The Evolution of Ecological Systems in the 90s

There was really a rapid expansion in the field in the 90s and several different research programs developed. I'll just mention a few examples of what I think was important in the early 90s. One was related to this idea of the economy as a metabolic organism that is limited by the biosphere. This also made it possible to talk about unequal exchange between nations where you can have an equal exchange in monetary terms and below that an unequal exchange in biophysical terms, whether it's measured in energy or in material flows or whatever measure you apply. So I think that this was also related to a focus on environmental conflicts.