How big does the world need to be for humans: MIPS: The effective scale of ecological economics: MIPS

Author: Wu Xiaodong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: This book points out the pitfalls of current environmental protection policies—strictly controlling the emission of harmful chemicals at the nanogram level in an attempt to purify the environment. However, in reality, macro ecological disasters continue to occur. Could we be doing it wrong? Professor Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek explains that this is due to the misconceptions of human society, which involves a one-sided pursuit of material wealth without recognizing that we extract tons of substances from the environment. Through activities such as projects, products, or services, we return these substances in the form of waste. This type of environmental damage differs from traditional pollution and is the main reason why ecological disasters are always unavoidable. To address this issue, Professor F.Schmidt-Bleek has established a scale to measure the ecological impact—the MIPS (Material Input per Service)—which allows us to set non-materialized goals, promote lifestyles with minimal environmental pollution, and thereby improve our ecological conditions on a macro scale. This book is suitable for a broad readership with diverse backgrounds. It can serve as a reference for policymakers, economists, and technologists in politics, economics, and technology, helping them choose a non-materialized path of sustainable development. It can also be used as a reference for scientists, technicians, and managers in fields such as environmental science, economics, and engineering.