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Summary The present article investigates to what extent and level of success urban mining—the recovery of resources from anthropogenic stock—has been applied in the past during shortages of primary resources. As a case study, the Austrian economy during World War I—when raw materials indeed had to be substituted from secondary sources—is analyzed here. By means of material flow analysis, the management of copper, an important and relatively scarce metal that is difficult to substitute, is examined. The combination of increased demand for copper (for ammunition) and constraints on supply from sources other than the domestic anthroposphere highlights the importance of planning for and surveying urban mining activities. The results also indicate limitations to extracting a large share of copper from the anthroposphere, even in the face of a critical shortage. Although extreme measures, such as confiscation, were taken, only 1.7 kilograms of copper per capita (kg Cu/cap), amounting to perhaps as little as 10% of the anthropogenic stock, could be made available through the end of the war.

High-quality food and general good health are fundamental needs that have to be satisfied if society is to attain a high standard of living. Accordingly, a great deal of effort is expended in order to guarantee a high quality of food and ensure healthy living conditions. Among other things, these efforts entail massive substance flows. Significant substance flows are connected with the production and consumption of food and can be regarded from an economic, social, or environmental point of view. Substance flows are a part of both nature and the anthroposphere. This study demonstrates that food production at present is not linked to societal issues of production and sustainability; rather, it shows that a systematic approach and an analysis of issues and measures to be taken are required. This interconnectedness can be described as a timescape, in analogy to a landscape. For proper orientation in a landscape, a map is helpful, especially in combination with a compass. In the same way, we need a temporal orientation. Time scales serve as a compass to give orientation. A complete temporal analysis that includes all relevant temporalities provides the information that is encoded in a map. What has to be learned and exercised is the reading of such temporal maps. One method of doing this is temporal impact analysis (TIA). Temporal impact analysis brings issues that are not normally focused on into the foreground. It allows a better understanding of the implications of certain substance flows and the measures necessary for their management, and it provides an opportunity to develop a more sustainable management of substance flows.

In the Anthropocene era 73% of the Earth's surface has been changed by Man into various forms of “novel ecosystems” such as agrocenosis, urbanized centers and transport pathways. These are characterized by degradation of the hydrological cycle, emission of nutrients and pollutants, which result in a drastic reduction of biodiversity and ecosystem services for societies. Due to seasonal changes of the hydrological cycle, river floodplains are the most dynamic, resilient and diversified ecosystems. Their role in providing food has been known from the beginning of human civilization. The importance of reducing extreme event impacts, such as floods and droughts, to river purification is well recognized. However, there is still a further need for insights of these and other processes under changing climatic conditions. Therefore, “engineering harmony” between river valley ecosystems and societies (UN MDGs) requires solutions from integrative, transdisciplinary science such as ecohydrology, a sub-discipline of sustainability science focused on ecological aspects of the hydrological cycle, based on: - integration of specific knowledge of various disciplines with special consideration of the economic aspects, - understanding of the past (e.g., cultural heritage , paleohydrology, ecological succession patterns), - considering society's priorities vs. ecosystem carrying capacity, and, - identification of future scenarios applying systemic-approach and “foresight” methodology. The reversal of world wide degradation of floodplains should become an encouraging case for development of sustainability science, fundamental for mutual co-evolution of the ecosphere and anthroposphere .

The material stocks in the anthroposphere are growing faster than ever due to urbanization and growing per capita use. Owing to the growing potential insecurity of raw material supply the evaluation of resources gains increasing attention. Despite growing utilization of anthropogenic deposits, ‘urban mining’ has not yet sufficiently been supported by specific exploration methods. An exploration method for anthropogenic deposits is proposed and described by application to the copper stocks of Switzerland. The method combines material flow analysis with a bottom‐up analysis of material stocks. The stock composition and temporal characteristics are analysed by surveys and literature analysis. The stock amounts to 269±31 kg capita−1 for the year 2000. The retrospective data are used as parameters to construct a dynamic stock model, which is calibrated by historical trade statistics. The potential for drafting scenarios is discussed. The stock situation in Switzerland is reviewed and compared with that of othe...

After nearly three decades of discussion about sustainable development are we any nearer to achieving it? And do we even know what a sustainable world will look like for future generations? Early definitions of sustainable development were so broad as to allow a range of interpretations based largely on individual interests and anthropocentric needs. We are measuring the performance of countless indicators of sustainable development, but is this more an exercise in applying data than meaningful progress? This article explores the ultimate goals of sustainable development and the most important means of achieving this by analyzing and comparing two frameworks designed to direct attention to the fundamental means and the ends of sustainable development.

