Summary
of Studies for
Robert
J. Klee, Fiessinger Scholarship Winner 1999
(Dr. Robert Klee received his Ph.D. in 2001 and entered the Law School at Yale, focusing on Environmental Law.)
(Final report - summer 2001)
Warning signs are increasingly evident that rapid exploitation of resources and the voluminous generation of wastes by our industrial society cannot be sustained indefinitely. Quantifying this sinking feeling and translating it into environmental policy will be a daunting challenge. My research begins such quantification by studying one of the few industrial systems on the planet where systematic measurement is possible, namely the scientific research stations in Antarctica. In my research, I am collecting and analyzing industrial material flow data from fifteen countries that operate industrial centers (i.e. scientific research stations) in Antarctica. These industrial centers -- akin to miniature cities -- employ all the basic industrial activities of our technological society. However, as a result an international environmental protocol, each of the countries that conduct scientific research on the ice has now adopted the backpacker philosophy of “pack-it in, pack-it out, and try to leave no trace behind.” These countries must keep accurate records of the materials they bring onto and remove from the ice, and they must have plans in place for the handling and management of these materials. Furthermore, this and any other information on a country’s Antarctic activity must be made freely available to all interested parties, in the name of science and peaceful coexistence on the ice. Antarctica is arguably the only place on our planet that has systematic, non-proprietary data regarding the flows of materials into and out of its industrial centers. The continent of Antarctica thus serves as a unique “petri-dish” in which to study the movement and eventual fate of materials in industrial society.
I will use this basic information on industrial activity to
create quantitative measures of sustainability. Only through measurement will we be able to know where we
were, where we are, and where we are going. Furthermore, sustainability is a
global problem that will require a global perspective to create innovative and
equitable environmental policy. My
research offers the unique opportunity to observe and quantify multi-national
environmental philosophies, management tools, and implementation programs
focused around a common problem of operating an industrial center in Antarctica.
In the future, these and other quantitative measures of sustainability
may help shape environmental policy to transition our industrial society towards
sustainability. The generous support from the Environmental Research and
Education Foundation has allowed me to perform the research described above, and
has helped me prepare the academic publications below (in press, submitted,
or in preparation).
Klee RJ and Shears J
(2001). Industrial materials flows and environmental management
alternatives for the British Antarctic Survey in Antarctica.
Manuscript in preparation.
Graedel TE and
Klee RJ (2001). Getting serious about sustainability. Submitted to Environmental Science & Technology.
Graedel TE and Klee RJ
(2001). Elemental cycles: A status report on natural or human
dominance. Submitted to Global
Biogeochemical Cycles.
Klee RJ (2001). Industrial metabolism on ice: A case study of industrial materials flows and environmental management alternatives for Scott Base, New Zealand’s Antarctic research station. The Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. In press (June 2001).