Spaceship Earth Research Articles

Handbook of the circular economy: Transitions and transformation : Book review

[Alexander, A., Pascucci, S. & Charnley, F. (eds., 2023). Handbook of the circular economy: Transitions and transformation. De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston. 504 pp. ISBN 978-3-11-072322-9] Since the term “circular economy” emerged in the economic and environ-mental literature at the beginning of the 2010’s, an ever-growing number of articles, papers, reports and books have been published on this new concept that aims at the ending of the so-called linear economy and ushering into a new economic paradigm. The circular economy’s foundations lay on several schools of thought of the past almost sixty years which pro-mote closed-loop systems and nature-inspired metabolisms in the econ-omy, starting from Boulding’s seminal work “The Economics of the Com-ing Spaceship Earth” (1966) through Stahel’s “Product-Life Factor” (1982) and Pearce and Turner’s “Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment” (1994), until McDonough and Braungart’s „Cradle to Cradle” (2002) or Gradel and Allenby’s “Industrial Ecology” (2003) – just to name a few. Since the term “circular economy” was born in the past dec-ade, this concept has been a popular subject of the economic, business, environmental, technical and even popular literature (Freed & Ritchie, 2021).

Titanic lessons for Spaceship Earth to account for human behavior in institutional design

Combating environmental degradation requires global cooperation. We here argue that institutional designs for such efforts need to account for human behavior. The voyage of the Titanic serves as an analogous case to learn from, and we use behavioral insights to identify critical aspects of human behavior that serve as barriers or opportunities for addressing the challenges we face. We identify a set of public goods that may help us mitigate identified negative aspects of human behavior, while leveraging the positive aspects: standards and best practices, mechanisms for large-scale coordination, and curation of information to raise awareness and promote action. We use existing international organizations, providing at least one of these capacities, as cases to learn from before applying our insights to existing institutional solutions for global environmental protection. We identify institutional design features that, if adapted to better account for human behavior, could lead to more effective institutional solutions.

About the published content on each section

About the published content on each section

Spaceship Earth. A Total Institution

Spaceship Earth. A Total Institution

Perdus dans l’espace : l’urgence pour les travaux sur la décroissance d’embarquer sur le « vaisseau Terre »

The proliferation of academic work on degrowth over the last twenty years has contributed to the creation of an increasingly robust body of knowledge. Heterodox economics has long been reluctant to address the issue, and now there are countless articles and books that deal with degrowth from solid theoretical references. Surprisingly, however, Kenneth Boulding’s contribution to the spaceship Earth remains insufficiently known and little used by researchers working on degrowth. This article will briefly review the value of this major contribution and then suggest how it could shed light on certain deleterious issues of infinite growth in a finite world.

A stratospheric mission – design of a conceptual framework to bring weather balloons and STEM into the classroom

IntroductionIntegrated STEM education makes learning relevant and applicable, blending the mindset, skillset, and toolset necessary in developing a depth of understanding for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.MethodsBased on the theoretical framework of Kelley and Knowles the ‘Spaceship Earth’ project was designed to engage primary school children in 4th class (ages 9 and 10 years old) in real-world project-based experiments in the classroom that are used to develop collaborative problem-solving skills and a framework for asking and answering scientific questions. This project involved researchers from two Universities and the Irish National Meteorological Service working collaboratively on a high-altitude balloon mission.ResultsHigh-altitude balloons have an established track record of safe and effective use in weather forecasting, astronomy, and STEM outreach. During the project lifecycle the children devised experiments that they launched to the stratosphere using the high-altitude balloons. Once the experiments returned to Earth, the children engaged in analysis and discussion about their experiments that extended and deepened their learning.DiscussionThis celestial project framework represents a new dawn of innovation for STEM education and public engagement.

Nourishing the brain on deep space missions: nutritional psychiatry in promoting resilience.