ResumenEste artículo es una revisión de los antecedentes históricos y la evolución del concepto de metabolismo de los sistemas humanos, hasta el metabolismo de la antropósfera y su descripción en términos del Análisis de Flujo de Materiales (AFM). Se presentan diferentes experiencias a nivel internacional y nacional que evidencian la aplicabilidad del método. Se muestra cómo el AFM es un método flexible adecuado para la gestión ambiental en diferentes sectores, el cual puede ser empleado para el análisis integral de los problemas ambientales generados por la actividad del hombre y para detectar o estimar los flujos y los stocks de materiales que pueden ser indeseables o potencialmente peligrosos. Esto permite el establecimiento de estrategias eficientes de gestión de flujos de materiales desde el punto de vista de la sostenibilidad, realizando una estimación de los flujos actuales de materiales para anticipar problemas ambientales y emprender acciones tempranas.AbstractThis paper is a review of the historical background and the evolution of the concept of metabolism applied to human systems, till the evaluation of the metabolism of the antrophosphere using the methodology of Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Different international and national experiences that are evidence of the applicability of the method are presented. We show that the MFA is a flexible and suitable tool for environmental management that can be applied as a tool for the comprehensive analysis of the environmental problems generated by human activity. Additionally, the MFA can be used to detect and estimate material flows and stock of material that could be undesirable or potentially dangerous, allowing the establishment of efficient management strategies material flows from the point of view of sustainability and making an estimate of future emissions to anticipate problems and take early action.ResumoEste artigo é uma revisão do contexto histórico da evolução do conceito de metabolismo dos sistemas humanos, até o metabolismo da antroposfera e sua descrição em termos do Análise de Fluxo de Materiais (MFA). São apresentados diferentes experiências a nível internacional e nacional que demostram a aplicabilidade do método. Mostra-se como o AFM é uma abordagem flexível adequado à gestão ambiental em diferentes setores, que pode ser usado para a análise integral dos problemas ambientais gerados pela atividade do homem para detectar ou estimar os fluxos e estoques de materiais eles podem ser indesejáveis ou potencialmente perigosos. Isso permite o estabelecimento de estratégias eficientes de gestão de fluxo de materiais do ponto de vista da sustentabilidade, fazendo uma estimativa dos fluxos atuais de matérias para antecipar problemas ambientais e tomar medidas mais cedo. ResumenEste artículo es una revisión de los antecedentes históricos y la evolución del concepto de metabolismo de los sistemas humanos, hasta el metabolismo de la antropósfera y su descripción en términos del Análisis de Flujo de Materiales (AFM). Se presentan diferentes experiencias a nivel internacional y nacional que evidencian la aplicabilidad del método. Se muestra cómo el AFM es un método flexible adecuado para la gestión ambiental en diferentes sectores, el cual puede ser empleado para el análisis integral de los problemas ambientales generados por la actividad del hombre y para detectar o estimar los flujos y los stocks de materiales que pueden ser indeseables o potencialmente peligrosos. Esto permite el establecimiento de estrategias eficientes de gestión de flujos de materiales desde el punto de vista de la sostenibilidad, realizando una estimación de los flujos actuales de materiales para anticipar problemas ambientales y emprender acciones tempranas.AbstractThis paper is a review of the historical background and the evolution of the concept of metabolism applied to human systems, till the evaluation of the metabolism of the antrophosphere using the methodology of Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Different international and national experiences that are evidence of the applicability of the method are presented. We show that the MFA is a flexible and suitable tool for environmental management that can be applied as a tool for the comprehensive analysis of the environmental problems generated by human activity. Additionally, the MFA can be used to detect and estimate material flows and stock of material that could be undesirable or potentially dangerous, allowing the establishment of efficient management strategies material flows from the point of view of sustainability and making an estimate of future emissions to anticipate problems and take early action.ResumoEste artigo é uma revisão do contexto histórico da evolução do conceito de metabolismo dos sistemas humanos, até o metabolismo da antroposfera e sua descrição em termos do Análise de Fluxo de Materiais (MFA). São apresentados diferentes experiências a nível internacional e nacional que demostram a aplicabilidade do método. Mostra-se como o AFM é uma abordagem flexível adequado à gestão ambiental em diferentes setores, que pode ser usado para a análise integral dos problemas ambientais gerados pela atividade do homem para detectar ou estimar os fluxos e estoques de materiais eles podem ser indesejáveis ou potencialmente perigosos. Isso permite o estabelecimento de estratégias eficientes de gestão de fluxo de materiais do ponto de vista da sustentabilidade, fazendo uma estimativa dos fluxos atuais de matérias para antecipar problemas ambientais e tomar medidas mais cedo.

Fear of scarcity of resources highlight the need to exploit secondary materials from urban mines in the anthroposphere. Analogous to primary mines rich in one type of material (e.g. copper, gold, etc.), some urban mines are unique/distinct. We introduce, illustrate and discuss the concept of Distinct Urban Mines (DUM). Using the example of a university DUM in the UK, analogous to a primary mine, we illustrate potential product/material yields in respect of size, concentration and spatial location of the mine. Product ownership and replacement cycles for 17 high-value electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) among students showed that 20 tonnes of valuable e-waste were in stockpile in this DUM and a further 87 tonnes would ‘soon’ be available for exploitation. We address the opportunities and challenges of exploiting DUMs and conclude that they are readily available reservoirs for resource recovery. Two original contributions arise from this work: (i) a novel approach to urban mining with a potential for maximising resource recovery within the anthroposphere is conceptualised; and (ii) previously unavailable data for high-value products for a typical university DUM are presented and analysed.

The article presents the philosophical and methodological model of the anthropological crisis caused by social and cultural transformation of the modern civilization. It analyses the essence and cause of the anomie and social orienting cultural regulatory mechanisms in the social system. The authors consider existential characteristics of the individual in the new “innovative” social space and specify transformation vectors of the innovative civilization. The study suggests that the innovative civilization should be considered as a stage of social development and a type of social organization, based on the achievements of the technological civilization, however, it is filled with new socio-humanistic contents. The results obtained will serve as a theoretical and methodological basis for further fundamental studies of possible risks, threats and prospects in the development of the innovative civilization.

Natural resources are the non-substitutable biophysical basis for our economy growth. Transforming current unsustainable economies requires changes to technologies that are thermodynamically speaking a conversion of natural resources from the ecosphere into products and services to meet human needs in the anthroposphere. Certain conditions of thermodynamic change should be respected to ensure the environmental sustainability of technologies. This chapter presents how to use natural resources, particularly non-renewable resources, as a basis to formulate such an environmental indicator. Cumulative exergy demand of non-renewable resources is introduced as an environmental indicator that measures the thermodynamic change in the environment caused by technologies in terms of the extraction of exergy of fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, metal ores, and minerals from the environment and the emission of heat to the environment. The case of global liquid biofuel production is studied to demonstrate the feasibility of the environmental indicator.

The global biosphere has begun to change fundamentally as a consequence of human actions. This change can be understood as a consequence of a major transition in the evolution of life on Earth, the emergence of human language, which opened up new pathways of biological information transmission. The challenge facing the humans species now is to not just suffer the consequences of this change, but to develop a science of Earth system analysis that will allow the collective, globally networked reflective capacity of humans to chart paths into the future that are sustainable. Global observation and computer modelling are important elements of this process. Such models for the biosphere predict large-scale reorganisation of the functional composition of the terrestrial biosphere under strong anthropogenic climate change. Considering the advent of humans and of global change on the background of the past evolution of life on Earth, it is obvious that the co-evolution between geosphere and biosphere that has characterised Earth history in the past has expanded to include the anthroposphere as a third interacting element.

