Journal
of Industrial Ecology
Call
for Papers:
Special
Issue on
Applications of Material Flow
Analysis
Deadline:
September 1, 2008
Material
flow analysis (MFA), the tracking and analysis of materials through the
environment and the economy at various scales, is growing in
sophistication
and generating increased interest among environmental researchers
around
the world. MFA holds out the promise of a unique lens through
which
to examine environmental challenges, providing a valuable addition to
the
toolkit available to analysts and decision makers.
Despite the dramatic
growth
in the methodological rigor of MFA, its practical utility remains to be
fully appreciated. The goal of this special issue is to document
examples of the practical use of MFA, explore the insights obtained
from
it, and assess the leverage for environmental problem solving that it
provided.
MFA is often divided
into two categories: economy-wide MFA (EW-MFA) and substance flow
analysis
(SFA). EW-MFA quantifies the flow of all materials into and out
of
a geographic area over defined period of time whereas SFA traces the
flow
of selected chemical substances, compounds or goods. Analyses of
either type are acceptable for this special issue as long as the work
focuses
on practical applications, rather than methodological development or
contribution
to the scholarly literature without direct practical import.
Support for this
special
issue is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
Suggested Topics for the
Special
Issue
The
goal of this special issue is to document how, when and where MFA
has
been used for business, policy and related decision making and to
assess
the strengths and weaknesses of MFA for those purposes using concrete
examples.
Appropriate topics include, the use of MFA to:
-
Identify sources of
pollutants,
-
Identify the fate of
chemicals
or materials entering society,
-
Identify potential
future
pollution problems,
-
Quantify resource
availability
with respect to investment in industrial capacity by firms or
governments,
-
Identify specific
resource
scarcities for the future in light of current and new developments in
technology
and society,
-
Identify gaps in
emissions
inventories at the facility, firm or regional level,
-
Assess effectiveness
and
identify side-effects of pollution oriented policies,
-
Develop management
strategies
for a sustainable use of resources, and
-
Identify risk and
risk management
strategies with respect to pollution and resource scarcity.
Reviews of relevant
recent books and reports, including policy documents, are also sought
to
enrich the special issue. Reviews of web sites and electronic services
will be considered.
Ancillary data relevant to articles
can
be posted on the journal's web site in the form of supplementary
materials.
Industrial Ecology
Industrial ecology is an emerging
field that examines local, regional, and global uses and flows of
materials
and energy in products, processes, industrial sectors and economies. It
focuses on the potential role of industry in reducing environmental
burdens
throughout the product life cycle and encompasses:
-
material and energy flow studies
("industrial
metabolism"),
-
dematerialization and
decarbonization,
-
technological change and the
environment,
-
life-cycle planning, design and
assessment,
-
design for the environment,
-
extended producer responsibility
("product
stewardship"),
-
eco-industrial parks ("industrial
symbiosis"),
-
product-oriented environmental
policy,
and
-
eco-efficiency.
How to Submit
Manuscripts
should be original, previously unpublished, in English, and between
3,500
and 7,000 words in length. Submission implies that the manuscript has
not
been submitted for publication elsewhere and
that it will not be submitted elsewhere while the review process is
underway.
Papers should be submitted electronically via Manuscript Central at <http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jie>.
Details about the preparation of the manuscript can be obtained from
the
Journal's web page <http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/jie>
or from the editor.
Send inquiries to:
Reid Lifset
Editor, Journal of Industrial
Ecology
Yale University
School of Forestry &
Environmental
Studies
205 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT, 06511-2189 USA
indecol@yale.edu
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/jie
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Last
Updated by N. Gordon, April 8, 2008