Ashby Materials and Sustainable Development

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-0-12-802562-8
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 328 Seiten

This book, from noted materials selection authority Mike Ashby, provides a structure and framework for analyzing sustainable development and the role of materials in it. The aim is to introduce ways of exploring sustainable development to readers in a way that avoids simplistic interpretations and approaches complexity in a systematic way. There is no completely 'right' answer to questions of sustainable development - instead, there is a thoughtful, well-researched response that recognizes concerns of stakeholders, the conflicting priorities and the economic, legal and social aspects of a technology as well as its environmental legacy. The intent is not to offer solutions to sustainability challenges but rather to improve the quality of discussion and enable informed, balanced debate. - Winner of a 2016 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association - Describes sustainable development in increasingly detailed progression, from a broad overview to specific tools and methods - Six chapter length case studies on such topics as biopolymers, electric cars, bamboo, and lighting vividly illustrate the sustainable development process from a materials perspective - Business and economic aspects are covered in chapters on corporate sustainability and the 'circular materials economy' - Support for course use includes online solutions manual and image bank

Mike Ashby is one of the world's foremost authorities on materials selection. He is sole or lead author of several of Elsevier's top selling engineering textbooks, including Materials and Design: The Art and Science of Material Selection in Product Design, Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, Materials and the Environment, Materials and Sustainable Development, and Materials: Engineering, Science, Processing and Design. He is also co-author of the books Engineering Materials 1&2, and Nanomaterials, Nanotechnologies and Design.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ashby, Michael F.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;Materials and Sustainable Development;4
3;Copyright;5
4;Contents;6
5;Acknowledgements;12
6;Preface;14
7;Chapter 1 - Background: Materials, Energy and Sustainability;16
7.1;1.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;17
7.2;1.2 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – A BRIEF HISTORY;18
7.3;1.3 MATERIALS – AN EVEN BRIEFER HISTORY;22
7.4;1.4 CRITICAL MATERIALS;26
7.5;1.5 ENERGY – UNITS AND QUANTITIES;31
7.6;1.6 RESOURCES, CONSUMPTION, POPULATION, AFFLUENCE AND IMPACT;32
7.7;1.7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;35
7.8;1.8 EXERCISES;35
8;Chapter 2 - What is a “Sustainable Development”?;42
8.1;2.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;43
8.2;2.2 WHAT DOES “SUSTAINABILITY” MEAN?;43
8.3;2.3 DEFINING “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”;45
8.4;2.4 ARTICULATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT;48
8.5;2.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;51
8.6;2.6 EXERCISES;52
9;Chapter 3 - Assessing Sustainable Developments: The Steps;54
9.1;3.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;54
9.2;3.2 DEALING WITH COMPLEX SYSTEMS;55
9.3;3.3 A LAYERED APPROACH TO ASSESSING A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT;57
9.4;3.4 ASSEMBLING THE LAYERS;65
9.5;3.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;66
9.6;3.6 EXERCISES;66
10;Chapter 4 - Tools, Prompts and Check-Lists;70
10.1;4.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;71
10.2;4.2 STEP 1: CLARIFYING THE PRIME OBJECTIVE;71
10.3;4.3 STEP 2: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS;72
10.4;4.4 STEP 3: FACT-FINDING;75
10.5;4.5 STEP 4: INFORMED SYNTHESIS;81
10.6;4.6 STEP 5: REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;86
10.7;4.7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;86
10.8;4.8 APPENDIX: CREATIVITY AIDS – A BRIEF SURVEY;87
10.9;4.9 EXERCISES;97
11;Chapter 5 - Materials Supply-Chain Risk;100
11.1;5.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;100
11.2;5.2 EMERGING CONSTRAINT ON MATERIAL SOURCING AND USAGE;101
11.3;5.3 PRICE VOLATILITY RISK;103
11.4;5.4 MONOPOLY OF SUPPLY AND GEOPOLITICAL RISK;104
11.5;5.5 CONFLICT RISK;106
11.6;5.6 LEGISLATION AND REGULATION RISK;107
11.7;5.7 ABUNDANCE RISK;109
11.8;5.8 CHANGING EXPECTATION OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY;110
