Ecological sustainability through alternate energy technologies [Helmut Burkhardt, ISSS 1998 Plenary Session, July 21/98]

These notes are a rough transcription, prepared as each individual presenter and/or commentator spoke at the ISSS 1998 conference. Gaps and errors have likely occurred. For more accurate citations, please consult the original presenters. These notes have been contributed to the ISSS by David Ing, of the IBM Advanced Business Institute (sabi@systemicbusiness.org).

Helmut Burkhardt, Ryerson Polytech, Toronto

• Early career in hot plasma, fusion research: includes heat, magnetism, ....
• Nuclear fusion is distant goal, switched to hydroelectric power generation (which also covers lots of fields).
• Economist showed slow decline in cost of nuclear, versus improvement in fossil fuel, said have 10 years.
• Switched to education: unified branch of physics, from an accounting perspective (in collaboration with G. A. Swanson, who is an accountant).
• Broadened to energy science (not energy physics)
• Economics and politics come in: an economist closed the energy center, while on sabbatical.

• First accounting entity: Gaussian bubble, imagined closed surface in space, bounding system and its environment.
• Internal action: production of ecologies, societies, biologies, cybernetics and physical things.
• Interaction system, transfer of substances from/to the environment to the system
• Haven't imported/exported ecologies, or social systems for now.
• Biological and cybernetic (computers) transfers happen rarely, not particularly relevant.
• Physical transfers (solar system) most prevalent.

• Two kinds of action
• Interaction (transfers)
• internal action (production)
• State concepts:
• Substance inventory z = [x1, x2, x3, ...]
• (Change of state) = (final content) - (initial content)

• Change in state == change in each of substances
• cz = [cx1, cx2, cx3, ....]
• Static equilibrium: no action
• Dynamic equilibrium: no net action.
• Four kinds of equilibrium states:
• Stable, will return to equilibrium.
• Unstable, little disturbance will cause a roll into another stable position.
• Indifferent, no change (in flat surfaces)
• Meta stable: stable at small changes, unstable at large changes.
• Continuously changing states are not sustainable (as either growth or decline).

• World's ecosystem is under stress.
• Biodiversity is decreasing.
• Materials and resources are running low.
• Population +1% per year, doubling every 54 years.
• Number of species in half in 170 years.
• Cropland in half in 64 years.
• Rainforest one-half in 90 years.
• Oil per person tons one half in 60 years.
• Oxygen, one half in 5000 years. (No danger)

• "As always in the past, reason will be imposed by despair and not as a timely, progressive and voluntary decision"

• Not worried about material supplies, because we can recycle them (as long as we have energy).
• Available energy can't be recycled.
• Active life is not sustainable without an adequate supply of available energy.
• Energy is a basic necessity of an ecosystem.

• (From engineers) Exergy is the energy available in a given environment, the ability to do work, the cause of all actions.
• Anergy is inert energy, just existing, unable to do anything
• Energy = Exergy + Anergy

• Law of conservation of physical energy.
• The law of entropy:
• Exergy always decreases, Anergy always increases.

• Exergy comes into society (with materials), anergy is produced.

• (environment impact) = (population impact) * ...

• Fossil fuel should be reduced, produces CO2.
• Nuclear fuels should be reduced, due to waste.
• Large scale biomass is inefficient, and in conflict with food production.
• Cropland.
• Hydro power not an option

• Can make a zero fuel house -- economical on life-cycle costing, but expensive initially.

• 3 kW of solar heat requires 24 square metres of sunshine.
• 2 kW of solar electricity requires 40 square metres.
• This can be done in deserts or roof tops.

Questions