Water - Energy - Carbon Systems: Transitioning from Linear to Circular Economy

By Philemon Chigeza

This book proposes an imaginative, timely and new approach that advances affordable, reliable and sustainable management strategies on water, energy and carbon systems for local communities. The book targets non-academic and academic readers and has the potential to help individuals and organizations to develop sustainable management plans. The book addresses all of humanity, especially young people developing their vocations and future careers to transition to the circular economy. The book is also of special interest to educators, environmental groups, policymakers, and environmentalists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645360155

Philemon Chigeza

Dr Philemon Chigeza has taught science and mathematics in the middle school for many years. He is interested in capacity building teaching and learning strategies that affirm students’ lived languages, experiences and knowledge in their learning.

Book preview

About the Author

Philemon Chigeza is a senior lecturer of Mathematics and Science Education at James Cook University in North Queensland. Philemon is passionate about issues of environmental sustainability and how the home, schools, and electronic media can be productively used to work toward a more sustainable and just society.

Copyright Information

Copyright © Philemon Chigeza (2019)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publishers cataloging in publishing data

Chigeza, Philemon

Water – Energy – Carbon Systems: Transitioning from Linear to Circular Economy

ISBN 9781641825245 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781641825252 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645360155 (E-Book)

The main category of the book: SCIENCE / Environmental Science (see also Chemistry / Environmental)

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

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Acknowledgments

Firstly, I want to thank members of my family for their support in writing this book. They provided encouragement and the space that I needed to get the book done. Secondly, I want to thank my colleagues and former students over the last two decades for debating and discussing some of the ideas that I discuss in this book.

Preface

On 25th September, 2015, the United Nations sponsored a common set of sustainable development goals for all countries to end poverty, to protect the planet, and to ensure prosperity for all over the next 15 years. Underpinning the United Nations sustainable development goals for protecting the planet are the interactions and relationships of water, energy and carbon systems. The object of this book is to advance affordable, reliable, and sustainable management strategies on water, energy, and carbon systems for local communities.

This book encourages all of mankind to transition from the traditional linear economy thinking and practice that is wasteful on resources, to the circular economy thinking and practice that is restorative on resources. The book argues for the need to integrate circular economy and systems theory perspectives in the interactions and relationships of the water, energy, and carbon systems to enhance the United Nations sustainable development goals for local communities. The book suggests that an integrated circular economy and systems theory approach can be a useful thinking framework on sustainable management of water, energy, and carbon systems.

The book observes that an appreciation of the different stores or sources of water, energy and carbon, the rates of flow of water, energy, and carbon between the stores, and the processes that drive the flow rates is fundamental in order to embed circular economy and systems thinking in local projects, and enhance the United Nations sustainable development goals. The book highlights that human activities can impact negatively or positively on these stores, flow rates, and processes. Thus, a systems thinking approach to understanding these interactions and relationships underpins the means of addressing some of the most challenging local, national and international environmental, social, and economic issues of our times. The subsequent chapters build on this premise.

Chapter 1: Introduction

I wish to address all of mankind in a direct way regarding the sustainable development of their local communities, their progression, and growth towards an integrated, circular economy, systems thinking and practice. The book can be of interest to educators, policy makers, and environmentalists. The book is likely to be the beginning or catalyst for some people’s journey and self-awareness towards this 21st century integrated circular economy, systems thinking and practice.

I want all readers of this book to be aware that the ideas presented in the book are illustrative rather than exhaustive. After all, we live in different geographic, environmental, social, and economic locations. The key is to find affordable, reliable, and sustainable water, energy, and carbon management strategies for local communities. The book aims to initiate and solidify the start of a spiral progression towards an integrated circular economy and system theory approach, to sustainable development.

The book encourages all of humanity to transition from the traditional linear economy thinking and practice that is wasteful on resources, towards a circular economy thinking and practice that is restorative on resources and can be technology enhanced. The book persuades all of mankind to develop novel and innovative ideas and methods that draw on circular economy and system theory approaches to address their local community issues around the water, energy, carbon interactions and relationships. These issues around water, energy, carbon interactions, and relationships are central to supporting their lives, their economic wellbeing as individuals or as members of their communities, and their sustainable futures.

It is time for all of mankind—young and old—to sit at the table and contribute novel and innovative ideas and solutions to these issues and practices which are a result of the traditional linear economy. This book encourages every person to realize that they are part of the voice in their household and community, and that their actions are a part of the actions of their household and community.

Think locally. Act locally. Impact globally.

The book is not a propaganda platform. Nor is it an activist agenda. The book encourages all of humanity to develop strategies that result in novel and innovative ideas and solutions to 21st century issues and practices around the water, energy and carbon systems. The book draws from a systems thinking perspective, to problem solving that attempts to balance holistic-thinking and reductionism. The book also highlights the need to develop multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional approaches and solutions to enhance the sustainable environmental, social, and economic development agendas around water, energy, and carbon systems.

The book is as relevant to an artist contemplating the paint they want to use on the canvass, as it is to a landscaper designing a garden. The book is also relevant to an environmental scientist addressing a local environmental issue, as well as an engineer brainstorming a solution to a local issue or problem. The book encourages a system theory approach on sustainable environmental, social, and economic development based on circular economy perspectives.

According to Mazzocchi (2011), complex systems exist at different levels, ranging from molecules, cells, organisms, ecosystems, and human societies. This means that a new approach is required to study these different systems. A system theory approach encourages analysis of the interactions and relationships between components of the systems (Von Bertalaffy, 1968). This book positions all of humanity as agents of change who can analyze the components of the different systems in their local environments, and take a proactive role embedding circular economy, systems thinking and practice on the sustainable management of water, energy and carbon systems.

The book argues that interactions and relationships of water, energy, and carbon in local environments can be conceptualized within an integrated circular economy and system theory approach. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2015) promotes the concept of circular economy as a viable 21st century alternative, where the use of resources and materials is optimized and the resources and materials are returned to the systems, in contrast to the traditional linear economy that is wasteful on resources.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation advises that a circular economy is one that is restorative and regenerative by design, and one that aims to keep the highest efficiency of resources and materials at all times. In a circular economy, the systems thinking and practice can be applied more broadly where real-world elements are part of complex systems with different parts that are strongly linked to each other. In this case: water, energy, and carbon systems in different geographic and economic contexts.

The book conceptualizes the interactions and relationships of water, energy, and carbon in local environments within a systems theory perspective. Von Bertalaffy (1968) defined a ‘system’ as a complex of interacting elements. Systems are bounded and have inputs, outputs, and throughputs. A system theory is thus a perspective that analyses the interactions and relationships between the parts. The concept of a system approach integrates across scales, and its focus is on the interactions between different components of the system (in this case: water, energy, and carbon) in the different geographic and economic situations.

A systems framework requires that local projects and practices contribute to the wider project of elucidating the water, energy, carbon interactions, and relationships at the global scale (Evans, 2014). The book advocates for an exponential cascading of local projects and practices that embed an integrated circular economy and systems thinking on sustainable management of the water, energy and carbon systems. The book suggests that the exponential cascading of local projects and practices is quite possible and can be enhanced by the use of technology; including the use of social media.

As we transition to a circular economy, all of humanity should think about their roles as individuals and members of community groups and organizations. To help with the thinking process, at the end of each chapter, an illustrative section that prompts the reader’s consideration on enhancing sustainable development and the embedding of a circular-thinking trajectory and practice is included. You are encouraged to reflect on the suggested illustrative and reflective issues and questions.

Chapter Descriptions

Chapter 2 highlights that there are economical, societal, and environmental benefits for transitioning from the traditional linear economy towards the circular economy model. At the center of this transition, is an understanding of water, energy, carbon interactions, and relationships. The water, energy, carbon interactions, and relationships are central to supporting life on earth, economic wellbeing of individuals and communities, and their sustainable futures. The chapter argues for an integrated circular economy and systems thinking approach on the sustainable management of water, energy, and carbon systems in the different environmental, social, and economic contexts.

Chapter 3 describes the water stores, cycles, and the importance of water in many systems. The chapter highlights how human activities affect the water quality directly through the addition of chemical constituents, physical characteristics, or biological components, and indirectly through alteration