11.9;5.9 MANAGING RISK;111
11.10;5.10 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;112
11.11;5.11 EXERCISES;112
12;Chapter 6 - Corporate Sustainability and Materials;116
12.1;6.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;116
12.2;6.3 CASE STUDIES: CORPORATE SRS;120
12.3;6.4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;123
12.4;6.5 EXERCISES;123
13;Chapter 7 - Introduction to Case Studies;126
13.1;7.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;126
13.2;7.2 THE STRUCTURE OF THE CASE STUDIES;127
13.3;7.3 ARTICULATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THAT WENT WRONG;128
13.4;7.4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;130
13.5;7.5 EXERCISES;131
14;Chapter 8 - Scaling Up Biopolymer Production;132
14.1;8.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION;133
14.2;8.2 PRIME OBJECTIVE AND SCALE;135
14.3;8.3 STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR CONCERNS;135
14.4;8.4 FACT-FINDING;137
14.5;?8.5 SYNTHESIS WITH THE THREE CAPITALS;142
14.6;?8.6 REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;145
14.7;8.7 RELATED PROJECTS;147
15;Chapter 9 - Wind Farms;150
15.1;9.2 PRIME OBJECTIVE AND SCALE;153
15.2;9.3 STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR CONCERNS;153
15.3;9.4 FACT-FINDING;155
15.4;9.5 SYNTHESIS WITH THE THREE CAPITALS;160
15.5;9.6 REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;162
15.6;9.7 RELATED PROJECTS;163
16;Chapter 10 - Case Study: Electric Cars;166
16.1;10.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND;166
16.2;10.2 PRIME OBJECTIVE AND SCALE;168
16.3;10.3 STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR CONCERNS;168
16.4;10.4 FACT-FINDING;170
16.5;10.5 SYNTHESIS WITH THE THREE CAPITALS;176
16.6;10.6 REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;178
16.7;10.7 RELATED PROJECTS;180
17;Chapter 11 - Lighting;182
17.1;11.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION;182
17.2;11.2 PRIME OBJECTIVE AND SCALE;184
17.3;11.3 STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR CONCERNS;185
17.4;11.4 FACT-FINDING;187
17.5;11.5 SYNTHESIS WITH THE THREE CAPITALS;192
17.6;11.6 REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;194
17.7;11.7 SUGGESTED PROJECTS;194
18;Chapter 12 - Solar PV;196
18.1;12.2 PRIME OBJECTIVE AND SCALE;198
18.2;12.3 STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR CONCERNS;199
18.3;12.4 FACT-FINDING;201
18.4;12.5 SYNTHESIS WITH THE THREE CAPITALS;206
18.5;12.6 REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;207
18.6;12.7 SUGGESTED PROJECTS;209
19;Chapter 13 - Bamboo for Sustainable Flooring;212
19.1;13.2 PRIME OBJECTIVE AND SCALE;215
19.2;13.3 STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR.CONCERNS;215
19.3;13.4 FACT-FINDING;217
19.4;13.5 SYNTHESIS WITH THE THREE.CAPITALS;222
19.5;13.6 REFLECTION ON ALTERNATIVES;223
19.6;13.7 SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED.PROJECTS;225
20;Chapter 14 - The Vision: A Circular Materials Economy;226
20.1;14.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;227
20.2;14.2 THE ECOLOGICAL METAPHOR;228
20.3;14.3 THE SCALE OF THE VISION;232
20.4;14.6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;249
20.5;14.7 EXERCISES;251
21;Chapter 15 - Data, Charts and Databases;256
21.1;15.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;257
21.2;15.2 THE CES SUSTAINABILITY DATABASE;257
21.3;15.3 USING THE ELEMENTS DATA-TABLE;259
21.4;15.4 USING THE MATERIALS DATA-TABLE;261
21.5;15.5 USING THE POWER SYSTEMS DATA-TABLE;262
21.6;15.6 USING THE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS DATA-TABLE;264
21.7;15.7 USING THE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS DATA-TABLE;265
21.8;15.8 USING THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD DATA-TABLE;267
21.9;15.9 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;272
22;Chapter 16 - Guidance for Instructors;274
22.1;16.1 INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS;275
22.2;16.3 PBL AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT;276
22.3;16.4 ORGANIZING THE PROJECT; SCHEDULING THE ACTIVITIES;277
22.4;16.5 ASSESSMENT;281
22.5;16.7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS;285
22.6;16.8 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER PROJECTS;286
23;Appendix - Useful Numbers;290
23.1;A.1 INTRODUCTION;290
23.2;A.2 MATERIALS;293
23.3;A.3 ENERGY;298
23.4;A.4 ENVIRONMENT;306
23.5;A.5 ECONOMICS (2011 DATA);310
23.6;A.6 SOCIETY;313
24;Index;318