Welcome to this Special Issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education, dedicated to discussing Earth system science education: its present state and future directions. Due to the diversity and complexity of Earth system processes, scientists and educators commonly are required to comprehend and apply knowledge of the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and anthroposphere in their research and in the classroom. The exciting and integrative aspects of Earth system science enter with the recognition that none of these spheres occurs in isolation; instead, they interact to produce the Earth system, in a grand "symphony of the spheres." The symphony metaphor can be used to describe the concordant physical, biological, chemical and social processes that define conditions on our planet. Just as each instrument in a symphony works in concert with the others to make polyphonic music, so to do elements of air, water, land and fife act and interact to create the Earth system that operates in harmony on a planetary scale. Whether symphony or planet Earth, the ensemble of interrelated states ana processes produces a complexly woven music that collectively makes the group far more interesting and dynamic than any of the parts. Of course the metaphor has limitations, and there are important differences between a symphony and the Earth system, including issues of direction (e.g., lack of a score in the Earth system), scale and complexity. A student of the symphony has a fundamentally finite task when listening and examining the musical score to extract a theme, a melody or a variation. A student of music can even experiment with the score to examine the effect of individual instruments or sections on the final symphonic performance. The student of the Earth system, however, has a much more daunting task. The nearly infinite combined effects of a myriad of complex processes defy simple analysis, and direct, controlled experiments upon the system as a whole are impossible. Yet, careful observation of the Earth system coupled with an understanding of physical, chemical and biological principles has given rise to complex models of air, water, land and life processes that can be used to predict the state, process and evolution of the system overall. Indeed, the study of Earth system science can be considered exploration in itself as deeper or more subtle relationships and dependencies within and among the spheres emerge. Developing student understanding of these spheres and their linkages is a central focus of Earth system science. Hence, at its finest, Earth system science education engages scientists and educators in the collaborative interdisciplinary development and offering of courses and learning resources focused on understanding and application of Earth system and global change science in the classroom and laboratory. This special issue focuses on exploring exemplary courses, curricula, degree programs, learning resources and programs centered on Earth system science education. Papers include demonstration of effective technological tools, techniques facilitating systems thinking, and pedagogical approaches. Authors address diverse topics and questions including: How is Earth system science defined and what are appropriate strategies for conveying this concept to students? What are the most productive instructional technologies, and how and when are they best applied? What are effective means to teach students of the connectivity among spatial and temporal scales and on linkages among the spheres? Our solicitation expressed special interest in papers describing lessons learned in: developing and sharing content; utilizing Earth system science topics to engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning; and in building working interdisciplinary partnerships, as well as papers that pursued formal evaluation of Earth system science learning materials and programs overall. …

Today, global climate change is one of the most urgent environmental problems. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has to be stabilised by significant reductions of CO 2 emissions in the next decades to keep the expected temperature rise within tolerable borders. Efforts exceeding the implemented measures to reduce CO 2 emissions in Germany are desirable. An important pre-condition for such measures is a scientific-based inventory of the sources, sinks, and use of carbon. In this paper, we present CarboMoG, i.e. Carbon Flow Model of Germany. CarboMoG is a carbon flow model covering carbon flows, carbon sources and sinks in Germany and the German anthroposphere, showing concurrent energy and non-energy use of carbon sources. The model consists of seven modules in German anthroposphere following the German classification of economic sectors. Carbon flows to and from atmosphere and lithosphere as well as imports and exports were included into the model. The model comprises roughly 220 material flows determined based on material flow procedures for the base year 2000. Main sources of carbon are fossil energy carriers from lithosphere and uptake of CO 2 by crops (52% resp. 48% of all carbon sources). The model calculations show that import of energy carriers dominates total carbon import to Germany (82%). Total non-energy use of carbon in Germany is significantly higher than energy use (386 Mt C and 230 Mt C, resp.). Carbon throughput of Industry is greatest (about 224 Mt C input), followed by Energy (about 129 Mt C input). Agriculture and Forestry & Industry show the highest figure for non-energy use of carbon, energy use of carbon is largest in the Energy sector. Emissions of CO 2 to atmosphere account for 94% of all carbon flows to sinks in Germany. Carbon accumulates in German anthroposphere 5 Mt C in 2000.

This paper compares the heuristic potential of three metaphorical paired concepts used in the relevant literature to characterise global relationships between the anthroposphere and the ecosphere. Methodologically, the guiding question is whether and to what extent metaphorical theses can support an arrival at hypotheses which accurately reflect reality and possess explanatory force. The predator-prey model implies that the populations of two species in such a relationship in principle exhibit coupled oscillations, giving prey populations the possibility of periodic regeneration. For some time, however, the most important indicators of human destruction of nature have been showing a relentless upward trend which appears to render the tumour-host metaphor more appropriate. Another fact which favours this analogy is that a tumour develops within its host and from its host's normal cells, in a similar way to the emergence of the anthroposphere from within the biosphere. But the parasite-host analogy also allows the formulation of fruitful hypotheses, since ecological parasitology is equally familiar with varieties of autoaggressive interaction and provides a means of focusing particularly on the adelphoparasitic hierarchy within the anthroposphere.

A global unified metamodel of the biosphere (GUMBO) was developed to simulate the integrated earth system and assess the dynamics and values of ecosystem services. It is a ‘metamodel’ in that it represents a synthesis and a simplification of several existing dynamic global models in both the natural and social sciences at an intermediate level of complexity. The current version of the model contains 234 state variables, 930 variables total, and 1715 parameters. GUMBO is the first global model to include the dynamic feedbacks among human technology, economic production and welfare, and ecosystem goods and services within the dynamic earth system. GUMBO includes modules to simulate carbon, water, and nutrient fluxes through the Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, and Biosphere of the global system. Social and economic dynamics are simulated within the Anthroposphere. GUMBO links these five spheres across eleven biomes, which together encompass the entire surface of the planet. The dynamics of eleven major ecosystem goods and services for each of the biomes are simulated and evaluated. Historical calibrations from 1900 to 2000 for 14 key variables for which quantitative time-series data was available produced an average R2 of 0.922. A range of future scenarios representing different assumptions about future technological change, investment strategies and other factors have been simulated. The relative value of ecosystem services in terms of their contribution to supporting both conventional economic production and human well-being more broadly defined were estimated under each scenario, and preliminary conclusions drawn. The value of global ecosystem services was estimated to be about 4.5 times the value of Gross World Product (GWP) in the year 2000 using this approach. The model can be downloaded and run on the average PC to allow users to explore for themselves the complex dynamics of the system and the full range of policy assumptions and scenarios.

