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Like any other organism we exploit our environment for our living, and effect it indirectly through our activities. We also modify our own environment to suite ourselves. However in recent times the scale and intensity of this is accelerating, allowing us to make greater and perhaps unique changes. The combination of the rate and intensity at which this is taking place is not only due to our population increase, but also to our developments in technology.
While many animals are clearly able to observe other animals, and even communicate to each other, we are able to see, understand, and communicate to others about ourselves. It is this ability for reflexive analysis which offers us the opportunity to avoid unfavourable situations which result from our actions. We do not need to remain passive victims of the environemt.
In the past our development has centered on how we can modify our surroundings to keep us safer and healthier. In a sence it has been a quest to free ourselves from the variablity and dangers of the natural world.
However now we need to look at the longer term outcomes of our actions and the new animal in the environment ... society
I see the concepts of " Sustainable Development" as a current expression of exactly this.
Accordingly my interests in research are not restricted to only the understanding of the physical enviornmental issues but also the human environment.
To this end I have begun to maintain a blog on the issue of Urban Metabolism, which I use to flesh out the ideas that I have and publish my thinking. I encourage feedback and discussion on this topic on the items which I publish there. Fundamentally Urban Metabolism provides a useful model for the analysis and perhaps facilitation of understanding of how our society (and not just us as individuals) interacts with the environment.
Below is the abstract from my Masters Thesis.
In late 2002, the water supply of the Gold Coast came close to failing. This thesis argues that the water crisis is not created by severe shortfalls in rainfall, but rather is a signal of unsustainable development. This issue is relevant also to other urban areas.
In this study the view is taken that to develop a sustainable water system the supply, use and disposal of water within society must be considered holistically. Accordingly the primary aim of the research is to identify and examine a sustainable water supply paradigm. The research first explores the environmental availability of water and the current nature of urban water provision to determine the carrying capacity of the existing strategy. It will be shown that the water demand of the Gold Coast is now at the limits of the ecological carrying capacity of the region. Secondly the research, using a perspective derived from ecological modernization (EM) theory, identifies changes to the existing paradigm of water supply which will fit within the ecological carrying capacity of the region. Finally these findings are contrasted with the Gold Coast City Council’s Waterfuture plan, which is the proposed strategy for sustainable water supplies until the year 2056. While dealing specifically with the Gold Coast region, the findings can be generalised into other urban areas within South East Queensland and throughout Australia.
The existing water supply paradigm is examined by comparing the material flows of water within the city to that of biological metabolism. The metaphor of urban metabolism has mainly been used in descriptive analysis rather than in the design and planning of systems. This study extends the metaphor by comparing other organisms and their successful adaptations to the urban metabolism. This is done to direct adaptation of the urban metabolism in order to increase its successfulness. The sustainability outcomes of the adaptations are contrasted to a proposal for sustainable water developed by the Gold Coast City Council which used Multi Criteria Analysis based on the "Triple Bottom Line" criteria.
EM theory suggests that by reorganising the character of consumption and production ecologically sound practices can be developed. The study identifies that, by introducing on-site water reuse and rainwater tanks for supplemental supply, demands placed upon the existing reticulated water supply system would be reduced to bring consumption in line with ecological yields available to the present reservoir. By altering the basis for water supply and use, sufficient water exists in the environment to meet the needs of the Gold Coast population even as it doubles over the next 50 years.
The result of this research indicate that the restructuring of water use and supply would result in:
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