Peter C. Schulze.
Engineering within Ecological Constraints.
National Academy Press. 1996
Engineering Within Ecological Constraints presents a rare dialogue
between engineers and environmental scientists
as they consider the many technical as well as social and legal challenges
of ecologically sensitive engineering.
Engineers and environmental scientists on the front lines
present their experiences and viewpoints,
outlining questions and directions for further study.
The volume looks at the concepts of scale, resilience, and chaos
as they apply to the points where the ecological life support system of nature
interacts with the technological life support system created by humankind.
What are the implications of differences between ecological and engineering concepts
of efficiency and stability?
How can engineering solutions to immediate problems be made compatible with long-term ecological concerns?
How can we transfer ecological principles to economic systems?
Engineering Within Ecological Constraints addresses these and other questions.
The book also includes important case studies on such topics as
water management in southern Florida and California and oil exploration in rain forests.