Name: Tristan R.

Babaylan ENVI 550 - Environmental Systems Analysis (ESA)

What I have learned about ESA through the tools? The sustainable earth initiative is an important move and action leading towards a better justifiable human condition. However, there are certain things to consider regarding this matter as recently environmental questions have started to ascent on the agendas of authorities and companies and even as well as of individuals who are involve in making a better place. The consciousness of the international personality and the density of environmental problems and the importance of the needed mitigation efforts have raised. Participants in various situations want more information in this field. Because of these, it has lead to an augmented need for tools to promote learning and give decision-making support advantage, thus providing an old-new knowledge that will hopefully give environmental considerations more weighted and focused. It is easy to point out that actions need to be taken seriously, still, beneficial and practical advice regarding where such actions would be most efficient and most needed to start changes would be of most helpful. First, within the academes, the government, and the institutions which rather involve in such studies and research, it had become increasingly clear that experts must set their priorities and make hard judgments concerning the directions that hold the greatest promise for advancing our base of knowledge and for improving the human condition our concerns toward the environment. Second, the need to ameliorate the rapidly deteriorating state of the environment and to boost its capacity to sustain the needs of the world's population has become overriding. We will increasingly require ecological knowledge to utilize and sustain the Earth's resources. Although the search for new knowledge and for the application of existing knowledge is increasing, hence, the means to accomplish these goals are decreasing due to the limitation of resources. One must be wise in utilizing the limited resources. There are several principles and tools formed for achieving a more sustainable justifiable future have been established. They are developed within different disciplines and for some whatever significant purposes it may deal with. To name a few of them, the tools described include environmental impact assessment (EIA), strategic environmental assessment (SEA), life cycle assessment (LCA), material flow analysis (MFA), cost-benefit analysis (CBA), material intensity per unit service (MIPS) analysis, total material requirement (TMR) analysis, ecological footprint (EF), exergy analysis, emergy analysis and risk assessment (RA). In these tools, it is an initiative that pays attention on the necessary role in the wise use and management of Earth's limited resources and the maintenance of Earth's life support systems. This analysis is intended as a call-toarms for all experts, but it also may serve as a way and means to communicate with individuals in

other disciplines with whom one must join forces to address our common predicament saving Earth, our only one planet. Against all the odds, it is essential to make it clear those basic studies (tools) is the foundation on which informed environmental decisions must rely on the greater are the applied needs, the more important it becomes. Unless it is thoroughly applied for with strict compliance based on a sound groundwork, efforts to manage the environment are bound to fail. There is no room for failure since we only have one Earth, none other. It is of interest to characterize these different tools in order to formally be able to take note and comprehend their relations, and the suitability for these tools in different situations and applications. On the basis of its context, these tools represent snapshots in time. As such, they may consider the whole time frame wherein a product or project has an impact or not. The result of the analysis may then be used in retro- (descriptive) or prospective (change-oriented) ways. The former plays a significant role in accounting and/or monitoring, keeping the record of its progress, which can be worthwhile when examining for desirable changes in production as an example resulting to changes in behavior or policies and even indicating sustainable growth. The prospective approach, on the one hand, is seeking to foresee forthcoming situations and can thereby assist comparison between different new products, plans, and/or projects. Remember, there is no single approach or approaches able to address all problems connecting and concerning the environment. In many situations, it suffice to say that the use one tool is sufficient enough, but being aware of its shortcomings, yet may be wise and suitable to use two or more tools that complement or supplement each others results even though one may encounter difficulties in assembling the tools involve. Most often this is handled by simply omitting difficult impact categories. Omission probably may mean decreased on its impact concerned. Like for instance, Ecological footprints may give a hint of land requirement, performing a whole analysis or picking relevant parts while MIPS and Emergy analysis may also give information on parts of resource use not often covered within a LCA. On the other context of the case, Exergy analysis may sometimes even be used as a characterization of abiotic resource impacts in a LCA. In closing, many of the environmental problems that encounter human society are profoundly ecological in nature. The emergent human population and its cumulative use and misuse of resources are utilizing remarkable stresses on Earth's life support capacity. Every individual must now grow the awareness required to preserve, safeguard and astutely manage Earth's resources. Every citizens, policy makers, and resource managers all need to make choices regarding the Earth's resources, but such choices cannot be made successfully without the central considerations of the ways in which the natural systems of Earth are affected by humans self-indulgent activities. Basic studies are the foundation on which learned environmental decisions must be centered on strict applications and considerations. Save the Earth.