Communicating Emergy Analysis As Footprint and Emergy Profile

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

COMMUNICATING EMERGY ANALYSIS AS FOOTPRINT AND EMERGY PROFILE

ABSTRACT Tools highlighting our attention to human impact on nature and humans accelerating depletion of natural resources, such as fossil fuels, are important in making a change towards a more sustainable way of living. Emergy analysis is a scientific and robust method feasible to appraise the degree of sustainability of human systems. In spite of the advantages of the method, a public breakthrough takes place slowly. One reason could be that the results of an emergy analysis are difficult to grasp. This study aims to assess the degree of sustainability of an agricultural system in central Sweden by means of emergy analysis, and explore effective communication of this information. By demonstrating the results of the analysis in the form of a footprint and emergy profile, a better understanding of the outcome may be achieved. The footprint, here called emergy – based footprint, visualizes all resources used in the production system. The emergy profile shows the emergy flows of the most important items in the system. Alternative visualizations of the agricultural system were created in the study, each scenario presented in an emergy-based footprint as well as in an emergy profile. Together, they show the characteristics of the different production systems. This model may serve as an accessible and communicative guide when trying to transform the Swedish agricultural system, as well as agricultural production worldwide in the direction of sustainability. The model is applicable in general system as well.

Keywords: Resource use, sustainability, communicative, emergy-based footprint, emergy profile

Introduction In our modern western worldview we live in a paradigm of fragmentation. The attitudes in society is to separate nearly everything in different boxes. If your roses get infected by leaf lice you immediately control them with some chemicals, instead of strengthen the health of the roses so that they can resist the leaf lice by themselves. In school it is a norm to carry out studies in separate subjects. It is a long tradition, nearly a rule, in at least natural science to define a problem and carry on the research of a delimited part of the problem. The scientific advances during the last decades have been great, maybe as a result of this “tunnel vision”, but the progression is within each discipline, not between them. We can say that the knowledge is tenser in the separate boxes of discipline. We often look upon these boxes as pieces that hypothetical can be joined. But if someone actually will try to put the pieces together they don’t fit!

The late Swedish geographer Torsten Hägerstrand wrote in his last book: “at present we behave as children, who draw funny figures on each side of a paper and then get astonished when it is impossible to cut out the figures from one side without avoiding dashing the figures from the other side to pieces. The question of importance in reality is not the perfection of the separate sciences figures. It is rather to find out what sort of paper we are drawing on?” (a free translation from Hägerstrand, 2009)

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

Within this approach we have to take the responsibility of an accelerating depletion of natural resources, human activities unfavorable influence on the ecological systems on earth (Daily, 1997; Rockström, et al., 2009) and an increasing global food demand (www.fao.org; www.miljoforskning.formas.se, 2010). One way of acting in a responsible manner is to increase the sustainability of our society. When dealing with sustainable development it is essential to have an attitude about an entire system, a system in which human beings are nowadays a prominent part. Sustainable development includes a holistic perspective, and while we are finding the direction towards sustainability we have to deal with interactions between and within systems, we have to deal with time and we have to manage different scales. In our fragmented worldview, a sustainable development is a challenge since it is resting up on a holistic way of thinking.

One course of action, to influence the change of attitude towards a more coherent approach is to make use of methods and models that are based on system thinking. Tools that highlight our attention to human impact on nature and the accelerating depletion of natural resources, such as fossil fuels, are of great significance in this changing process. Unfortunately there is a shortage of methods and models aiming at opening our mind to a holistic way of thinking and at the same time have the ability to deal with the complexity of systems. But there exist some; emergy analysis is one of them.

