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Earth systems engineering and management (ESEM) is a discipline used to analyze, design, engineer and manage complex environmental systems. It entails a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, engineering, environmental science, ethics and philosophy. At its core, ESEM looks to "rationally design and manage coupled human-natural systems in a highly integrated and ethical fashion" 〔Gorman, Michael. (2004). ''Syllabus Spring Semester 2004''. Retrieved October 29, 2005 from http://repo-nt.tcc.virginia.edu/classes/ESEM/syllabus.html.〕 ESEM is a newly emerging area of study that has taken root at the University of Virginia, Cornell and other universities throughout the United States. Founders of Earth Systems Engineering & Management are Braden Allenby and Michael Gorman.〔Dr. Michael Gorman is currently a professor at the University of Virginia. He is with the School of Engineering and Applied Science in the department of Science, Technology and Society. He teaches STS 300, Earth Systems Engineering & Management, STS 401, Western Technology and Culture and STS 402, The Engineer in Society. Dr. Gorman's research interests include experimental simulations of scientific reasoning, described in his book Simulating Science (Indiana UP, 1992) and case studies of ethics, invention and discovery, which are described in his book Transforming Nature (Kluwer, 1998). He is the faculty advisor for a graduate program, Societal and Ethical Dimensions of Systems Engineering. (Excerpted from http://lisa.sts.virginia.edu/stshome/tiki-index.php?page=Michael+Gorman)〕 In the UK, the (Centre for Earth Systems Engineering Research ) (CESER) at Newcastle University has a large ESEM programme, led by (Professor Richard Dawson ).〔 (Richard Dawson ) is Professor of Earth Systems Engineering at Newcastle University and Director of the Centre for Earth Systems Engineering Research. His work has focused on developing adaptation solutions to ensure of structure and cities are resilient and sustainable in the face of intensifying global change.〕 ==Introduction to ESEM== For centuries now, mankind has been utilizing the earth and its natural resources to advance civilization and develop technology. "As a principle result of Industrial Revolutions and associated changes in human demographics, technology systems, cultures, and economic systems have been the evolution of an Earth in which the dynamics of major natural systems are increasingly dominated by human activity".〔 In many ways, ESEM views the earth as a human artifact. "In order to maintain continued stability of both natural and human systems, we need to develop the ability to rationally design and manage coupled human-natural systems in a highly integrated and ethical fashion- an Earth Systems Engineering and Management (ESEM) capability".〔 Over the past five years, the concept of Earth Systems Engineering and Management has been developed by a few individuals. One of particular note is Braden Allenby. Allenby holds that the foundation upon which ESEM is built is the notion that “the Earth, as it now exists, is a product of human design”.〔 * Allenby, B. R. (2005). Reconstructing earth : Technology and environment in the age of humans. Washington, DC: Island Press. From http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip059/2005006241.html〕 In fact there are no longer any natural systems left in the world, “there are no places left on Earth that don’t fall under humanity’s shadow”.〔Allenby, B. R. (2000, Winter). Earth systems engineering and management. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 0278-0079(Winter) 10-24.〕 “So the question is not, as some might wish, whether we should begin ESEM, because we have been doing it for a long time, albeit unintentionally. The issue is whether we will assume the ethical responsibility to do ESEM rationally and responsibly”.〔 Unlike the traditional engineering and management process “which assume a high degree of knowledge and certainty about the systems behavior and a defined endpoint to the process,” ESEM “will be in constant dialog with (systems ), as they – and we and our cultures – change and coevolve together into the future”.〔 ESEM is a new concept, however there are a number of fields “such as industrial ecology, adaptive management, and systems engineering that can be relied on to enable rapid progress in developing” ESEM as a discipline.〔 The premise of ESEM is that science and technology can provide successful and lasting solutions to human-created problems such as environmental pollution and climate-change. This assumption has recently been challenged in ''Techno-Fix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment''〔Huesemann, Michael H., and Joyce A. Huesemann (2011). (''Technofix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment'' ), New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada, ISBN 0865717044.〕 ESEM, as all technological control and manipulation, causes unintended and inherently unavoidable negative consequences. Furthermore, due to the limitations of reductionist science, it is inherently impossible to predict all negative impacts of ESEM. Consequently, ESEM can be considered a high-risk technological fix, which attempts to address symptoms of the planetary environmental crisis rather than root causes, which are dysfunctional human behavior such as human overpopulation and overconsumption. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「earth systems engineering and management」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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