Ecosystems and terminology

Ecosystems—dynamic complexes of interacting biotic and abiotic elements
Abiotic (soil, minerals, water, land forms, climate) and biotic elements
Terrestrial ecosystems—this would include forests (tropical, temperate, deciduous, coniferous); grasslands, savanna (how open is canopy?); desert; tundra; mountains
Aquatic ecosystems—lakes, ponds, rivers, estuaries, oceans, inland seas
Limiting factors—temperature and rainfall (latitude and altitude also pose limits, in terms of temperature, day length, etc., sometimes affected by climate variation, though--for instance, the moderating effect of the Gulf Stream on Europe's climate)
Populations (aggregations of species)
Communities (aggregations of populations within ecosystem)
Evolution, co-evolution – differential reproduction, interaction
Diversity—what is its value, in terms of evolution, survival of species, communities, etc. (think in human societal terms as well, even languages, economic or political systems, cultures)?
Habitat, succession, climax species
Food pyramid/web—represents, trophic or feeding structure of biotic community

Hierarchical—producers, consumers, detritivores

Uses of energy

Production (accumulation of biomass)
Respiration (self-maintenance)
Storage (dead organic matter)

Entropy—process of energy degradation from high (concentrated) to low (dispersed) grade—energy degrades as it passes through ecosystems
need for continuous, high-quality input of energy, storage capacity (when input is low), and dissipative structures—where is energy stored in a natural or human ecosystem?

Most productive ecosystems:

estuaries, springs, coral reefs, alluvial plains, fuel-subsidized agriculture;
moist forests, shallow lakes, moist grasslands, avg. agriculture
grasslands, deep lakes, mountain forests, unsubsidized agriculture

ecosystems need:

Continuous input of high-quality energy
Storage capacity
Dissipative structures

Odum’s maximum power principle: ‘systems most likely to survive in this competitive world are those that efficiently transform the most energy into useful work for themselves and surrounding systems with which they are linked for mutual benefit.’

What about transfers of energy, predators?

10% rule—about 10% of total energy available at beginning will be available for next transformation
According to Odum, ‘predators are relatively rare and energy-expensive componenets of ecosystems, but they may be very important in terms of feedback control of herbivores, which in turn may have a major effect on plant production.’

Concentration of solar energy—by plants, by fossilization, by electricity

human appropriation of photosynthetic capacity

near 40%
only about 4% for food, fiber, fuel for humans, animals
Odum says at least 1/3 of primary production must be left for the ecosystem

What limits ecosystem growth?

Nutrients, chemicals (remember soil map)—N, P and K
Toxins (even salts—hydraulic societies)
Soil = clorpt
Temperature, water, sunlight (think caves, lakes)
Photosynthetic capacity

Now, Enter humans . . .

Agricultural yields (and a looming 'energy crisis'):

increased by mechanization, fertilizers, irrigation, pesticides (subsidies)

doubling crop input requires 10-fold increase in subsidies
between 1950-84, 250% increase in world grain production
31% to make inorg. Fert; 19% for running machinery; 16% transportation; 13% irrigation; 8% raising livestock (not feed); 5% for crop drying; 5% for pesticide production; 3% miscellaneous (think resource process) (much of the following comes from Dale Allen Pfeiffer's article, 'eating fossil fuels')

plant selection (high-yield varieties, plant breeding—amount put into vegetation, seed production varies from wild to domesticated varieties)
‘pre-industrial’ systems—obviously agrarian farming uses less energy subsidies, but has reasonable energy efficiencies
protein production is really a limiting factor for humans (meat is expensive—soybeans, amaranth, vs sugar cane, rice/wheat--protein content of staple crops varies)
livestock (produce five times the biomass of humans)
rangeland versus agriculture (the former usually occurs on less productive land)
land-extensive agriculture (onto marginal lands—West Africa example--prime land, especially in the United States, may be converted into living space--urban sprawl, for example)
conversion of forest to agriculture (we need forestland too, by the way)
fish farming versus commercial fishing—oh, did you think your salmon was wild? Since 1970, fish farming or aquaculture has gone from 4% of fish 'produced' to over 27%.
depleted soils, pest problems—we must continue to increase energy subsidies just to maintain current productivity levels—we've reached diminishing returns. As urban growth displaces some of the most fertile soils, not only must societies use more 'land extensive' strategies (find new acreage/hectarage to cultivate), but they are generally less fertile soils, requiring either more energy subsidies, or more acreage in production.
modern industrial agriculture is unsustainable—it takes 500 yrs to produce one inch of topsoil, which can be lost in one nasty storm, especially with annual cropping that leaves soil largely exposed to the elements. Soil is eroding 30 times faster than it is being regenerated; aquifer depletion
According to Pfeiffer, ‘Much of the soil in the Great Plains is little more than a sponge into which we must pour hydrocarbon-based fertilizers in order to produce crops.' And we haven't even mentioned the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer.
cropland lost—2 million to erosion, salinization; 1 million to urbanization each yr
agriculture consumes 85% of freshwater resources; less than .1% of ground water removed is replaced by rainfall
use of pesticides has increased 33 fold in two decades—yet we lose more to pests. Think about the role of evolution in this process--insect pests and other pathogens are prolific, and unless a pesticide kills them all, natural selection, or differential reproduction, quickly produces resistant strains, which has been a source of comfort to the petrochemical industry.
monocultures, no crop rotation, replacement of complex ecosystems with farms (of trees, fish, crops)—what has been the industrial response? Genetic engineering (oops! Wrong site). The answer to that torturously slow process of evolution.