Emergy analysis The theory of emergy has been created during the last four decades in a context of interdisciplinary, involving physics, biology and social science, and most importantly -system ecology and ecology. The fundamental principles of an emergy analysis are the modeling of interactions between factors in a system. Emergy has a holistic and ecocentric viewpoint; components of the system are analysed and quantified, but the definitive result is characterized as a single integrated system. Of importance in systems is the flow of material, information and energy. Consequently, the emergy concept is based on principles of energy. Emergy theory points out that all systems, human system included, are in some way woven together. In an emergy analysis, you can study partition of a system but always have to take inputs and outputs to and from the system in consideration. Emergy analysis puts a value on all work done by the biosphere and transforms them into a common unit, sunemjoule, sej. The model can deal with the totality and the details in the same analysis, as well as with the interactions within the system and the external flows. Emergy analysis is a scientific and robust method, created principally by H.T. Odum during the last four decades (M. T. Brown, 2003; Mark T. Brown & Ulgiati, 2004; H.T. Odum, 1996). Concepts of importance are transformity, energy hierarchy, self organizing system and maximum power principles. To make a result from an emergy analysis clear and possible to compare, a series of indices and ratios are evaluated including a sustainability index, environmental loading ratio, emergy density and renewable- emergy quotient (Björklund & Rydberg, 2003; H.T. Odum, 1996).

In spite of the scientific advantages of the method, the public breakthrough is slow. One possible reason is that the results of an emergy analysis are difficult to grasp. The result from

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

an emergy analysis is presented in figures, in tables, in drawn emergy symbols as well as in indices and ratios. A bald statement of the figures from an emergy analysis may be perceived as very abstract and complex. This makes it difficult to understand the results and implications of an emergy analysis. So a significant weakness for the emergy method is its difficulty to be well communicated (Björklund & Rydberg, 2003).

Emergy-based footprint In this study a communicative model has been created, aiming at increasing the understanding and appropriation of an emergy analysis. This is done by applying the pedagogical advantage from the concept Ecological Footprint (Wackernagel & Rees, 1996) which visualizes the demand of human activities of the ecosphere in an area. The emergy- based footprint rests upon the calculations from an emergy analysis. The result is then recalculated into an area that visualizes all the resources used in the system. This area is the one needed if only renewable resources had been used in the system (Björklund & Johansson, 2010; Geber, 2002; Johansson., 2005).

Emergy profile The emergy profile concept, profit from the realization that almost everybody can imagine the significance of a profile. It describes the system analysed, all resources and flows involved and the magnitude of each component. As concept the emergy profile reminds of the emergy signature (H.T. Odum, 1996, p. 111; Howard T. Odum, 2007, p. 148), the profile is presented by different graphs as the signature. What’s separate the profile from a signature is that the profile is showing in a distinct and well arranged way the items in the system within diametrical diagrams. The highest level of classification contains five groups in which the resources are divided in local renewable, local non renewable, global renewable, global non renewable and imported resources covered by money. The five main groups are quantified and expressed in sunemjoule. All of the resources used in each of these main groups can then be traced in the underlying emergy profiles; these profiles express the resources as a percentage. In that way it is possible to follow each group up to a very detailed scale.

A case study The emergy-based footprint was applied in a case study of a small farm in Sweden. By way of introduction a traditional emergy analysis has been carried out. The result from the analysis was redrafted into an area and a comparison was drawn between current area at the farm and the area needed if all the resources used in the system would have been locally renewable. In this study the locally renewable resources are equivalent to the inflow of rain. An emergy profile was also drawn out of the outcome of the emergy analysis. The same procedure was then repeated for three alternative scenarios for the production system. These alternatives consisted of a conventional, ecological and sustainable production system.

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

Results from the case study

Current production system of the farm The emergy-based footprint of the actual production system turned out to be relatively big (Fig.1). The resources used in the system were nine times the local renewable resources of the existing farm.

Local renewable resources 2E+17

1,5E+17

Local non 1E+17 Imported renewable renewable 5E+16 resources resources 0 Sunemjoule

Imported Imported resources non covered renewable by money

Figure 2. The emergy profile of the five main groups of importance in the case study of a farm in Sweden. Predominant in current production is the input of Figure 1.The emergy-based footprint of the current imported renewable resources. The axes present the production system of a small farm in Sweden. The resources in the unit of sunemjoule. relation 1:9 is the quota between the actual area at the farm and the area needed if all the resources used in the system should have been locally renewable.