Leseproben

Chapter 1

Background

Materials, Energy and Sustainability

Abstract

Sustainable development is a systems problem. Visionary individuals (Malthus, Rachel Carsons, Meadows) perceived both this and the risks it implies, but it was not until the 1980s that the importance of thinking in holistic terms took hold. Since then numerous studies, most recently those of the International Panel on Climate Change, have highlighted the potential problems for the future inherent in the way we live at present.

Materials are an important part of this system. Recent technological developments, particularly in mobile communication, information processing, entertainment and defence have made them more so. We are now dependent on access to most of the periodic table and while the ores from which some of its members are drawn are plentiful, others are scarce, often localised in unsympathetic surroundings and controlled by regimes that may have other plans for them. And refining and synthesising materials is energy intensive – some 21% of all the energy we use is used to make materials.

The global population is increasing, and the affluence of this population is rising at the same time. With increased affluence comes increase in consumption, so, unless we can find ways to stop it, the consumption of materials and energy will rise considerably faster than the population itself. The vision expressed in the Brundtland Commission report – that of providing for the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs – is one that almost everyone would accept. But a consensus on how to achieve it is harder to achieve.

Keywords

Brundtland report; Energy; IPAT equation; Landmark publications; Materials; Sustainable development

Chapter Outline

1.1 Introduction and Synopsis 2

1.2 Sustainable Development – A Brief History 3

1.3 Materials – An Even Briefer History 7

1.4 Critical Materials 11

1.5 Energy – Units and Quantities 16

1.6 Resources, Consumption, Population, Affluence and Impact 17

1.7 Summary and Conclusions 20

1.8 Exercises 20

Further Reading 23

1.1. Introduction and Synopsis

Sustainable development has to do with our relationship with the natural environment on which we depend for food, water, energy and raw materials. But there is much more to it than that. It is also about our relationship with the global economic system in which we source raw materials, manufacture products and trade. And perhaps most important, it has to do with our relationship with each other, meaning the values of the society in which we live and its relationship with other societies. Understandably, not everyone perceives sustainable development in the same way. An environmentalist might judge it by its contribution to the protection and nurture of the natural environment, preserving clean air, pure water, productive land and a thriving biosystem. A humanist might instead look for its contribution to the generation and sharing of knowledge and understanding. The corporate view of sustainable development might accept these but see the financial health of the corporation as the ultimate metric. Thus even the simplest of sustainable developments has at least three facets: environmental, social and economic.

