A short while ago I wrote an article on the concept of Ecological Thermodynamic Momentum … which I can probably write better, so I may rewrite it at some stage, but for now I just want to extend the idea a little.
To recap briefly, for this context:
- Thermodynamic momentum, in simple terms is the amount of energy and embodied energy (aka emergy) in the system and pushing change in a particular direction.
… and while I did touch on this next idea, I thought it would be easier understood by giving it its own name.
Thermodynamic Resistance: is therefore the quantification of resistance to the aforementioned changes being pushed by thermodynamic momentum.
So this idea and its significance are very simple to encapsulate as follows:
- We have pumped an enormous amount of energy and emergy into the thermodynamic momentum which is driving destructive ecological changes;
- We have similarly removed and damaged an enormous amount of energy and emergy with respect to the thermodynamic resistance of ecosystems to those destructive changes.
Do you get it?