The Music of the Spheres was a model of the universe proposed by Pythagoras and Aristotle, which explained cosmology in terms of spheres to which the sun, the moon and the planets were pinned, while their motion was driven by something akin to music. Modern thinking, related to ecology and industrial ecology, has metaphorically breathed life back into this old model by speaking about spheres again: biosphere, geosphere, anthroposphere, technosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, etc. Sustainable development also speaks about its three pillars (economy, environment, society) represented in a Venn diagram as intersecting circles (or spheres). All these models differ from the models of physicists, as they are more conceptual diagrams than a representation of the world as it is. Thus, they remind us of the old Music of the Spheres model. They also stress connections, exchanges, equilibria between the spheres – or the lack of them –, like Pythagoras’ music. The presentation will discuss these various approaches, see how they match to some extent, but also how they do not show a perfect fit. Analyzing what happens at the boundaries of the spheres, where they overlap or penetrate into each other, is a powerful way to analyze the connection between technology, society, life and ecosystems. It can also help discuss pollution, ecotoxicology and explore global solutions.

Dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) is a frequently used method to assess past, present, and future stocks and flows of metals in the anthroposphere. Over the past fifteen years, dynamic MFA has contributed to increased knowledge about the quantities, qualities, and locations of metal-containing goods. This article presents a literature review of the methodologies applied in 60 dynamic MFAs of metals. The review is based on a standardized model description format, the ODD (overview, design concepts, details) protocol. We focus on giving a comprehensive overview of modeling approaches and structure them according to essential aspects, such as their treatment of material dissipation, spatial dimension of flows, or data uncertainty. The reviewed literature features similar basic modeling principles but very diverse extrapolation methods. Basic principles include the calculation of outflows of the in-use stock based on inflow or stock data and a lifetime distribution function. For extrapolating stocks and flows, authors apply constant, linear, exponential, and logistic models or approaches based on socioeconomic variables, such as regression models or the intensity-of-use hypothesis. The consideration and treatment of further aspects, such as dissipation, spatial distribution, and data uncertainty, vary significantly and highly depends on the objectives of each study.

Climate change impacts for the Anthroposphere are significant and it is very likely that these impacts are leading to structural damages as well as enhanced threats to human health. Particularly, the poor, elderly and chronically ill will suffer from the higher frequency and magnitude of summer heat waves. A varying potential for the spread of yet non-endemic infectious diseases is very likely, as well as an increased potential for the (further) extension of allergenic plant and animal species. Climate change will very likely trigger increased migration from developing and newly industrialized countries to Europe. To which extent this will lead to more immigration to Austria will depend on policies at the EU- and national levels. The economic impacts of climate change in Austria will very likely produce both winners and losers. However, more precise assessments of the economic impacts are currently only available for certain sectors. The agriculture and electricity production sectors show very moderate GDP-alterations directly in their sectors as well as downstream. The tourism sector is very likely to exhibit stronger changes within the sector and also with other up- and downstream sectors (e.g., energy supply and gastronomy). Within the sector a shift is expected from winter to summer tourism as well as regionally from the west (dominated by winter tourism) to the east with seasonally more diversified tourism. The natural hazard- and weather-related damages observed during the last 30 years depend only to a certain extent on higher frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events. A large share of the damage increase is related to growing wealth and higher assets of the population. The most damaging events have been floods followed by avalanches, while the largest human casualties have been induced by heat waves. Regulations and planning standards (e.g., building-regulation and spatial planning) play a fundamental role in hazard control and disaster risk reduction. Settlement areas in Austria will very likely be most affected by more intense heat waves, while some regions will be further burdened by constraints in drinking water supply. Traffic infrastructures in Austria are very vulnerable to mass movements and flooding, triggered by heavy precipitation events, which are expected to increase in the future. To which extent frequency and magnitude of such events may increase remains uncertain. Instead, the challenge for energy infrastructures in a warmer and during summer potentially dryer Austria is very likely to be substantial. Higher energy demand during heat waves corresponds with supply constraints (due to less effective cooling water supply), while the threat for power distribution networks because of flash-overs will be particularly high especially during thunder storms at the end of summer heat waves and droughts when cooling demand is at peak.

Metals have rapidly accumulated in the anthroposphere, especiallyin urban areas, indicating possible environmental and resource problems. Here, Stockholm City was chosen for a case study of urban metal flows, i.e. metal inflow to, metals in the stock of,and metal outflow from the anthroposphere to the biosphere. Themetal stock of Stockholm is large and still growing. The large amounts of metals in the solid waste fraction totally dominatethe outflow from the city. For major parts of the stock, the emissions from goods in use are negligible. There are, however,goods applications corresponding to significant emissions: e.g. the traffic sector (Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb), the tapwater system (Cu), roofs/fronts or other metal surfaces (Cu, Zn). Today's known metal flows from the anthroposphere of Stockholm to the biosphere and sewage sludge are quantitatively dominated by Zn(34 ton y-1) and Cu (14 ton y-1). Historical and present emissions have resulted in high metal concentrations insediments (especially Cd, Hg and Pb, but also Cu and Zn), groundwater (Cu, Hg) and in soils (Hg, Cu, Pb). At present theannual median concentrations are below the Swedish limits for metals in sewage sludge, even if the safety margins aresmall for Cd, Hg and to some extent Cu. The flows of Cu and Zn to Stockholm soils are high with a significant accumulationindicating an environmental impact in a longer time perspective.High levels of metals in surface sediments in the waterenvironments reflects an ongoing input where these metals aretransported from known (Cu, Zn) and or partly unknown (Cd, Hg, Pb) sources. In future urban areas, monitoring of metal flows must be performed both in the anthroposphere and the biospherein order to have a pro active approach to urban environmentalproblems and to get prompt answers to measures taken.