The grueling psychological demands of a journey into deep space coupled with ever-increasing distances away from home pose a unique problem: how can we best take advantage of the benefits of fresh foods in a place that has none? Here, we consider the biggest challenges associated with our current spaceflight food system, highlight the importance of supporting optimal brain health on missions into deep space, and discuss evidence about food components that impact brain health. We propose a future food system that leverages the gut microbiota that can be individually tailored to best support the brain and mental health of crews on deep space long-duration missions. Working toward this goal, we will also be making investments in sustainable means to nourish the crew that remains here on spaceship Earth.

Towards Dual Interest Theory in Metaeconomics

The purpose of this article is to expand the economic discourse beyond single interest as the dominant analytical foundation of microeconomics towards dual interest and metaeconomics. Metaeconomics is based on the reality of joint and non-separable self and other-interest arising because of non-allocable goods and non-allocable inputs. Non-allocable goods are explained by the internal tendencies in the mind to a more primal ego-based self-interest tempered by an empathy-based other (shared with the other, while internalised within the own-self-interest). Non-allocable inputs giving joint products and dual interest in the outcomes are explained by thermodynamics: production is internal to and non-separable from the natural system on the Spaceship Earth. Dual Interest Theory (DIT) assumes that self-interest is accompanied by empathy-based other-interest and that individuals tend to balance both interests in their decisions and behaviour. Several empirical tests of DIT demonstrated its advantages in explaining the observed behavioural outcomes as compared to the consideration of self-interest alone. DIT is also more powerful in explaining many other social phenomena than if one relies on the single/self-interest assumption of microeconomics alone. JEL Codes: A20, D11, D21, D62, D64, H41

Our Capitalogenic World

We live in times of anthropogenic climate crisis. Or do we? This essay shows how “humanity” is a thoroughly modern fetish forged in the bloodbath of militarized accumulation and conquest after 1492. To say that the Anthropos drives the climate crisis implicates a historical actor that does not exist. But the reality is different. Humanity does nothing. Specific groups of humans make history – empires, classes, religious institutions, armies, and financiers. This essay reveals the Anthropocene as more than lousy history – although the flight from world history is crucial. It argues that today’s Anthropocene is one pillar of the Environmentalism of the Rich. It is rooted historically in the Civilizing Project, and, more recently, in post‑1970 “Spaceship Earth” environmentalism. Both Environmentalism and its recent Anthropocene craze have sought to do one thing above all: deflect blame from capitalism as the prime mover of the climate crisis. From the beginning, Environmentalism avoided “naming the system.” Only by identifying the climate crisis as capitalogenic – “made by humans” – can we begin to forge an effective socialist politics of climate justice.

Origins of the Concept of Circular Economy and its Evolution

The first concepts connected with the material circularity have been introduced through the terms of Industrial Symbiosis and Industrial Ecology since the 1940s. In 1947 Renner, G. included in his works the term of ‘reuse – exchange’ as processes by which waste or by-products of an industry or industrial processes become the raw materials for another one (exchange). In 1966, Economy in Washington – with the paper ‘The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth’ presented the idea of a circular loop for the materials, considering open and closed systems. Moreover, in the 1970s, Stahel, W. R. introduced the concept with the expression ‘cradle-to-cradle’ in opposition with ‘cradle-to grave’. As a consequence of the environmental revolution, the industrial ecology gained more and more importance. In the 1980s, Frosh, R. A. proposed an analogy of natural ecosystems, for the eco-industrial ones: in addition to reducing the production of wastes, they should maximize the efficient use of residue materials and end-of-life products, as an input for other production processes. In 1994, Pauli, G. in ‘Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives’ divided the economic models in three: red, green and blue economy. Later, Ayres went ahead using the metaphor of the biosphere (ecology) – technosphere (economy), followed by Biomimicry of Benyus, thanks to the ‘Spiral of Life’. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the Linear Economy based on the terms take, make, consume, throw away was introduced. Its development is connected with the technological innovations encouraged by the growing scientific development increased productivity and promoted the progress of the linear economy. The Circular Economy, was introduced in 2015 by the European Union, and its aim is connected with the concept of: a) more efficient and sustainable use of resources; b) new integrated model of production, distribution and consumption.