The emergy profile clearly shows the dominance of the imported renewable resources (Fig.2). By tracing the line of the imported renewable resources the profile reveal that the resources of greatest importance were the labour, followed by goat and sheep replacement (Fig.3).

The last biggest group of the five main groups in the profile of current system was the imported non renewable emergy (Fig.2). On a detailed scale this group turned out to consist of a great variety of resources, of most importance had the energy sources as fossil fuels and electricity (Fig. 4).

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

Wood in buildings 40,0% 30,0% Labour Wood in fence 20,0% 10,0%

0,0% Sheep Wood in replacement equipment

Goat Wood for replacement maintenance

Figure 3. Of the imported renewable resources in the current system of the farm, labour, goat and sheep replacement contributes the dominant part.

Fossil fuels Medicines60,0% Electricity 50,0% Concrete 40,0% Machinery 30,0% Industrial Metals 20,0% 10,0% fodder 0,0% Salt Seeds

Paints Plastics Technical Bottled gas equipment Milkpowder Minerals

Figure 4. The emergy profile is presenting the organisation of the imported non renewable emergy in current production system. This group consists of a great variety of resources. Of most importance are energy sources such as diesel, petrol and electricity. Machinery is also an input of significance.

Constructed alternative scenario of the production system With the purpose of compare different production system three hypothetical productions where created, these were conventional, ecological and sustainable production system of the farm.

If the different designed vision or scenarios of the production were calculated and their emergy-based footprint was placed besides each others, the magnitude of the varying footprints was obvious (Fig 5). In this paper only two of the profiles of the scenarios are presented, i.e. the main profile for the

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University conventional and the ecological production system (Fig. 6 and 8). The conventional and ecological profiles were different from the profile of the current system (Fig. 2,6 and 8) but the conventional and ecological system have an apparent resemblance although the magnitude is different (Fig. 6 and 8). The profile showing the details of the conventional system make clear that artificial fertilizer and fossil fuels contributes with the majority of the inputs in the imported non renewable group (Fig. 7).

Figure 5. The footprint of the designed scenario for a conventional production system, require a smaller area than the current system. The relation between available resources and the resources made use of in the conventional system is 1:8. A smaller emergy-based footprint is revealed for the ecological system than in the earlier systems, after a recalculation of the emergy input into an area. The relation between available resources and the resources made use of in the ecological system is1:4,5. An emergy-based footprint made out of a sustainable production system should be balanced with the input from the local renewable emergy. The relation between the actual area and the area corresponding to the resources used were expected to be 1:1.

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

Local renewable resources 1,5E+17

1,0E+17 Local non Imported renewable 5,0E+16 renewable resources resources 0,0E+00

sunemjoule Imported Imported resources non covered by renewable money

Figure 6. The emergy profile of the conventional production system illustrates a profile very different from the current production system. Outstanding in this system is the imported non renewable emergy input.

Industrial fodder Technical equipment50,0% Milkpowder 45,0% Tools 40,0% Minerals 35,0% 30,0% Medicines 25,0% Salt 20,0% 15,0% 10,0% Plastics 5,0% Seeds 0,0%

Metal Artificial fertilizer

Paints Fossil fuels

Tiles Electicity Concrete Machinery

Figure 7. The profile presenting the different resources making up the imported non renewable emergy in the conventional system, reveal that the fertilizer and fossil fuels dominate this input.

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

Local renewable resources 8E+16

6E+16

Local non 4E+16 Imported renewable renewable 2E+16 resources resources 0 sunemjoule

Imported Imported resources non covered renewable by money

Figure 8. As was the case within the conventional system the imported non renewable resources dominate the profile in the ecological system. But the profile shows an unlikeness from the preceeding since the imported renewable, the local renewable as well as the resources covered by money got a more significant position. The magnitude of the different bars also indicate that the ecological production system, in this case, use less resources than the conventional. Discussion The emergy-based footprint and the profile of the four production systems seem to be very different. By analyzing these illustrative tools showing the divergence between the production systems determined out of an emergy analysis, a sustainability guide is accessible.

