Agroecology
Agroeeology is the application of ecology to agriculture and food systems (cf. Altieri, 1987; Gliessman, 1990). It is increasingly recognized as the scientific discipline that best explains the environmental and often socio-cultural problems of the dominant food system, and the successes and and potentials of sustainable systems. Using tha agroecological paradigm, four essential system properties of agroecosystems have been determined: productivity (level of output); stability (constancy or persistence of output over time); sustainability (recovery from stress, disruptions); equitability (eveness of distribution among various groups) (Conway, 1985). Agroecology combines knowledge from scientists and practitioners and can be applied at the level of the field, the farm, the region and the nation. More recently, it has been viewed as an international movement as well (cf. Wezel et al., 2009; Dale, 2019).
Waste Management
An ecological approach to waste management employs the following hierarchy (from most desirable to least):
- Refuse (not purchased if it is a significant waste generator with marginal value)
- Reduce (reduce consumption of the item to minimize waste generation)
- Reuse (use it numerous times even when marketed as a single use item)
- Repurpose (find another use for it once it's original use has expired)
- and Recycle (once all other purposes have been explored).
Most waste management systems are not designed to respect this hierarchy.
Lifecycle Analysis (Hill, 2013)
Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a method to quantify the environmental impacts associated with a given product or processes. Researchers create an inventory of resource consumption and pollution associate with the lifecycle of the product or process, and from this the ultimate effects on human health, ecosystem function, and natural resource depletion can be estimated. LCA methods are increasingly standardized to maintain flexibility, but with consistency and clarity in reporting.
