Technology Focus on Physical Infrastructures

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TechnologyFocus on Physical Infrastructures
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Sustainable Development as Integration
Technology
Environment
Environment
Industrial Ecology
Industrial Ecology
Society
Economy ?Business ??
Environmental Management
Politics
Industrial Ecology
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Product, Material, Energy Flow in an Industrial
Ecology
Parts Manufacture
Materials Processing
Product Assembly
Social Infrastructure Govt, industry
assoc.s, NGOs, etc.
Resource Extraction
Distribution
Physical Infrastructure roads, sewers,
electricity, land-use, etc.
Recycling
Consumption
Materials Collection
Material Energy Inputs
Pollution Outputs
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Product System Hierarchy

• Materials, parts and components
• End-product
• Physical infrastructure
• Land-use patterns

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Environmental Impacts of Centralized
Infrastructures

• pollution and energy loss involved with the
  transportation of fuels, materials, solid waste,
  and sewage
• the landscape and habitat damage resulting from
  more roads, pipelines, power lines, canals,
  ports, bridges etc.
• the materials, energy, and pollution costs of
  building infrastructure
• the energy and pollution costs resulting from
  demolition,remediation, and disposal.

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Alternative (Distributed) Infrastructures

• Energy biomass, solar, wind, fuel cells, gas
  turbines, tidal, geothermal, waste generated gas
  storage devices (e.g. flywheels, water,
  hydrogen), waste heat and cool air
• Water and sewage wetland, biological sewage and
  brown water treatment, water recycling
• Telecommunications wireless communications
  (mobiles, wi-fi)
• Solid waste collecting facilities, recycling
  facilities, waste exchanges
• Transportation mixed land use, walking, cycling,
  public transport
• Regulatory reform, cooperation, institution
  building

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Distributed Infrastructures

• Efficient end-use
• Small-scaled fueled (co) generations
• Cheap kilo-watt-scale fuel cells
• New fuels
• Cheap, easy to use renewable sources
• Distributed energy storage
• Electricity grid improvements
• Pervasive information
• Competition
• Shifts in electricity providers mission,
  structure, and culture
• Over 200 economic benefits

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Fuel Cells as promising technology
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Fuel Cells as subsystem within a product system
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Fuel Cells as subsystem within a product system
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Living Machines

• treat waste water by replicating ecosystem
  processes
• accelerates nature's own water purification
  process, without using chemicals, by
  incorporating helpful bacteria, plants, snails
  and fish that thrive by breaking down and
  digesting organic pollutants.
• costs of wastewater surcharges, water purchases,
  sludge disposal, chemical treatment storage
  costs can be reduced below conventional systems
  is expandable.
• Enables owners and communities to embrace a
  natural model and enjoy a beautiful garden that
  can grow cut flowers, house plants and in some
  cases vegetables

Open Aerobic Reactor
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What are the infrastructure needs of your company?

• What kind of physical infrastructure (roads,
  electricity, other fuels, sewage,
  buildings,recycling systems, etc) does your
  company need or could it convert to?
• Should you work with the government, other
  companies (competitors, suppliers, distributors,
  recyclers), or NGOs to build these
  infrastructures?
• What kind of values can be created at each stage
  of the industrial loop to ensure transaction are
  undertaken?
• What kind of regulatory, guideline, membership,
  or social conditions are necessary to ensure that
  transactions are undertaken?