From energy analysis to resource accounting: explorations by Malcolm Slesser revisited

Malcolm Slesser (1926–2007) – a Scottish engineer, mountaineer and writer – was at the forefront of the development of ‘energy analysis’ (EA), based on the principle of energy conservation stemming from the first law of thermodynamics. He acted as rapporteur of a 1974 international workshop of energy analysts and economists held in Stockholm. First Law EA is re-evaluated here in the light of modern ideas in thermodynamics arising from the Second Law, such as those incorporated into ‘exergy analysis’ and related methods. EA also became one of the founding elements of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), alongside eco-toxicology. EA has been incorporated into software tools for performing LCA studies concurrently while evaluating climate change impacts and a range of other ecological/environmental burdens. Slesser and his co-workers went on to devise ways of modelling societies using resource or ‘natural capital’ accounting. This approach utilised ‘systems dynamics’ techniques like those originally employed in world dynamics studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (for the ‘Limits to Growth’ series) to plot a pathway towards sustainability. The present review therefore pays tribute to these various scientific contributions of the late Malcolm Slesser in the form of a critical appraisal from a modern perspective.