the ‘other’ energy crisis—fuelwood is the main source of energy in the third world

urban growth It's happening, fueled by globalization, factory production, free trade zones, Western consumption, cheap labor, etc.
increased demand for firewood in rapidly growing urban areas without major utilities systems
poaching--the laws of supply and demand, combined with ambiguous property rights for farming villages, create opportunities for enterprising capitalists to sell fuelwood at unsustainable rates (forcing those who collect for household use, mostly women, to expend more of their own energy, walk further, etc.) at far below its market value--this is how Harrison's 'resouce crisis' looks in poor countries
cash economy, need for income--again, this creates the incentives to commercialize the fuelwood supply--who's looking at conservation and supply issues?
losses—to soil, moisture-holding, shade, habitat
supply versus demand-side policies--again, how important is conservation of existing fuelwood resources, and production of new sources, and how does this fit with property rights and farming villagers' control over their territories?

What is the ‘energy problem?’ (from Lovins)

Traditionally, we’re running out of supply (oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear)
Response is to find more (we’re hunter-gatherers, prospectors, in a sense, searching for dead plant and animal material)
Costs of maintaining supply—the Lovins say these would include war, environmental degradation (radioactive waste, pollution, global warming)
Instead, they suggest —consider the mix of ways to reduce demand and/or increase supply--the 'soft path'
After 1979—the American economy saw a 15% cut in oil use, with a 16% growth in economy over a six year period. Now how much of this was due to changes in conservation? Hard to say, but it certainly didn't create major economic depression.
The Lovins contend that the biggest source of energy is conservation, efficiency
Conservation is supply—reduced consumption rates can provide 40% of domestic energy needs
Some forms include housing insulation, lighting, motors, more efficient designs of building and cars, transportation systems
Utility companies can encourage conservation (e.g., gas conversion from heating oil, but still fossil fuel). They talk about the city of Seattle encouraging conservation, versus Chicago, and the subsequent changes in consumption levels for the two cities.
Pricing of energy (to discourage over consumption—rewarding conservation, versus consumption)
Energy efficiency is easier to develop than new supplies, and it costs less, and is less polluting.
VP Dick Cheney’s energy policy--conservation barely registed. It e ncourageds new power plant construction, subsidies for fossil fuels, nuclear power, exploration for c oal bed methane, other exploration (at below-market cost)
Protectionism—of the oil industry (this is often referred to as 'corporate welfare', when considering the record levels of profits enjoyed by the petrochemical industry recently). The Lovins question how conservative politicians, who are supposed to be all about 'free market' forces, can support anti-competitive protectionist policies.
ANWR—maybe 1% of projected U.S. oil needs at peak capacity
Vehicle efficiency, anyone?? Oh, almost forgot. The automotive industry (former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was, even more formerly, the industry's chief lobbyist).

Apollo Alliance

The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of unions, businesses, environmental groups, and other interested stakeholders whose mission is to "build a broad-based constituency in support of a sustainable and clean energy economy that will create millions of good jobs for the nation, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create cleaner and healthier communities. Through policy alternatives, organizing, and on the ground results in states and cities across the nation, we are demonstrating that a social just, environmentally balanced and economically prosperous future is attainable." Following is their

Ten-Point Plan for Good Jobs and Energy Independence

Promote Advanced Technology & Hybrid Cars: Begin today to provide incentives for converting domestic assembly lines to manufacture highly efficient cars, transitioning the fleet to American made advanced technology vehicles, increasing consumer choice and strengthening the US auto industry.
Invest In More Efficient Factories: Make innovative use of the tax code and economic development systems to promote more efficient and profitable manufacturing while saving energy through environmental retrofits, improved boiler operations, and industrial cogeneration of electricity, retaining jobs by investing in plants and workers.
Encourage High Performance Building: Increase investment in construction of “green buildings” and energy efficient homes and offices through innovative financing and incentives, improved building operations, and updated codes and standards, helping working families, businesses, and government realize substantial cost savings.
Increase Use of Energy Efficient Appliances: Drive a new generation of highly efficient manufactured goods into widespread use, without driving jobs overseas, by linking higher energy standards to consumer and manufacturing incentives that increase demand for new durable goods and increase investment in US factories.
Modernize Electrical Infrastructure: Deploy the best available technology like scrubbers to existing plants, protecting jobs and the environment; research new technology to capture and sequester carbon and improve transmission for distributed renewable generation. (check out this image of the North American Blackout of 2003)
Expand Renewable Energy Development: Diversify energy sources by promoting existing technologies in solar, biomass and wind while setting ambitious but achievable goals for increasing renewable generation, and promoting state and local policy innovations that link clean energy and jobs.
Improve Transportation Options: Increase mobility, job access, and transportation choice by investing in effective multimodal networks including bicycle, local bus and rail transit, regional high-speed rail and magnetic levitation rail projects.
Reinvest In Smart Urban Growth: Revitalize urban centers to promote strong cities and good jobs, by rebuilding and upgrading local infrastructure including road maintenance, bridge repair, and water and waste water systems, and by expanding redevelopment of idled urban “brownfield” lands, and by improving metropolitan planning and governance.
Plan For A Hydrogen Future: Invest in long term research & development of hydrogen fuel cell technology, and deploy the infrastructure to support hydrogen powered cars and distributed electricity generation using stationary fuel cells, to create jobs in the industries of the future.
Preserve Regulatory Protections: Encourage balanced growth and investment through regulation that ensures energy diversity and system reliability, that protects workers and the environment, that rewards consumers, and that establishes a fair framework for emerging technologies.
Environmental tax shift? Decrease cost of labor, tax polluters