Tony,
I have been incorporating 9/11 and some discussion of its causes into my
lectures on IE - that's Indoor Environment. The quality of the indoor
environment and its impact on people is part of what I call "Building
Ecology," a term I coined in the late 70s and first published in 1981
(Progressive Architecture, April). It is structured much like industrial
ecology, but it is focused on buildings as they affect people who occupy
them and the larger environment. It is based on the methods and concepts of
ecology including dynamic interdependence of individuals and their
environment. Building Ecology could appropriately be considered a component
or as one focus of Industrial Ecology, as IE is generally defined.
The concept is simply that we must work to bfring about changes that
increase social and genetic justice in order to mitigate the maldistribution
and control of resources as a force contributing to the conditions of the
lives of many groups from which terrorists seem to have emerged. The
inequity in the consumption of natural resources is estimated at 30:1
between the OECD countries and the LDCs, according to Wetterings and
Opschoor (Ecocapacity as a Challenge to Sustainable Development, RIVM, The
Netherlands, 1992). While they make no proposal for mechanisms of
redistribution, they suggest a target of 10:1 by 2040. Developed countries
can unilateral begin this process simply be reducing our consumption. Again,
Wetterings and Oschoor (op cit) identify the needed reductions in various
categories of resource consumption and pollution emissions for the
Netherlands to be "sustainable" as defined by them and in the context of a
set of limits based on global and regional resources and ability to absorb
pollution. Since buildings represent between 15% and 45% of most major
resource consumption and pollution categories (using life cycle assessment
inventory definitions and data), then the potential contribution from more
efficient use of buildings and of resources for their construction,
operation, and disposition could be substantial.
I can provide more details to those who are interested.
Hal Levin
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Hal Levin [log in to unmask]
Building Ecology Research Group
2548 Empire Grade, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
tel: 1-831-425-3946 fax: 1-831-426-6522
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-----Original Message-----
From: Environmental issues concerning industry, commerce, business.
Scope: enviro [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Tony Sarkis
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 9:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 9/11 & IE
I would be curious to learn if anyone is working on or considering working
on
9/11 and anti-terrorist related issues?
Does anyone have any insight that could help our way of life grow safer from
terrorist threats and prosper the field of Industrial Ecology at the same
time?
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