An ecosystem is a biogeochemical cycling entity, e.g. a pond\nor a patch of forest. Like an organism,\nit requires a source of energy and it cycles nutrients such as nitrogen from\none chemical form to another. Strictly\nspeaking, it is the biota (the set of all organisms) that in a sense has a\nmetabolism. Component organisms are\nclassified into nutrient cycling guilds — most simply as producers (photosynthesizes),\nconsumers, and decomposers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ecosystem metabolism can be described in terms of energy fluxes, as well as the stocks and fluxes of key chemical elements. The element carbon plays a central role in ecosystem metabolism. Its cycle extends from the atmosphere, through plants, to animals, and to decomposers, then back to the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the scale of the Earth system, we can likewise talk about\nbiogeochemical\ncycling guilds<\/a> and the associated biogeochemical cycles. Biosphere metabolism is based on\nphotosynthesis on the land and in the ocean. \nBiosphere driven element fluxes help regulate the atmospheric chemistry,\nocean chemistry, and global climate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite repeated intervals in the geologic record of Hothouse\nEarth and Icehouse Earth<\/a>, the metabolism of the biosphere has run steadily for\nover 3 billion years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within\nthe Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is\nthe cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has\ncome to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere,\nit\nhas a metabolism<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can think about technosphere metabolism in terms of three\nkey factors: energy flows, materials cycling, and information processing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Humans are a part of the technosphere and mostly benefit\nfrom its metabolism. The technosphere\nproduces a vast array of goods and services that support billions of\npeople. However, the metabolism of the technosphere\nhas begun to disrupt the formerly background global biogeochemical cycles. It is effectively now a geological force and\nthe changes it has precipitated are not necessarily favorable to advanced\ntechnological civilization. Notably, the\ndelivery of vast amounts of CO2<\/sub> into the atmosphere is destabilizing\nthe global climate. A course correction in\nthe evolution of the technosphere is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Energy flow into the technosphere is predominantly from the\ncombustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). The problem is that the resulting source of\ncarbon to the atmosphere is orders of magnitude greater than the background\nsource from volcanoes. The background\ngeologic sink for CO2<\/sub> by way of mineral formation in the ocean\ndepths is likewise small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the technosphere-generated CO2<\/sub> is sequestered\nby land plants and in the ocean, but most of\nit is accumulating in the atmosphere<\/a> and causing the planet to rapidly warm. The technosphere has begun to disrupt the\nentire Earth system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The solution, as is well known, is conversion of the global energy infrastructure to renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, and renewable natural gas). That conversion is a daunting task but technically it can be accomplished<\/a>. The challenge is as much to economists and politicians as it is to engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The materials cycling factor in technosphere metabolism is problematic because the technosphere as currently configured is not effective at recycling its components. Unlike the biosphere, in which nutrients are cycled, there is often a one-way flow of key chemical elements in the technosphere \u2212 from a mineral phase, to a manufactured product, to a landfill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is that sources of the technosphere components\nare not infinite. Building the next mega-mine\nto extract aluminum degrades the biosphere, a key component of the global life\nsupport system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, this is a largely solvable problem using advanced\nindustrial practices. We now speak of\nthe emerging circular\neconomy<\/a> and of dematerializing<\/a>\nthe technosphere. More comprehensive\nrecycling may require more energy than dumping something into a landfill, but\nthe potential for renewable energy sources is large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The information processing aspect of technosphere metabolism\nrefers to its regulatory framework. Regulation\nrequires information flow, a receiver of that information, and a mechanism to\nact on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Homeostasis at the level of an organism is a clear case of\nregulation. Homeostasis of internal\nchemistry, such as the blood sugar level in mammals, depends on factors\nincluding signals based on chemical concentrations, DNA-based algorithms to\nformulate a response, and organs that implement a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ecosystems also self-regulate in a sense. Disturbances (e.g. a forest fire) are\nfollowed by vigorous regrowth. As a\nresult, nutrients that are released in the process of the disturbance are\ncaptured and prevented from loss by leaching. \nDamaged ecosystems, say that lack species specialized for the early\nsuccessional environment, may deteriorate after a disturbance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the global scale, Earth system scientists have long\ndebated the issue of planetary homeostasis. \nJames Lovelock famously hypothesized that indeed the Earth\nsystem (Gaia) is homeostatic<\/a> with respect to conditions that favor\nlife. His idea inspired much research,\nand many significant biophysical feedbacks to global change have been\nidentified. The biosphere clearly exerts\na strong influence on global climate by way of its impacts on greenhouse gas concentrations,\nspecifically through its role as an amplifier<\/a>\nin the rock\nweathering thermostat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new research question concerns the degree to which the technosphere\nis homeostatic<\/a>. Continued\nexponential growth<\/a> in many of the indices of technosphere metabolism is\nsuggestive of inadequate regulation. To\nbegin with, the regulatory