Life in Space: NASA Life Sciences Research during the Late Twentieth Century by Maura Phillips Mackowski

Reviewed by: Life in Space: NASA Life Sciences Research during the Late Twentieth Century by Maura Phillips Mackowski Alwin J. Cubasch (bio) Life in Space: NASA Life Sciences Research during the Late Twentieth Century By Maura Phillips Mackowski. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2022. Pp. 392. Several recent publications have shown an interest in the science and technology that is necessary to live in space. Early astronaut training has become a focus of historical research, as well as the conflicting roles of astronauts as both scientific field workers and test subjects in space (Hersch, "Spacework"; Bimm and Kilian, "The Well-Tempered Astronaut"; Fendley, "First Contact"). Other publications have delved into the history of closed-loop ecologies for long-term space flight (Höhler, Spaceship Earth in the Environmental Age; Munns and Nickelsen, Far Beyond the Moon) and the psychology of living in space (Karafantis, "Sealab II and Skylab"; Grevsmühl, "Laboratory Metaphors in Antarctic History"). Questions of scientific cooperation across the Iron Curtain during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project have also received scholarly attention (A. Jenks, Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth). Against this backdrop, Maura Phillips Mackowski's second book on the history of NASA's life science research is a welcome addition that addresses the life science funding "bubble" (p. 6) at NASA from 1980 to 2004. Mackowski employs a wide definition of what counts as life science, allowing her to cover a broad range of NASA's endeavors from research on lab animals and artificial gravity centrifuges to crew safety systems and escape vehicles. This wide range illustrates NASA's own indecisiveness on what topics should be covered by its life science research programs. It also supports Mackowski's main argument that even in the heyday of life science during the space shuttle and early International Space Station era (p. 74), outside scientists were reluctant to engage with NASA, an agency they considered an unreliable source of funding because of its ever-shifting agenda. Drawing from a wide range of sources and interviews, Mackowski's study especially shines when it locates NASA's life sciences in broader societal and [End Page 627] political trends, from the early enthusiasm of the space shuttle era to the end and aftermath of the Cold War, which restricted funding levels and forced NASA into sometimes uneasy international cooperations. She convincingly shows how cultural influences, political currents, and actors like animal welfare organizations shaped the possibilities the life science community had to conduct research in space. Looking the other direction, the book also discusses NASA's efforts to persuade outside actors and agencies to cooperate on life science projects like radiation research. Her book gives valuable insights into questions of collaboration and competition in late twentieth-century institutionalized science, especially when it deals with NASA's strategies for and difficulties in distributing its main resources to scientists, namely funding and space flight opportunities, fairly between its own centers and extramural researchers. Equally important, the book touches on questions of participation in research settings on Earth and in space and discusses the dynamics of long-distance teamwork between astronauts and scientists. But most of all this is a book about how (not) to manage research in large techno-scientific organizations. Mackowski argues that NASA's constantly shifting priorities discouraged researchers who spent years developing research proposals that underwent peer review and long ground preparation only to be denied flight because of altered mission schedules, new research priorities, or funding cuts. NASA's life science programs often were the first items that fell victim to the reallocation of resources and reorganizations after congressional hearings or the new space policies of incoming presidents. Unfortunately, the actual developments and achievements of NASA's life science sometimes take a backseat in Mackowski's study. While NASA's indecisiveness is mirrored in the interwoven threads of the book, its thematic organization makes following the narrative difficult, as actors and key decisions seem to vanish at points only to reappear a few subchapters later. The book's reliance on NASA's acronyms sometimes conveys the feeling that readers must be intimately familiar with organigrams of NASA headquarters and NASA centers to grasp every detail. Mackowski...

Climatic Media: Transpacific Experiments in Atmospheric Control

Climatic Media: Transpacific Experiments in Atmospheric Control

Using Alternative Sources of Energy for Decarbonization: A Piece of Cake, but How to Cook This Cake?

