Metabolism of the Anthroposphere

Peter Baccini is Professor Emeritus at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH), where he was Professor of Resource and Waste Management. Paul H. Brunner is Professor at the Institute for Water Quality, Resources, and Waste Management at Vienna University of Technology. Paul H. Brunner is Professor at the Institute for Water Quality, Resources, and Waste Management at Vienna University of Technology.

The topic treated in this book is the dynamics of material fluxes in the immediate human environment - the anthroposphere. A comprehensive understanding of man's activities in connection with, for example, nutrition, hygiene, habitation and transport is essential for early recognition of limitations of resources and environmental impact. The methodology of flux analysis is introduced, with examples on how to qualify and quantify the metabolism of complex biological and cultural systems. This is an entirely new approach to describing geogenic and anthropogenic systems. The perceptions gained by material flux analysis complement those obtained in life sciences (e.g. human toxicology), environmental sciences (e.g. ecotoxicology) and social sciences (e.g. economics, sociology). Their application enables a control on regional material fluxes (resource and waste management, environmental impact studies) and the devlopment of kybernetic strategies for the metabolic evolution of the anthroposphere.

Das Buch gibt einen Überblick über die Stoffwechselphänomene menschlicher Gesellschaften in Raum und Zeit. Die Methodik der Stoff-Flußanalyse wird eingeführt, um den Stoffhaushalt komplexer anthropogener Systeme qualitativ und quantitativ zu erfassen. Am Beispiel einer Region wird illustriert, wie die dabei gewonnenen Erkenntnisse für die kurz- und langfristige Ressourcenbewirtschaftung und die Früherkennung von Umweltbelastungen (Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungen) nutzbar gemacht werden können.