capability of the technosphere is obviously diffuse\nand underdeveloped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Monitoring is a necessary component of effective management\nsystems but the self-monitoring capability of the technosphere barely existed\nuntil quite recently. An anomalous\ngrowth in the atmospheric CO2<\/sub> concentration was measured in the late\n1950s by atmospheric chemist Charles David Keeling. This observation was the first clear signal\nof technosphere impact on the Earth system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Landsat series of\nsatellite-borne sensors<\/a> that monitor land cover change, e.g. deforestation\nand urbanization, was initially launched in 1972. These satellites have since tracked the explosive\nspatial expansion of the technosphere. A\nfleet of other satellites now monitors many other features of the global\nenvironment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From synthesis efforts by agencies such as the United Nations\nFood and Agriculture Organization, we have good observational data on the\ngrowth of key technosphere variables like global population size and energy use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as a decision-making organ for the technosphere, one\nbarely exists at present. You might say\nthat market-based capitalism is the organizing principle of the current technosphere. Everyone wants cheap, plentiful energy (the\ndemand side) and the global fossil fuel industry has managed to keep ramping up\nthe supply. Under the current neoliberal\neconomic regime, the environmental costs are externalized, and no global oversight\nis imposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, a new constraint has arisen. The scientific community has built Earth\nsystem models to refine our understanding of Earth\u2019s biophysical regulatory\nmechanisms and to simulate effects of various greenhouse gas concentration scenarios. These simulations make clear that uncontrolled\nemissions of CO2<\/sub> from fossil fuel combustion must cease or advanced technological\ncivilization will be imperiled. The 2015\nParis Agreement on Climate Change was a step towards reining in the technosphere,\nbut the influence of that international agreement is not commensurate with the\nchallenges of current global environmental change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An essential feature of a needed paradigm shift regarding technosphere\nregulation is the development of a global environmental governance\ninfrastructure. The technosphere is\nhaving global scale impacts on the environment and must correspondingly be\nevaluated and regulated at the global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A proposed World\nEnvironment Organization<\/a> would not necessarily supersede the traditional nation-state-based\narchitecture of global governance, but it could go a long way towards the\nrequired scale of integration needed to address global environmental change\nissues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A revamped technosphere metabolism must be built over the\ncourse of the 21st<\/sup> Century in which the energy sources are\nrenewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted\nin an understanding of limits. Societies\nare more likely to change under extreme circumstances, and the economic shock\nof the 2020 coronavirus pandemic will certainly qualify as extreme. As the global economy recovers, there will be\nsignificant opportunities to change technosphere metabolism. Let\u2019s hope they are not wasted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" David P. Turner \/ April 7, 2020 When I was 20 years old, I picked up a paperback version of \u201cLife and Energy\u201d by Isaac Asimov. This lucid scientific description of the chemical basis for life was very compelling, indeed, … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/renewable-energy-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>
Image credit for power plant<\/a> and wind turbines<\/a>.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![wind turbines<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe materials cycling factor in technosphere metabolism is problematic because the technosphere as currently configured is not effective at recycling its components. Unlike the biosphere, in which nutrients are cycled, there is often a one-way flow of key chemical elements in the technosphere \u2212 from a mineral phase, to a manufactured product, to a landfill. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe problem is that sources of the technosphere components\nare not infinite. Building the next mega-mine\nto extract aluminum degrades the biosphere, a key component of the global life\nsupport system. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAgain, this is a largely solvable problem using advanced\nindustrial practices. We now speak of\nthe emerging circular\neconomy<\/a> and of dematerializing<\/a>\nthe technosphere. More comprehensive\nrecycling may require more energy than dumping something into a landfill, but\nthe potential for renewable energy sources is large.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe information processing aspect of technosphere metabolism\nrefers to its regulatory framework. Regulation\nrequires information flow, a receiver of that information, and a mechanism to\nact on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHomeostasis at the level of an organism is a clear case of\nregulation. Homeostasis of internal\nchemistry, such as the blood sugar level in mammals, depends on factors\nincluding signals based on chemical concentrations, DNA-based algorithms to\nformulate a response, and organs that implement a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEcosystems also self-regulate in a sense. Disturbances (e.g. a forest fire) are\nfollowed by vigorous regrowth. As a\nresult, nutrients that are released in the process of the disturbance are\ncaptured and prevented from loss by leaching. \nDamaged ecosystems, say that lack species specialized for the early\nsuccessional environment, may deteriorate after a disturbance.