The Earth is a highly structured natural spaceship. Its biosphere is a perfect information- and energy-processing thermodynamic mill that has been operating.

The Earth is a highly structured natural spaceship. Its biosphere is a perfect information- and energy-processing thermodynamic mill that has been operating on this planet without excess or waste for the last four billion years.

The biospheric mill runs on the flow of energy from the Sun, exploiting the free-energy differential between the incoming solar radiation and surrounding space, its “source” and “sink.” It structures and builds molecular matter on the planet’s surface into systems of increasing size and complexity, from crystals and macromolecules to organic species and planetary ecologies.

LIFE ON THIS PLANETLIFE ON THIS PLANET

On spaceship Earth the evolutionary build-up produced complex vertebrate species about 600 million years ago. About five million years before our time one among the existing species within the family of apes diverged from the rest. It began to rely more on its higher capacity brain than on muscles and physical abilities for survival. About ten thousand years ago this species learned to domesticate plants and animals to ensure its food supply. It began to multiply rapidly and transformed ever more of its environment to fit its own needs. The information on which it has been increasingly relying has been consensually generated “cultural information” rather than trans-generationally handed down “genetic information.” This enabled the species rapid learning in the manipulation of its environment, but because its learning has been flawed—it disregarded and thus transgressed the norms and balances of the global ecology—it has increasingly impaired the functioning of the spaceship’s balanced thermodynamic mill. As a result presently the biosphere has two systems, operating divergently: the basic life-support system (“nature”) and humanity, the system of human societies.

HUMANITY AND THE EARTH SPACESHIP LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

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THE UNSUSTAINABILITY OF THE UNSUSTAINABILITY OF CURRENT PLANET PRACTICESCURRENT PLANET PRACTICESTHE UNSUSTAINABILITY OF THE UNSUSTAINABILITY OF

CURRENT PLANET PRACTICESCURRENT PLANET PRACTICES

1. We use primarily the finite stocks of on-board fossil energy to sustain and build matter-based systems, and

2. We extract, degenerate, and discard vast quantities of the available storehouses of inorganic and organic matter

=>=>We deplete the planet’s finite sources of We deplete the planet’s finite sources of energy; and degenerate its finite storehouses energy; and degenerate its finite storehouses of matter of matter

1. We use primarily the finite stocks of on-board fossil energy to sustain and build matter-based systems, and

2. We extract, degenerate, and discard vast quantities of the available storehouses of inorganic and organic matter

=>=>We deplete the planet’s finite sources of We deplete the planet’s finite sources of energy; and degenerate its finite storehouses energy; and degenerate its finite storehouses of matter of matter

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THE SUSTAINABLE PLANET THE SUSTAINABLE PLANET PRACTICEPRACTICE

THE SUSTAINABLE PLANET THE SUSTAINABLE PLANET PRACTICEPRACTICE

The Earth is a natural spaceship: it isThe Earth is a natural spaceship: it is

1.1. open to energyopen to energy

2.2. closed to matterclosed to matter

The sustainable planet practice is: :The sustainable planet practice is: :

1.1. To use the inflow of (quasi-infinite) energy to sustain To use the inflow of (quasi-infinite) energy to sustain and build matter-based systems, andand build matter-based systems, and

2.2. To conserve, recycle, and allow to regenerate the on-To conserve, recycle, and allow to regenerate the on-board storehouses of inorganic and organic matter.board storehouses of inorganic and organic matter.

The Earth is a natural spaceship: it isThe Earth is a natural spaceship: it is

1.1. open to energyopen to energy

2.2. closed to matterclosed to matter

The sustainable planet practice is: :The sustainable planet practice is: :

1.1. To use the inflow of (quasi-infinite) energy to sustain To use the inflow of (quasi-infinite) energy to sustain and build matter-based systems, andand build matter-based systems, and

2.2. To conserve, recycle, and allow to regenerate the on-To conserve, recycle, and allow to regenerate the on-board storehouses of inorganic and organic matter.board storehouses of inorganic and organic matter.

The classical view and the The classical view and the information/energy flow viewinformation/energy flow view

The classical view and the The classical view and the information/energy flow viewinformation/energy flow view

Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) strategiesCradle-to-Cradle (C2C) strategies

• C2C principles– Waste equals food– Use current solar

income– Celebrate diversity

• C2C principles– Waste equals food– Use current solar

income– Celebrate diversity

BIOLOGICAL CYCLE

TECHNICAL CYCLE

The basic cross-catalytic The basic cross-catalytic cyclecycle

The basic cross-catalytic The basic cross-catalytic cyclecycle

Auto- and Cross-Catalytic Cycles in the Business WorldCycles in the Business World

Auto- and Cross-Catalytic Cycles in the Business WorldCycles in the Business World