Few analytical or research works claim that the negative impact of improper use of ASEs may be comparable with that of hydrocarbons and sometimes even greater. It has become a common view that "green" energy (ASE) is clean, safe and environmentally friendly (eco-friendly) in contrast with "black" energy (hydrocarbons). We analyzed 144 works on systemic and/or comparative research of the modern and prospective ASE: biofuels, hydrogen, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, solar power, geothermal power, oceanic thermal power, tidal power, wind wave power and nuclear fusion power. We performed our analysis within the Spaceship Earth paradigm. We conclude that there is no perfect ASE that is always eco-friendly. All ASEs may be dangerous to the planet considered as a closed and isolated unit ("spaceship") if they are used in an inconsistent manner. This is not in the least a reason to deny them as prospective sources of energy. Using all ASEs in different proportions in various regions of the planet, where their harm to the planet and humanity can be minimized and, on the contrary, their efficiency maximized, would give humanity the opportunity to decarbonize the Earth, and make the energy transition in the most effective way.

Value creation and the circular economy: A tale of three externalities

AbstractBy using resources more efficiently, resource users help to overcome the inherent resource scarcity on “spaceship earth.” One strategy in this context is to close resource loops and to use resources circularly. With fewer resources wasted, a more circular use of resources should also increase the efficiency of resource use and create more value. However, when resource users aim for a greater degree of efficiency, inadvertently they might contribute to resources being used less rather than more circularly and, consequently, less instead of more efficiently. We show how to assess the value that is created by the efficient use of resources for the case of linear and circular resource use. This allows us to identify three distinct types of positive externalities related to the circular use of resources: (1) systemic static externalities; (2) idiosyncratic dynamic externalities; and (3) systemic dynamic externalities. We describe how the value created by these externalities can be assessed and argue that they need to be considered when evaluating environmental resource use.

Perrin Selcer, The Postwar Origins of the Global Environment: How the United Nations Built Spaceship Earth

Perrin Selcer, <i>The Postwar Origins of the Global Environment: How the United Nations Built Spaceship Earth</i>

Lessons Learned from 55 (or More) Years of Professional Experience in Urban Planning and Development

Reflecting on the many debates over the years on changing urbanization processes, on the towns and cities of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, the main challenge will be listening to lessons of wisdom from the past and adapting these to our future professional work. When Chief Seattle said that the Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth, he called for more humility and respect so as to plan for the needs of today and tomorrow, and not for the greed of a few. The doomsday scenarios of overpopulation only make sense if we continue to exploit our planet the way we do today, as if we have an infinite reservoir of resources. Already back in the 1960s, Barbara Ward, John F. C. Turner, and particularly Kenneth Boulding taught me to rethink our whole perception of Spaceship Earth. I have seen many towns and cities grow as if resources were limitless; I myself have seen and worked on efforts to focus on spatial quality, respecting nature whenever possible for a growing number of people, recognizing resources as being precious and scarce, and yet guaranteeing equitable access to a good quality of urban life. Such objectives are not evident, when models in education, schools of thought, professional planners, and greedy developers are often geared towards the contrary: the higher the skyscrapers, the better; the more egotripping by architects, the more the rich like it; the more people are stimulated to consume, the better the world will be. Such narrow visions will no longer help. At several global urban planning and developments events (1976, 1992, 1996, 2016, etc.), new ideas and agendas have been put forward. Whether the present Covid-19 crisis may induce a more rapid change in vision and practice is still too early to confirm, but luckily, several towns and cities, and a few visionary planners and decision makers are showing some promising examples.