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAt the global scale, Earth system scientists have long\ndebated the issue of planetary homeostasis. \nJames Lovelock famously hypothesized that indeed the Earth\nsystem (Gaia) is homeostatic<\/a> with respect to conditions that favor\nlife. His idea inspired much research,\nand many significant biophysical feedbacks to global change have been\nidentified. The biosphere clearly exerts\na strong influence on global climate by way of its impacts on greenhouse gas concentrations,\nspecifically through its role as an amplifier<\/a>\nin the rock\nweathering thermostat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA new research question concerns the degree to which the technosphere\nis homeostatic<\/a>. Continued\nexponential growth<\/a> in many of the indices of technosphere metabolism is\nsuggestive of inadequate regulation. To\nbegin with, the regulatory capability of the technosphere is obviously diffuse\nand underdeveloped. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMonitoring is a necessary component of effective management\nsystems but the self-monitoring capability of the technosphere barely existed\nuntil quite recently. An anomalous\ngrowth in the atmospheric CO2<\/sub> concentration was measured in the late\n1950s by atmospheric chemist Charles David Keeling. This observation was the first clear signal\nof technosphere impact on the Earth system.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Landsat series of\nsatellite-borne sensors<\/a> that monitor land cover change, e.g. deforestation\nand urbanization, was initially launched in 1972. These satellites have since tracked the explosive\nspatial expansion of the technosphere. A\nfleet of other satellites now monitors many other features of the global\nenvironment.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom synthesis efforts by agencies such as the United Nations\nFood and Agriculture Organization, we have good observational data on the\ngrowth of key technosphere variables like global population size and energy use. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAs far as a decision-making organ for the technosphere, one\nbarely exists at present. You might say\nthat market-based capitalism is the organizing principle of the current technosphere. Everyone wants cheap, plentiful energy (the\ndemand side) and the global fossil fuel industry has managed to keep ramping up\nthe supply. Under the current neoliberal\neconomic regime, the environmental costs are externalized, and no global oversight\nis imposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, a new constraint has arisen. The scientific community has built Earth\nsystem models to refine our understanding of Earth\u2019s biophysical regulatory\nmechanisms and to simulate effects of various greenhouse gas concentration scenarios. These simulations make clear that uncontrolled\nemissions of CO2<\/sub> from fossil fuel combustion must cease or advanced technological\ncivilization will be imperiled. The 2015\nParis Agreement on Climate Change was a step towards reining in the technosphere,\nbut the influence of that international agreement is not commensurate with the\nchallenges of current global environmental change.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAn essential feature of a needed paradigm shift regarding technosphere\nregulation is the development of a global environmental governance\ninfrastructure. The technosphere is\nhaving global scale impacts on the environment and must correspondingly be\nevaluated and regulated at the global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA proposed World\nEnvironment Organization<\/a> would not necessarily supersede the traditional nation-state-based\narchitecture of global governance, but it could go a long way towards the\nrequired scale of integration needed to address global environmental change\nissues.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA revamped technosphere metabolism must be built over the\ncourse of the 21st<\/sup> Century in which the energy sources are\nrenewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted\nin an understanding of limits. Societies\nare more likely to change under extreme circumstances, and the economic shock\nof the 2020 coronavirus pandemic will certainly qualify as extreme. As the global economy recovers, there will be\nsignificant opportunities to change technosphere metabolism. Let\u2019s hope they are not wasted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David P. Turner \/ April 7, 2020 When I was 20 years old, I picked up a paperback version of \u201cLife and Energy\u201d by Isaac Asimov. This lucid scientific description of the chemical basis for life was very compelling, indeed, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9521,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1390737],"tags":[1389469,1394076,97135,1393924,1393925,1389001,1393927],"class_list":["post-271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-long-form","tag-biosphere","tag-circular-economy","tag-earth-system-science","tag-metabolism","tag-renewable-energy","tag-technosphere","tag-world-environment-organization"],"yoast_head":"\nRedesigning Technosphere Metabolism Page % Page - Taming the Technosphere %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within the Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is the cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has come to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere, it has a metabolism. A redesigned technosphere metabolism must be built over the course of the 21st Century in which the energy sources are renewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted in an understanding of limits. %\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism Page % Page - Taming the Technosphere %\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within the Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is the cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has come to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere, it has a metabolism. A redesigned technosphere metabolism must be built over the course of the 21st Century in which the energy sources are renewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted in an understanding of limits. %\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Taming the Technosphere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-07T20:18:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-07T18:39:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Turner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Turner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Turner\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#\/schema\/person\/726aa4cfbbbb981d2a393604b94c0588\"},\"headline\":\"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-07T20:18:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-07T18:39:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\"},\"wordCount\":1617,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"biosphere\",\"circular