By emergy-based footprint and emergy profile the role of the fossil energy resources will be obvious, fossil resources has an evident position in the imported non renewable group. The magnitude of the fossil energy elucidates obviously in a system analysed by this method. An explanation of this is the transformities values of the fossil resources with put this resource more in reality. With an increased application of such a methodology, the discussion around fossil resources may move from a defined discourse about supply and demand along with carbon dioxide emission and global warming to a more holistic approach dealing with resources in society, now and in the future.

The emergy-based footprint together with the emergy profile can assesses as a scientific and transparent valuation model of systems. Hopefully such presentations are comprehensible and at the same time give readers the possibility to dive in the complexity of the figures and flows in the system analysed. Of course it remains many improvements to put this method in practice. The emergy-based footprint is quite clear and reliable but the emergy profile is in the possession of some teething problems. As an example, one difficulty is the composition of the main groups in the emergy profile. It may be questioned whether the group imported resources covered by money is suitable in this analyse, it is also a problem of vital importance to found out which items fits into the different groups. If profiles will be comparable in a scientific way, there is an advantage if it exist some sort of standardisation in this stage in the method. The name, emergy profile, is at present under revision; a more pedagogical name for this method is in all probability emergy-based fingerprints. It suit well

Advances in Energy Studies 2010, Barcelona. Anna Levin Department of Social and Economic Geography Uppsala University

together with emergy-based footprint and is in many situations worldwide more understandable.

On our journey towards sustainability we urgently need methods and models that open our mind to be more “holistic minded”, to increase our way of see upon everything as interconnected. We need multiple criteria assessment methodology of sustainability. Emergy- based footprint, jointly with emergy profile is one attempt, one step to create one useful tool, applicable in scientific as in general situations. This method have its theoretical foundation on a stringent and scientific base and in extension of the method, it offers the labyrinth of system theory.

Acknowledgements Thanks to Johanna Björklund at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences who inspired me to carry out this study and to Calle and Birgitta Höglund who exposed their farm to this investigation. My supervisors Prof. Göran Hoppe and Jan Boelhouwers have read the texts and giving me constructive-minded advices.

References Björklund, J., & Johansson, B. (2010). Assessing multifunctionality in relation to resource use – a holistic approach to measure efficiency, developed by participatory research. Björklund, J., & Rydberg, T. (2003). Att värdera uthållighet i lantbruket - genomgång av metoder för miljö- och naturresursanalys. Uppsala: CUL, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Brown, M. T. (2003). Prof. Howard T. Odum 1924 - 2002. Energy, 28(4), 293-301. Brown, M. T., & Ulgiati, S. (2004). Energy quality, emergy, and transformity: H.T. Odum's contributions to quantifying and understanding systems. Ecological Modelling, 178(1-2), 201-213. Daily, G. C. (1997). Nature's Services, Societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Washington: Island Press. Geber, U. B., J. (2002). The relationship between ecosystem services and purchased input in Swedish wastewater treatment systems-a case study. Ecological Engineering, 18 pg39. Hägerstrand, T. (2009). Tillvaroväven. Stockholm: Forskningsrådet FORMAS. Johansson., S. (2005). The Swedish Fooodprint (No. ISBN 91-576-6955-4). Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae. Odum, H. T. (1996). Environmental accounting : EMERGY and environmental decision making. New York: Wiley. Odum, H. T. (2007). Environment, power and society for the twenty-first century : the hierarchy of energy (New ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S. I., Lambin, E., et al. (2009). Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity. Ecology and Society, 1-34. Wackernagel, M., & Rees, W. (1996). Our ecological footprint. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers. www.fao.org. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_Worl d_in_2050.pdf. Retrieved 20100913 www.miljoforskning.formas.se. (2010, 2010-06-16). Retrieved augusti-2010