Submitted by Bill Perk on Mon, 2006-08-14 14:05.
Policy & Operational Implications
One of the postings I read wanted to know how to "account for" things like trees, flowers, rainfall, etc. etc. I suggested that the seminal environmental accounting "emergy" methodology of Crafoord Prize winner Dr. H. T. Odum can not only account for all such natural system behavior, but can also compare the emergy/dollar ratio to create a more appropriate "EM$" value which can be used in something like a "double-double entry" bookkeeping account, one which can validly be compared with other such values elsewhere. View my "cosmic accounting" forum topic for more info.
Point being: Odum's work can indeed deal with questions such as "how many solar equivalent joules does it take to produce this sustainability dialogue?" and is able to actually yield an objective answer, just as it could provide an answer for "what is the value in EM$ for shrimp from mariculture ponds in Ecuador sold to Red Lobster in the US?" (cf., "EMERGY Analysis of Shrimp Mariculture in Ecuador", H. T. Odum and Jan Arding; Working Paper, 1991, available from the Center for Wetlands, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL)