The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limits to growth. Ayres, R. U. Ecological Economics, 29(3):473–483, 1999. 00164
The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limits to growth [link]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
Despite counter examples in nature, it has been argued that total recycling is impossible for an industrial society as a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics. In this paper it is shown that there is no such limitation. However, it is also shown that there must be a large stockpile of inactive materials as well as an exogenous source of exergy (e.g. from the sun) for a stable steady-state recycling system to function. The paper also discusses (briefly) some of the implications for economic growth.
@article{ayres_second_1999,
	title = {The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limits to growth},
	volume = {29},
	url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800998000986},
	abstract = {Despite counter examples in nature, it has been argued that total recycling is impossible for an industrial society as a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics. In this paper it is shown that there is no such limitation. However, it is also shown that there must be a large stockpile of inactive materials as well as an exogenous source of exergy (e.g. from the sun) for a stable steady-state recycling system to function. The paper also discusses (briefly) some of the implications for economic growth.},
	number = {3},
	urldate = {2016-12-15},
	journal = {Ecological Economics},
	author = {Ayres, Robert U.},
	year = {1999},
	note = {00164},
	keywords = {collapse, limits-to-growth},
	pages = {473--483},
	file = {Ayres - 1999 - The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limi.pdf:C\:\\Users\\rsrs\\Documents\\Zotero Database\\storage\\XKHIB55R\\Ayres - 1999 - The second law, the fourth law, recycling and limi.pdf:application/pdf}
}

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