So-called phenomenological approaches to the understanding of social and spatial relations usually deal with these in terms of ‘mental space’, ‘existential space’, ‘social space’ and so on. These modes of space are regarded as ‘subjective’, ‘soft’ and short on the ‘hard’ mathematical, geometric or objective properties that give spatial analysis a rigorous analytical capability. I argue here that this misrepresents and misunderstands a central principle of phenomenology and overlooks phenomenology’s potential to objectively map us in our world. In its essence phenomenology is founded on the relation of intentionality. It is not necessarily about an interior mentality at all but about a subject-object relation in the world. The model that says there is an interior subjective or imaginative realm on the one hand and an exterior objective, physical or real one on the other, between which relations must be established for human knowledge or action to be produced, is replaced by one in which a perfectly real subject at one end of an intentional relation is connected to a perfectly real object at the other. A different phenomenology of places would be about how these relations between subjects and objects are structured and intentional knowledge and action mediated in the world. It would be about the environmental relation where the notion of ‘environment’ is captured in the relations between intentional subjects and the objects of those subjects’ attention and intention. I argue that this is eventually about how we order and construct human ‘worlds’ technologically and spatially so that we may effectively inhabit and use them. These ‘worlds’ exist as whole networks of subjects and objects, in part-whole, mutually constitutive, relations with ‘worlds’. The translation of the intentional relation into geography and urbanism involves us in an historical process of the construction of metageographical structures through which subjects establish and order their knowledge of and practices in the world. Enclosures, divisions and connections made by us in the world have shaped these structures and established the geographical and urban frames of our lives. This requires us to understand the human world as an historical construction, an anthroposphere, of regions and places, as equipment for framing our knowledge of the world and our local and translocal actions in it. I start by looking critically at social relations as these are imagined today, finding their origins in an Enlightenment metaphysics which bifurcates nature into mental and corporeal realms, and suggest an alternative founded in this reassessment of phenomenology. This alternative centres our attention on the anthroposphere as a construction, and a topological ‘structure of places’, organised as a layering of places and infrastructural ‘grids’ into a set of normative ‘levels’ which have a metageographical, intelligibility-giving and practice-defining character. ‘Structures of places’, ‘grids’ and ‘levels’ are perfectly objective and mappable and are proposed as the foundation of a new phenomenological urban and geographical model.

In 1987 ETHZ, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, first offered a degree course in environmental sciences. The curriculum is based upon a comprehensive view of the environment and its systems. The first two years of the programme cover a multidisciplinary basic education in mathematics, natural and social sciences. For their advanced education in the fifth to nineth semesters the students select one of four science disciplines (Chemistry/Microbiology, Physics, Biology or Environmental Hygiene) and one of four environmental systems (Aquatic Systems, Atmosphere, Terrestrial Systems or Anthroposphere). The education in natural sciences is accompanied by a compulsory case study, which is implemented as a didactic tool to teach ecological problem-solving, and courses in environmental social sciences and environmental technology. During the professional practical training of about four months, students gain insight into the constraints of a professional environment. In the tenth semester a diploma project - equivalent to a master's thesis - is carried out.

In the framework of the Danube Environmental Program a study on the Nutrient Balances for the Danube Countries has been completed. The method of materials accounting was applied to calculate nutrient flows (including emissions into surface waters) which is based on mass balances among different components of the anthroposphere and its environment. The evaluation indicated the significant role of uncertainties and errors of various sources which are determined primarily by methodological and data related reasons. Thus, even if the entire system is numerically balanced, the procedure can lead to incorrect results (which remain hidden). To demonstrate the role of uncertainties, one component of the system, the agricultural sector was chosen. Eight major input and output nutrient flows were involved (such as agricultural nutrient discharges into surface and groundwater, and tropospheric losses). These flows (which are not independent of each other) can be estimated from linear and non linear functions of statistical data and a large number of parameters in a wide uncertainty range. To perform an error analysis, traditional (sensitivity analysis) and Monte Carlo simulations were combined. The relative contribution of the errors of parameters was analyzed. Conclusions were drawn on the applicability of the materials accounting for the estimation of agricultural N and P emissions into surface waters and cross-checking of the different propagation ways become possible.

A method to analyse the ecological sustainability of a regional economy is presented. It uses input–output models for evaluation of the region together with descriptive indices of the environmental pressures caused by the region. Environmental pressures considered are those that can be described as material flows from the anthroposphere to the ecosphere. The dissipation area index is introduced as a tool for an aggregated evaluation of these flows. The index evaluates the flows of different substances based on reference systems of the natural environment. In order to allow a clear and consistent evaluation with these instruments, a typology of a region's responsibility for environmental pressures is proposed. It distinguishes responsibility for direct and indirect environmental pressures and for environmental pressures inside and outside the boundaries of the region. The implications of various principles of regional responsibility are discussed. A case study of a small Austrian region illustrates the application of the methodology.

Summary Over the last decade debate among environmental pressure groups, industry, and the authorities overthe threat posed by chlorine has become extremely polarized. In response, the Dutch minister of the environment commissioned a strategic study on chlorine. The first phase of the study described in this article, was designed as a substance flow analysis, encompassing some 99% of the flows of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) in the Netherlands. The study provided an overview of flows of CHC through the Dutch anthroposphere and to inventory the leaks to the environment. Emissions, wastestreams, exports, imports, and flows through the anthroposphere were inventoried, drawing on all possible sources including the Dutch emission registration database, life-cycle assessment (LCA) databases, and industrial data. Emissions were evaluated using the characterization step from LCA methodology. Emissions with toxicological effects were also evaluated on the basis of actual risk assessments of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM).This resulted in the establishment of six groups of priority segments in the Dutch chlorine chain, for which additional measures will be prepared. The study showed that the environmental groups' pronouncements about the structural dangers associated with the chlorine chain are not supported by current knowledge. The study however; also indicates that important areas of uncertainty require attention, especially relating to the possible emissions of persistent bioaccumulating toxic micropollutants.

