Industrial Ecology and the Automobile

Using the automobile as a case study of one of the industries most attuned to the concept of industrial ecology (i.e., the means by which humanity can deliberately and rationally approach and maintain a desirable carrying capacity, given continued economic, cultural and technological evolution), this book provides a general introduction to how to design for environment — a key component of the repertoire of the 21st century engineer. Focuses on resources, energy, and capital as factors to be optimized. This book outlines a systems view in which one seeks to optimize the total materials cycle— from virgin material, to finished material, to component, to product, to obsolete product, and to ultimate disposal. It shows that an industrial system must be viewed not in isolation from its surrounding systems, but in concert with them. For industrial, mechanical, and environmental engineers.