Sustainability 101

Sustainability 101

Monday, April 14, 2014

The Source of the Question

Most discussions of sustainability are clouded with all sorts of confusing emotional and political issues.  All of these tend to argument; none of them tend to solutions.  To develop sustainability solutions we must start with simple plans; we must strip sustainability down to its raw science, devoid of all emotional and political issues.

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability is a closed thermodynamic cycle that at any point of its development returns to the same form that it had before at that point.  Sounds complicated, doesn’t it?

An Example from High School Chemistry.

All living things and a good number of non-living things are made up of chemicals called hydrocarbons.  For the purposes of this conversation we don’t even care what these specific hydrocarbons look like.  All of them burn in the presence of oxygen (air) and other oxidizers, like chlorine.  In every case the products are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (if burning is incomplete), water, and some other waste by-products.  For our purposes we will even ignore the possibility of carbon monoxide.

C_mH_nXXX + (m + 1/4n) O₂ → m CO₂ + 1/2n H₂O

We don’t even have to know if I balanced the equation correctly or not….  We only have to worry about two things.  One. Does the reverse of this equation exist?  Two. Does the reverse of this equation actually happen?  Yes, in nature, plants turn carbon dioxide and water back into hydrocarbons and oxygen.  Plants and animals are more or less balanced in a sustainable process.  If this were not true, we would eventually deplete all the oxygen from the air and we would all die.

C_mH_nXXX + (m + 1/4n) O₂ ← m CO₂ + 1/2n H₂O

If the reversed arrow in the equation does not exist, sustainability does not exist either.

Of course it is solar radiation that makes this possible, and we lose a lot of waste heat to space, so the universe must be included in our closed thermodynamic cycle, or else we would need to rewrite our definition to say, except for radiation.

Except for radiation (and other heat losses), sustainability is a closed thermodynamic cycle that at any point of its development returns to the same form that it had before at that point.

A Peanut Butter Sandwich.

Let’s make a very simple peanut butter sandwich.  We will use only two slices of bread, a tablespoon of peanut butter, and a knife with which to spread the peanut butter.  Simple.  Or is it?

The system is not sustainable until we wash and dry the knife and put it back in the drawer from whence it came.  Sustainability, requires cleanliness.  Everything has a place, and everything must be returned to its place or the system is not sustainable.  Simple.

The system is not sustainable until we plant, nurture, harvest, grind into flour, mix, bake, slice, wrap, and deliver exactly two slices of bread back to the bread container from whence it came.  For our purposes this is a very simple bread consisting of only flour and water, and we ignored the water.

Nor is the system sustainable until we plant, nurture, harvest, grind into paste, and deliver exactly one tablespoon of peanut butter back in the jar from whence it came.

Our simple peanut butter sandwich doesn’t look so simple now, does it?

Simplicity of Sustainability.

The key operative words are, “from whence it came.”  Nothing is sustainable unless it is returned to its original pristine condition, or at least to a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Just look at all the things we have taken for granted here.  In washing the knife, we did not include the very necessary processes of detergent manufacture and recycling, or the weaving drying towels, or the water itself.  We did not consider that it takes more than flour and water to make bread, the sustainability of packaging, the source of heat for baking, and literally thousands of different details.  Nor did we consider any of the complexity of peanut or grain farming, irrigation, fertilization, and the thousands upon thousands of processes involved in agriculture and manufacturing.  There is far more in a jar of peanut butter than ground peanuts in a glass or plastic jar with a metal or plastic lid.

What else have we have taken for granted?  Can we put coal, crude oil, or natural gas back into the ground from whence it came?  Can we even replace what we have taken with a reasonable facsimile, such as charcoal?  The only way to sustain fossil fuels is never to use them at all.  I’m not recommending that; it’s just a simple scientific fact.

Developing a culture of sustainability must begin with simple tasks, such as me committing to pick up after myself, doing my share of the dishes and laundry.  Everything has a place, and everything must be returned to the place from whence it came.

Developing a culture of sustainability must begin with small tasks, such as me starting a garden in the backyard or raising a chicken, duck, rabbit or two.  If I decide to raise minor stock for eggs and meat, where will the animal food come from?  Where will the plant food come from for my garden?  The idea of five or ten acres of sustainable independence is becoming more and more complicated.

Developing a culture of sustainability must begin with simple, small teams, such as us, or our town committing to building an independent sustainable unit; recycling everything, not just trash, everything.  Everything has a place, and everything must be returned to the place from whence it came.  We’re going to have to do it someday.  Better now than later.  It’s just less painful to do it now.

I will believe that we are developing a culture of sustainability when my town council commits to developing a town-wide sustainability plan, and when the 120,000 people who live here, commit to getting it done.  I will believe that we are developing a culture of sustainability when my personal commitment is complete.  It takes teams.  This is a big problem.  It takes individual commitment.  Ownership.  This is my problem.

Gotta run.  It’s time for me to put the dishes away and fix supper.  KISS