Обсуждаются некоторые аспекты влияния символических конструкций, содержащихся в информационном пространстве, на динамику социоэкономических процессов. Рассмотрены также аспекты управления поведением масс через их сознательное погружение в архаику с помощью технологий виртуальной реальности., Some impact aspects of cyberspace symbolic structures on socioeconomic process dynamics are being discussed. Crowds’ behavior management aspects through their willful submergence into archaic character with virtual reality technologies are also covered.

The ability to handle fire is, along with language and the use of tools, a universal human attainment: no human society in historical times is known to have lived without it. The ability to handle fire is also exclusively human: whereas other animals use rudimentary signals and tools only humans have learned to handle fire. From the outset, mastery of fire has strengthened the position of humans in the biosphere. At the same time, it has deeply affected the relations among humans themselves. Appreciation of the control over fire is therefore essential for an understanding of both the external expansion and the concomitant long-term internal transformation of the anthroposphere. The control over fire has been essential in the emergence of agriculture and stock raising, as well as the rise of modern industry. Its implications, including both benefits and costs, are so far-reaching as to often remain unnoticed and taken for granted. This entry intends to convey the enormous importance of the fire regime for human history and its profound impact on the biosphere.

Cities are the most complex forms of settlements which man has built in the course of his cultural development. Their "metabolism" is connected with the world economy and is run mainly by fossil energy carriers. Up to now there are no validated models for the evaluation of a sustainable development of urban regions.The guidelines for a "sustainable development" suggest the reduction of resource consumption. The article is concerned with the problem of how the "sustainable-development concept" can be transformed from a global to a regional scale. In urban settlements the strategy of final storage should be applied. By this, the subsystem waste management can be transformed within 10 to 15 years to a "sustainable status".With regard to the system "agronomy", the article concludes that agriculture in urban systems should focus on food production instead of promoting reduction of food production in favour of energy plants, which is not a suitable strategy.The main problems are the energy carriers. Transformation to a "sustainble status" is only possible by a reconstruction of the urban system, i.e. of buildings and the transportation network. The rate determining step in achieving such a status is the change in the fabric of buildings and in the type of transportation networks. The reconstruction of an urban system needs, mainly for economical reasons, a time period of two generations.

Clean steels were “invented” in the middle of the 20th century, at a time when steels started to be produced en masse and when it was understood that quality should also be addressed as a special and important issue, both in terms of the strategy of the sector and as a major research topic for the science and technology that accompanies the industry. The series of Clean Steel conferences, launched in Hungary in 1970 and organized every 4 years since then, with Paul Tardy in the organizing committee or in the lead, have been providing important time markers of this evolution. Since then, major progress was made by the introduction in most steel shops of secondary or ladle metallurgy, which was invented in the process, while steel cleanliness was defined precisely in standards and textbooks. The discoveries of pioneers have become state-of-the art and, today, a steady state situation has been reached, where research continues in using new tools and methods to refine the topic, while new comers, mainly from the BRIC countries, are contributing their understanding of the topic to the international steel community. The distinction between special steels and carbon steels got blurred in this historical process, as similar secondary metallurgy tools were used for making both kinds of steels and, in essence, steel ceased to be a simple commodity and most steels became special to some extend. Clean steels have thus not become much more sophisticated recently, but rather much more common and mainstream. The expression “clean steel” stems from a vision of the purity of the metal in terms of minor elements, which had been controlled until then only at the margin compared to the major elements, iron, carbon, silicon and manganese. This is today a somewhat passeed vision as metallurgy has become a much more holistic and systemic technology, whereby steels are defined in terms of global composition, of distribution of phases, including the minor phases that are known as non-metallic inclusions, of microstructures and, more often than not, in terms of applications and properties in service. Moreover, steels have time extensions, which are discussed as life cycle or value chain and are thus embedded in the anthroposphere and its intersection with the biosphere and the geosphere. This emphasizes the fact that steels are made from raw materials, primary and secondary – thus including scrap from recycling -, that they are transformed into artifacts that participate to the life of society and eventually are disposed of at end of life to feed back into the circular economy. This holistic vision is what we call “environmental metallurgy”. It is linked to clean steel production and constitutes another dimension of the cleanliness of steel. Plenary presentation to the 9th International Conference on Clean Steel, 8–10 September 2015, Budapest, Hungary

There are many definitions for sustainability. Mathis Wackernagel, creator of the ecological footprint concept, defined sustainability as “securing people’s quality of life within the means of nature”. The United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” . Throughout this report, sustainability will be defined as the development of the anthroposphere within the means of nature.

The Anthropocene is the later part of the Holocene where human activity has become a major driver for global ecosystem development. The demand of natural resources, renewable and non-renewable, is a crucial aspect of environmental (un-) sustainability. When considering a societal transition scheme towards sustainability, bio-based options come to the fore. The article develops a global framework for the analysis of natural resource demand of global biofuels. The framework defines the biofuel system in terms of exergy at four levels, i.e., the foreground system, the supply chain, the anthroposphere, and the ecosphere. Various measures of resource demand, such as cumulative exergy demand, global and anthropogenic exergy budgets are incorporated into the framework. Based on reviews of global biofuel production and natural resource demand of the anthroposphere, the study finds that the production of conventional biofuels, i.e., first generation of biodiesel and bioethanol by key producer countries in 2008 consumed 9.32 E+11 MJ of exergy from non-renewable resources and accounted for 0.23% of the total anthropogenic non-renewable resource demand. In addition, it shows that the contribution to climate change due to the heat emission of the global biofuel production was 5.79 E-05 W/m 2, which would reach up to 0.002% of global greenhouse warming if anthropogenic heat flux is treated as a climate forcing.

