Introduction

Whole Systems Approach to Ecological Design

Appropriate Technology: Water

Organic Agriculture and Local Food

Appropriate Technology: Energy

Green Building & Retrofitting
1.Whole Systems Approach to Ecological Design
Ecological Designs Master Planning Climate Change & Peak Oil

Ecological Engineering

The basic principles in the field of ecological engineering were first put forward by Howard T. Odum in his book Environment, Power and Society over thirty-five years ago.  The fundamental idea is that, in addition to modelling human designed systems on Nature, we can use complete ecologies to carry out useful tasks.  Living technologies are different from dead technologies in that the main working parts are alive.  Different ecologies can be linked to handle many inputs, self manage a multitude of internal, closed-loop functions and provide a variety of outputs.  Howard Odum stated:

Quote
"The inventory of species of the earth is really an immense bin of parts available to the ecological engineer. A species evolved to play one role may be used for a different purpose in a different kind of network as long as its maintenance flows are satisfied." - Howard T. Odum

An advanced expression of ecological design is the Bioshelter, which is particularly relevant to ecovillage design.  Ecologically engineered systems are used to treat wastes, grow multiple food products, heat and cool the structures, and generate energy.  The users of the Bioshelter take one another’s outputs as their inputs to produce or manufacture their particular specialties.  John and Nancy Jack Todd have described these ideas in their book, From Eco Cities to Living Machines.

Within the last decade practitioners in ecology, design and the fields of complexity and chaos dynamics have begun to communicate to their shared benefit. This exchange is beginning to influence ecological engineering.  Kauffman (1993) has studied how self-organization, ranging in scale from the molecular level to large ecosystems, is generated in Nature.  He has proposed an explanation of why self-organization and self-design occur in the natural world and why it is possible to use these attributes in technological settings.

Howard T. Odum is known for his pioneering work on Ecosystem Ecology.
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From Ecocities to Living Machines

Dr. Todd is one of the pioneers in the emerging field of ecological design and engineering.
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