Sustainable space for a sustainable Earth? Circular economy insights from the space sector

The drive toward an efficient use of finite resources and the emphasis on sustainability that characterises CE (Circular Economy) models is also shared by many space projects, as summarised decades ago with the catchphrase 'Spaceship Earth'. Carrying out a comparison of the applications of circular economy models and the space industry's best practice, the article argues that the space sector represents a sort of 'native environment' for circular economy and shows how to apply more efficiently those same CE principles down to Earth. Adopting a case-study approach and using evidence from a close-loop system originally conceived for life in a space environment (ESA-MELiSSA for water treatment), this study demonstrates how the space sector is not only fully 'CE compliant' but also provides a comprehensive framework to further extend the remit of the CE philosophy. If the world economy is indeed at the onset of a new industrial revolution (the so-called Industry 4.0), the space sector can offer insights on how to this revolution can be made both inclusive and sustainable.

Silver Tower. Bio-Engineered Matter with Silver Skin

SILVER TOWER | Bio-Engineered MATTER with Silver Skin project is awareness of global warming and embracing the emergence of the new order of unifying design, science and nature to initiate a dialogue of amplifying the knowledge of architecture. All flora and fauna on this planet need to be understood as partners in the Spaceship Earth. This is the future of architectural practice that encourages and disseminates the vision of the world where every living matter is valued and embraced because of its invisible interrelationship it carries through its cellular level. The research into new organic living material and growth medium is the necessary structures to sustain and expanding the lexicon of performative skins, negotiating adverse environmental conditions. This architectural experimentation demonstrates the interdisciplinary research embedded in technical and design issues that are transferrable to real-world applications. Nature informs design at the molecular level, connecting ecosystems for a healthy and beautiful future.

Space Age: Past, Present and Possible Futures

Since Gagarin’s flight on April 12th, 1961, the dream of making human space flight routine and making Homo sapiens a multiplanetary species seemed to have become closer to reality. Nonetheless, on average less than 10 human flights a year have happened along the past 60 years. Unmanned spacecrafts, on the other hand, have changed the way the human race sees itself and the universe it is surrounded by. They have explored all planets in the solar system, as well as comets, asteroids and the Sun. Presently, there are four unmanned spacecrafts on Mars’ surface and eight satellites in its orbit. Since the launching of Sputnik in 1957, more than 11,000 satellites have been sent into Earth’s orbit. Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine life on Earth without the services provided by the space-based infrastructure resulting from the Space Age. They have changed the modus vivendi of the human civilization and become a commodity, like potable water and electricity. The so-called satellite industry generates around US$ 300 billion a year, mostly related to the sale of satellite services and ground equipment. The era of exponential growth and disruption has reached Earth’s orbit, and beyond, through the minds, initiatives and boldness of the NewSpace generation, from which Elon Musk is its exponent. Twenty-five thousand satellites are expected to be launched in the next 10 years to provide, among other applications, worldwide broadband internet access. The scientific community and the military, however, have already expressed their concerns regarding space debris and, as a consequence, space sustainability. For the scientific community, the long-waited launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) promises to be the 2021 main event. In a time in which Spaceship Earth faces so many challenges, the dream of making its dwellers a multiplanetary species got a revival trough the minds and actions of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. There are those who, through public-private partnerships, intend to establish a 1,000 people community working and living in space by 2045. Cooperation among nations has been usual in space, but they are still shy when compared to the efforts required to colonize the Moon, Mars and other places in the solar system. As the 21st century advances, Spaceship Earth faces its greatest challenge ever. Space-based assets provide all the tools required to monitor Earth’s health, but if the human species intends to survive as the only identified intelligent civilization, it will have to think and act united in a truly cooperative way. Otherwise, the civilizational and technological effort hitherto undertaken may prove to be useless.

We're All on This Spaceship Earth.

Description The photo features the geodesic sphere at Epcot, Disney World in Orlando, FL. Inside the dome, there was an iconic ride called "Spaceship Earth", which has since been shut down for refurbishment. This photo was taken November 2019, approximately 6 months before it was shut down. Much like how the ride emphasized the progress that human civilization has made in the last several hundred years and hopes to make in years to come, the current pandemic has shown us how far we have come in the medicine and other STEM fields. We hope only to do better and be better for everyone on our little Spaceship Earth.