Human activities exert global-scale impacts on our environment with significant implications for freshwater-driven services and hazards for humans and nature. Our approach to the science of hydrology needs to significantly change so that we can understand and predict these implications. Such an adjustment is a necessary prerequisite for the development of sustainable water resource management strategies and to achieve long-term water security for people and the environment. Hydrology requires a paradigm shift in which predictions of system behavior that are beyond the range of previously observed variability or that result from significant alterations of physical (structural) system characteristics become the new norm. To achieve this shift, hydrologists must become both synthesists, observing and analyzing the system as a holistic entity, and analysts, understanding the functioning of individual system components, while operating firmly within a well-designed hypothesis testing framework. Cross-disciplinary integration must become a primary characteristic of hydrologic research, catalyzing new research and nurturing new educational models. The test of our quantitative understanding across atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere will necessarily lie in new approaches to benchmark our ability to predict the regional hydrologic and connected implications of environmental change. To address these challenges and to serve as a catalyst to bring about the necessary changes to hydrologic science, we call for a long-term initiative to address the regional implications of environmental change.

Speaking of hybridization between humans and animals, in the ancient world (and not only in the ancient world), means referring to dealing with genetic chaos logoi of the mythic tradition. But it also means constructing human-animal boundaries in a view which anthropologists call "anthropopoietic". If Aristotle, in his "De generatione animalium", had rationalized all the beliefs dealing with extremely interspecific crossbreeding, secularizing also the ancient concept of teras and teratodes, Plutarch, in several loci of his work (e. g. Sept. Sap. Conv. 149 C ff., Bruta anim. 990 F ff., or even Per. 6, 1-5), seems to go back to a more flexible idea of nature, where prodigious births are again permitted. This does not mean an abjuration of the natural history principles which Greek philosophical tradition has fixed. Simply these principles - which are also used as rhetorical and polemical tools in the ancient debate about animal reason - are embedded in a larger theological framework, which in some ways constructs the animal as the human ideal. What happens is that, just when the animal is used in a positive light as a reversed mirror of the human, it creates a still anthropocentric moral perspective, while blurring the boundaries between "anthroposphere" and "zoosphere".

Classical ore deposits are exceptional local geochemical accumulations of highly concentrated metals of actual or potential industrial interest. This concept of exceptionality is relative to the geochemical background of ore-hosting environments. In the presumably iron-nickel Earth s core, Fe+Ni are predominant hence their accumulation is “normal”. Local accumulations of oxygen, nitrogen nd hydrogen would be exceptional. In biosphere where we live, the situation is reversed. Two end-member mechanisms are capable of causing exceptional local accumulations of metals within the present human habitat and its present technical reach (the anthroposphere)

The goal of environmental protection is to prevent damage by early recognition of possible hazards. In the present paper, the potential of materials accounting techniques to forewarn of critical loadings on water, air and soil is assessed. For this purpose, the anthropogenic and natural contributions to the metabolism of a region are measured and estimated respectively. The control of man-made material fluxes to the environment is discussed with regard to a waste management concept based on sustainable fluxes of emissions and final storage quality of landfill materials. According to the results, regional material balances are powerful tools for integrated waste management: they allow the setting of priorities in waste management by identifying important material quantities and qualities, they are the base for the design and evaluation of waste treatment technologies, they are necessary for environmental impact statements, and they allow the recognition and minimization of the overall flux of materials from the anthroposphere to the environment.

Men already outnumber women but sex ratios are set to get even more uneven. Nicholas Christakis considers the perils of our changing population

Manufactured capital stocks and their relationships to physical flows of materials and energy are of interest in the fields of industrial ecology and input-output analysis. Manufactured capital stocks embody technologies, which may be characterised by input-output (IO) relations. The rate and nature of technological and structural change in an economy are therefore related to the dynamics of these stocks. Certain capital stocks also act as substantial long-lived stores of materials in the anthroposphere. Additions to and scrapping of these stocks directly generate flows of new and used materials and wastes. This chapter is concerned with two relationships between manufactured capital stocks and material flows, and in particular, how they may be modelled in the field of industrial ecology. Examples are drawn from scenarios developed using the Australia Stocks and Flows Framework (ASFF) (Foran and Poldy 2002). Section two of this chapter deals with methodological and practical issues encountered in accounting for and modelling manufactured capital stocks. Both commonalities and differences between economic and physical perspectives on capital stocks are discussed. An example is given of historical and projected vehicle stocks in Australia. Section three deals with input-output modelling of technologies embodied in capital stocks, focussing particularly on the ‘bottom-up’ or ‘process modelling’ approach employed in ASFF. An example of process-based IO models for steel production in Australia is provided. Section four is concerned with dynamic models of stocks and flows in Industrial Ecology. A dynamic physical IO model (Lennox et al. 2004) within ASFF is described and an example of material

In 1875, the geoscientist Walter Suess introduced several spheres, such as the lithosphere and the atmosphere to promote a comprehensive understanding of the system earth. Since then, this idea became the dominating concept for the understanding of the distribution of chemical elements in the system earth. Meanwhile, due to the importance of human beings on global element fluxes, the term anthroposphere was introduced. Nevertheless, in face of the ongoing urbanization of the earth, this concept is not any more adequate enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of global element fluxes in and between solid, liquid, and gaseous phases. This article discusses a new concept integrating urbanization into the geoscientific concept of spheres.No geological exogenic force has altered the earth's surface during the last centuries in such an extent as human activity. Humans have altered the morphology and element balances of the earth by establishing agrosystems first and urban systems later. Currently, urban systems happen to become the main regulators for fluxes of many elements on a global scale due to ongoing industrial and economic development and a growing number of inhabitants. Additionally, urban systems are constantly expanding and cover more and more former natural and agricultural areas. For nature, urban systems are new phenomena, which never existed in previous geological eras. The process of the globe's urbanization concurrently is active with the global climate change. In fact, urban systems are a major emitter for climate active gases. Thus, beside the global changes in economy and society, urbanization is an important factor within the global change of nature as is already accepted for climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity.Due to the fact that urbanization has become a global process shaping the earth and that the urban systems are globally cross-linked among each other, a new geoscientific sphere has to be introduced: the astysphere. This sphere comprises the parts of the earth influenced by urban systems. Accepting urbanization as global ongoing process forming the astysphere comprehensively copes with the growing importance of urbanization on the creation of present geologic formations.Anthropogenic activities occur mainly in rural and urban environments. For long lasting periods of human history, human activities mainly were focused on hunting and agriculture, but since industrialization, urbanized areas became increasingly important for the material and energy fluxes of earth. Thus, it seems appropriate to classify the anthroposphere into an agriculturally and an urban-dominated sphere, which are the agrosphere (Krishna 2003) and the astysphere (introduced by Norra 2007).We have to realize that urban systems are deposits, consumers, and transformers of resources interacting among each other and forming a network around the globe. Since the future of human mankind depends on the sustainable use of available resources, only a global and holistic view of the cross-linked urban systems forming together the astysphere provide the necessary geoscientific background understanding for global urban material and energy fluxes. If we want to ensure worth-living conditions for future generations of mankind, we have to develop global models of the future needs for resources by the global metasystem of urban systems, called astysphere.The final vision for geoscientific research on the astysphere must be to design models describing the global process of urbanization of the earth and the development of the astysphere with respect to fluxes of materials, elements, and energy as well as with respect to the forming of the earth's face. Besides that, just from the viewpoint of fundamental research, the geoscientific concept of spheres has to be complemented by the astysphere if this concept shall fully represent the system earth.

