[Fis] Sustainable use of resources

Dear colleagues,
 
I agree with Luis that one needs first an information-theoretical
description of a system before one can make an assessment of whether
this system is sustainable. The information-theoretical description
extends on the thermodynamic one by including the socio-economic system.
As we know the latter can be innovated by new technologies becoming
available. These may add new dimensions to the system.
 
The Netherlands, for example, are one of the largest producers of
tomatos in the world. However, tomatos cannot grow naturally in this
climate. Dutch tomatos never see the sun nor touch the soil, but they
are yet relatively competitive. This (sub)system seems very sustainable
and it is not polluting (otherwise than using energy for market prices).
In other words, sustainability is not an objectively given, but a
system's property.
 
It seems to me that the sustainability of a system in terms of
information theory should take into account the expected information
content of that system in relation to its maximum entropy. The maximum
entropy can increase if new dimensions can be added to the system, for
example, by the techno-economic evolution. The system then gets room to
expand. The system may also loose degrees of freedom, for example, in
the case of lock-in. The mechanisms of structural change in information
systems (e.g., the diffusion-reaction mechanism) are known.
 
Perhaps, this is a way to proceed.
 
With kind regards,
 
 
Loet
  _____

Loet Leydesdorff
Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR)
Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam
Tel.: +31-20- 525 6598; fax: +31-20- 525 3681
 <mailto:loet@leydesdorff.net> loet@leydesdorff.net ;
<http://www.leydesdorff.net/> http://www.leydesdorff.net/

 
 <http://www.upublish.com/books/leydesdorff-sci.htm> The Challenge of
Scientometrics ; <http://www.upublish.com/books/leydesdorff.htm> The
Self-Organization of the Knowledge-Based Society
Received on Thu Dec 4 09:19:52 2003