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Re: Ecological Economics and Entropy



Magnus Redin wrote:
 
-> Jay Hanson <jhanson@ilhawaii.net> writes:
-> 
-> > Here a explanation of how thermodynamics is used in
-> > ecological economics:
-> > ------------
-> > All matter and energy in the universe are subject to
-> > the Laws of Thermodynamics. In the discipline of Ecological
-> > Economics, systems are delimited so that they are meaningful
-> > to our economy. What does thermodynamics have to do with the
-> > sustainability of food production?
-> 
-> Life works "uphill" and gives matter a higher "order". It does that
-> with the help of external energy from the sun and chemical energy
like
-> in volcanic ocean floor vents. That energy is dissipated and the
-> overall "disorder" increases. There is plenty of sunshine to drive
-> this so plants and animals keep on living.
-> 
-> The same reasoning applies to our technical culture. It needs
external
-> energy to produce things and turn disorder, like trash, into order,
-> like usefull products. The more energy we got the easier it is to
-> counter "disorder". That is one good reason to appreciate nuclear
-> energy since it gives enormous ammounts of energy from tiny ammounts
-> of fuel. This works until we run out of Uranium and Thorium and that
-> wont happen for millenia.

I won't join the nuke debates, but other than that, we agree.

You agree, McCarthy agrees, but Harold, dlj, and charliew
still don't get it.  I have other things to do, see if you
can explain entropy to them.

Jay