economy\",\"Earth system science\",\"metabolism\",\"renewable energy\",\"Technosphere\",\"World Environment Organization\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Long Form\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\",\"name\":\"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism Page % Page - Taming the Technosphere %\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-07T20:18:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-07T18:39:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#\/schema\/person\/726aa4cfbbbb981d2a393604b94c0588\"},\"description\":\"Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within the Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is the cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has come to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere, it has a metabolism. A redesigned technosphere metabolism must be built over the course of the 21st Century in which the energy sources are renewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted in an understanding of limits. %\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/\",\"name\":\"Taming the Technosphere\",\"description\":\"An Earth System Science blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#\/schema\/person\/726aa4cfbbbb981d2a393604b94c0588\",\"name\":\"David Turner\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2149828c6112fba287059a8c439631948890e38b602a6e3617322214ea6c4c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2149828c6112fba287059a8c439631948890e38b602a6e3617322214ea6c4c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2149828c6112fba287059a8c439631948890e38b602a6e3617322214ea6c4c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Turner\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/directory.forestry.oregonstate.edu\/people\/turner-david\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/author\/turnedav\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism Page % Page - Taming the Technosphere %","description":"Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within the Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is the cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has come to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere, it has a metabolism. A redesigned technosphere metabolism must be built over the course of the 21st Century in which the energy sources are renewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted in an understanding of limits. %","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism Page % Page - Taming the Technosphere %","og_description":"Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within the Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is the cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has come to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere, it has a metabolism. A redesigned technosphere metabolism must be built over the course of the 21st Century in which the energy sources are renewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted in an understanding of limits. %","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/","og_site_name":"Taming the Technosphere","article_published_time":"2020-04-07T20:18:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-07T18:39:35+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David Turner","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Turner","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/"},"author":{"name":"David Turner","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#\/schema\/person\/726aa4cfbbbb981d2a393604b94c0588"},"headline":"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism","datePublished":"2020-04-07T20:18:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-07T18:39:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/"},"wordCount":1617,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg","keywords":["biosphere","circular economy","Earth system science","metabolism","renewable energy","Technosphere","World Environment Organization"],"articleSection":["Long Form"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/","name":"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism Page % Page - Taming the Technosphere %","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-07T20:18:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-07T18:39:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#\/schema\/person\/726aa4cfbbbb981d2a393604b94c0588"},"description":"Quite recently in geologic time, a new sphere has emerged within the Earth system. This \u201ctechnosphere\u201d is the cloak of technological devices and associated human constructs that has come to cover the Earth. Like the biosphere, it has a metabolism. A redesigned technosphere metabolism must be built over the course of the 21st Century in which the energy sources are renewable, the material flows are cyclic, and the regulatory framework is rooted in an understanding of limits. %","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3635\/files\/2020\/04\/cccyle-1024x576.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/2020\/04\/07\/redesigning-technosphere-metabolism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Redesigning Technosphere Metabolism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/","name":"Taming the Technosphere","description":"An Earth System Science blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/#\/schema\/person\/726aa4cfbbbb981d2a393604b94c0588","name":"David Turner","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2149828c6112fba287059a8c439631948890e38b602a6e3617322214ea6c4c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2149828c6112fba287059a8c439631948890e38b602a6e3617322214ea6c4c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2149828c6112fba287059a8c439631948890e38b602a6e3617322214ea6c4c5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Turner"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/directory.forestry.oregonstate.edu\/people\/turner-david"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/author\/turnedav\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions\/279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/technosphere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Middelgrunden_wind_farm_2009-07-01_edit_filtered.jpg\"){kind=link}