IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v315y2015icp4-11.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Convergence and divergence in the production of energy transformation hierarchies

Author

Listed:
  • Abel, Thomas

Abstract

Divergence is an undertheorized process in energy transformation hierarchies. Energy transformation hierarchies are generally described as a stepwise convergence of energy and materials, with characteristic properties of increasing storage size, turnover time, and spatial scale, but they may also include the action of divergence that feeds other scales or systems of convergence. These patterns are particularly obvious when systems theory is applied to understanding economic “commodity chains” in the global economy. Divergence is also a fundamental process in the production of culture in “information cycles”. After a conversation, for example, the divergence of people with new information into the world, where that information is tested and possibly selected again, is a fundamental step in the wide sharing and upgrading of cultural information. A general conclusion is that divergence makes outputs available to coupled systems or scales that differ in space, function, or time.

Suggested Citation

  • Abel, Thomas, 2015. "Convergence and divergence in the production of energy transformation hierarchies," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 4-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:315:y:2015:i:c:p:4-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.11.028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380014006012
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.11.028?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abel, Thomas, 2013. "Emergy evaluation of DNA and culture in ‘information cycles’," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 85-98.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vítor JPD Martinho, 2018. "A transversal perspective on global energy production and consumption: An approach based on convergence theory," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(4), pages 556-575, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giannetti, Biagio F. & Marcilio, Maria De Fatima D.F.B. & Coscieme, Luca & Agostinho, Feni & Liu, Gengyuan & Almeida, Cecilia M.V.B., 2019. "Howard Odum’s “Self-organization, transformity and information”: Three decades of empirical evidence," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 407(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Clasen, Arno P. & Agostinho, Feni & Sulis, Federico & Almeida, Cecília M.V.B & Giannetti, Biagio F., 2024. "Unlocking the potential of municipal solid waste: Emergy accounting applied in a novel biorefinery," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 492(C).
    3. Silvia H. Bonilla & Helton R. O. Silva & Marcia Terra da Silva & Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves & José B. Sacomano, 2018. "Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Implications: A Scenario-Based Analysis of the Impacts and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-24, October.
    4. He Zhang & Ashish T. Asutosh & Junxue Zhang, 2022. "A quantitative sustainable comparative study of two biogas systems based on energy, emergy and entropy methods in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13583-13609, December.
    5. Yang, Qing & Liu, Gengyuan & Giannetti, Biagio F. & Agostinho, Feni & M.V.B. Almeida, Cecília & Casazza, Marco, 2020. "Emergy-based ecosystem services valuation and classification management applied to China’s grasslands," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    6. Rafael Araujo Nacimento & Mario Duarte Canever & Cecilia Almeida & Feni Agostinho & Augusto Hauber Gameiro & Biagio Fernando Giannetti, 2023. "Hidden Costs Associated with Smallholder Family-Based Broiler Production: Accounting for the Intangibles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-21, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:315:y:2015:i:c:p:4-11. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.