The continued increase in the use of metals over the 20th century has led to the phenomenon of a substantial shift in metal stocks from the lithosphere to the anthroposphere. Such a shift raises social, economic, and environmental issues that cannot be addressed without quantifying the amount of stock of "metal capital" utilized by society. Estimation of the in-use stock of metals has occurred for at least 70 years, with over 70% of the publications occurring after the year 2000. Despite the long history, this is the first critical review to consolidate current findings, critique methods, and discuss future avenues of research. Only aluminum, copper, iron, lead, and zinc have been studied to any extent Nonetheless, it is clear that for the more-developed countries, the typical per capita in-use metal stock is between 10 and 15 t (mostly iron). Comparison of the per capita stocks in more-developed countries with those in less-developed countries suggests that if the total world population were to enjoy the same per capita metal stock levels as the more-developed countries, using a similar suite of technologies, the amount of global in-use metal stocks required would be 3-9 times those existing at present.

Most studies of potentially hazardous substances focus on aspects of their occurrence and fate in the environment (monitoring and modelling studies) to estimate the environmental impact and the potential exposure of humans. In order to evaluate emission sources, to recognise environmental impacts at an early stage, and to take efficient legislative or technical measures, it is essential to know their behaviour in the anthroposphere as a function of time. So far, only very few investigations of this type exist for chemicals. In regular risk assessments, only rather limited knowledge is available concerning the behaviour of chemicals in the anthroposphere (production data, substance quantities in products, recycling rates, emissions occurring during use, etc.) or their lifecycle, and no information at all about their behaviour as a function of time. For this reason, it is these aspects that were investigated in a case study within the framework of the national research programme NRP50 for selected brominated flame retardants with endocrine-disrupting potential (pentabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromocyclododecane) or the potential to degrade to such substances (decabromodiphenyl ether). A dynamic substance flow analysis (SFA) model was performed for Switzerland for the time period 1980–2020. In this review paper (a) we present a summary of typical results (system overview, consumption trends/application patterns, anthropogenic stocks and their changes, emission trends including major sources and environmental fate), (b) we summarize the effectiveness of recent risk-reduction measures in Switzerland and (c) we indicate serious remaining data gaps and recommend further important measures for risk reduction. For the future, we suggest improving the knowledge of the lifecycle of chemicals such as brominated flame retardants by applying SFA as a suitable tool to weight the effect of substance flows with respect to environmental emissions, and to serve as the basis for planning actions and measures to reduce such emissions. This is in line with one major conclusion of the NRP50 consensus platform 'Brominated Flame Retardants'.

Though the term anthroposphere does not appear in the classical work by Vladimir Vernadsky, The Biosphere (1967), it should necessarily be introduced in global ecology since human economic activity (industry and agriculture) has reached global scales during the recent three centuries. Human activity has greatly accelerated the biogeochemical flows, extracted vast resources, and produced wastes faster than natural assimilation allows. These impacts raise a new situation of potential ecological crisis.

Material flow analysis and environmental contamination analysis are merged into a Flux-Flow analysis (F2A) as illustrated for the metal circulation in the Seine River catchment. F2A combines about 30 metal flows in the anthroposphere (14 million people) and/or metal fluxes in the environment (atmosphere, soils, and aquatic system) originating from two dozens of sources. The nature and quality of data is very heterogeneous going from downscaled national economic statistics to upscaled daily environmental surveys. A triple integration is performed: space integration over the catchment (65 000 km2), time integration for the 1950–2000 trend analysed at 5 year resolution, and a conceptual integration resulting in two F2A indicators. Despite the various data sources an average metal circulation is established for the 1994–2003 period and illustrated for zinc: (i) metal circulation in the anthroposphere is now two orders of magnitude higher than river outputs, (ii) long term metal storage, and their potential leaks, in soils, wastedumps and structures is also orders of magnitude higher than present river fluxes. Trend analysis is made through two F2A indicators, the per capita excess load at the river outlet and the leakage ratio (excess fluxes/metal demand). From 1950 to 2000, they both show a ten fold improvement of metal recycling while the metal demand has increased by 2.5 to 5 for Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn, and the population by 50%.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental methodology for assessing the environmental effects associated with a product, process or activity and is useful as an information tool for the examination of different scenarios for future decision support strategies. This paper provides an overview of LCA and life cycle inventory (LCI) techniques for energy production proposed for the Power Plant of Mittal Steel Poland in Krakow, Poland. In this paper, an energy medium generation scenario is presented, including electric energy, technology practice steam, blast to iron blast furnace, hot water, demineralizing and degassing water for hot rolling mill, BOF blast oxygen furnace (BOF), cokery, as well as steel continuous casting and BOF. In this paper LCA is limited to the inventory analysis., i.e. the determination the environmental interventions. Environmental interventions are defined within the LCA-methodology as “the exchanges between the anthroposphere (economy) and the environment including resources use, emission to air, water, or soil” [5].