The Western view of development is one of economic growth based on urbanization and technical innovation, using global markets to source resources and to distribute goods and services. Western democracies have become good at this, harnessing the energy and resources of the natural environment to provide goods and services. Its proponents recognize that natural resources are finite in extent but point out that technical advance has, in the past, more than offset the depletion of resources and that there is no reason to think that it will fail to do so in the future. The economic histories of developed nations suggest a natural progression from early agrarian society through industrialization to a postindustrial economy in which wealth increases faster than population thereby enabling further economic growth, and with it, an evolving society. In this view, less-developed nations should try to emulate the Western model, opening their countries to Western values and to global trade in resources, goods and services.

The concept of sustainable development challenges this technocentric view. The view of nature as a resource to be tapped to meet present-day human needs ignores the needs both of other forms of life and of future generations of humans. The focus on disposable income, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) seen as a metric of national prosperity, prioritizes wealth and ownership of goods above quality of life and individual self-attainment above the common good. Recent history, particularly, has prompted self-analysis in the West: the banking crisis of 2008 and the failure of democracy to root itself immediately in the Arab spring raise questions about the Western ideal of free-market economies. Most telling, perhaps, is the simple fact that it is not possible for all nations to replicate the lifestyle of the West – the planet’s atmosphere is not able to absorb the resulting emissions, its natural hydrological cycle cannot provide the necessary freshwater, and the present-day international scramble to secure access to mineral resources suggests that these, too, are under pressure.

Well, there is a lot here. How can we get to grips with it all? The best place to start is the big picture. What is the background to current thinking about sustainable development and how is it evolving? How has our dependence on materials arisen? And where does the energy needed to extract and process them come from? We start with brief histories of all three.

1.2. Sustainable Development – A Brief History

Technological development without regard for environmental and social impacts brings undesired consequences: degradation of air, water and land, loss of biodiversity, resource depletion, and increasing inequality. This realization may seem recent, but it is not new. Thomas Malthus, writing in 1798, foresaw the link between population growth and resource depletion, predicting gloomily that the demands of a growing population would, sooner or later, outstrip the capacity of the earth to support it. Almost 200 years later, a group of scientists known as the Club of Rome reported their modeling of the interaction of population growth, resource depletion and pollution, concluding that “if (current trends) continue unchanged .… humanity is destined to reach the natural limits of development within the next 100 years” (Meadows et al., 1972). The report generated both consternation and criticism, largely on the grounds that the modeling did not allow for scientific and technological advance. But in the last decade thinking about this broad issue has reawakened. There is a growing acceptance that, in the words of another distinguished report, “many aspects of developed societies are approaching…saturation, in the sense that things cannot go on growing much longer without reaching fundamental limits. This does not mean that growth will stop in the next decade, but that a declining rate of growth is foreseeable in the lifetime of many people now alive. In a society accustomed…to 300 years of growth, this is something quite new, and it will require considerable adjustment” (WCED, 1987).

Table 1.1 lists nine documents that have had profound influence on current thinking about the effects of human activity on the environment. The publications span a little over 50 years. The starting point for today’s thinking about sustainable development is the report of the Brundtland Commission of 1987 (WCED, 1987), Figure 1.1. It makes the observation that “- each community, each country, strives for survival and prosperity with little regard for the impact on others. Some consume the earth’s resources at a rate that would leave little for future generations. Others …consume too little and live with the prospects of hunger, squalor, disease and early death.” The report formulates an ideal: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

A series of initiatives since the Brundtland report have created the wide-ranging interpretation of sustainable development that we see today. The Montreal Protocol (UNEP, 1989) banned substances that damage the ozone layer and has largely fulfilled its aims. The Rio Earth Summit (UNEP, 1992), endorsed by 180 nations, set out 27 principles supporting sustainable development. After 10 years, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, 2002), meeting in Johannesburg, reaffirmed the commitment of 183 countries to achieve sustainable development objectives, among them are as follows:

? To halve the number of people in poverty by 2015.

? To halve the proportion of people without access to clean drinking water by 2015.

Table 1.1

Landmark Publications

Date, Author and Title

Subject

1962 Rachel Carson, “Silent Spring” (Carson, R., 1962)

Meticulous examination of the consequences of the use of the pesticide DDT...