
  exterior matrix in its flow chart.
• - The use of metaphors in Ecosystem provides a
  methodology of actually explaining a
• complex system, not merely stating that one
  exists.
• - Ecosystem presents a moreover closed
  anthroposystem, while Santos expansive semi-
• open system is more difficult to grasp, real
  as it may be.
• - Santos presents the 4 spheres as not only
  linked, but interwoven like a Venn diagram.
• Questions Posed
• Where do we focus producers, consumers,
  decomposers, or flows between?
• Likewise, which Sphere do we focus on?
• Where do we draw the line on the openness of a
  system?