Difference between Science and Faith

One page essay answering the question: what is the difference between science and faith, using environmental science as the example.  The last paragraph should explain why understanding this difference is important to ESEM. Must use ESEM principles 

Summary of Allenby’s ESEM Principles

In his writings over the past decade, Brad Allenby has proposed (at least) 16 principles of sustainable engineering (see references) that are collectively known as the Earth Systems Engineering and Management (ESEM) principles. These principles have merit and applicability in many disciplines and domains of discourse, but are sometimes awkward to use due to the quantity of words required to accurately express their meaning. In light of this, it has become necessary to formulate a simplified list of “abbreviated tags” for ease of reference in conversation and concise writing. This list of tags also makes the principles immediately accessible to those who may want to pursue the more thorough definitions offered by Allenby. The following tags have been proposed for use when a concise phrasing is required. The citation provided after the tag is, in my opinion, the most complete expression of Allenby’s thought on this principle. It can be used when citing the principle in written assignments or publications.

1. Targeted Intervention (Allenby, 2012, p. 356)
2. Evaluate Technological Fix (Allenby, 2012, p. 357)
3. Real-World Boundaries (Allenby, 2012, p. 359)
4. Multi-dimensional Dialogue (Allenby, 2005, p. 185)
5. Techno-Social Differentiation (Allenby, 2005, p. 185)
6. Transparent Governance (Allenby, 2012, p. 363)
7. Multicultural Dialogue (Allenby, 2012, p. 364)
8. Part of the System (Allenby, 2012, p. 361)
9. Systems and Artifacts (Allenby, 2012, p. 374)
10. Continuous Learning (Allenby, 2012, p. 367)
11. Long-term Investment (Allenby, 2005, p. 187)
12. Quantitative Metrics (Allenby, 2012, p. 368)
13. No Explicit Control (Allenby, 2012, p. 369)
14. Expect Emergence (Allenby, 2005, p. 187)
15. Incremental and Reversible (Allenby, 2012, p. 370)
16. Resilient not Redundant (Allenby, 2012, p. 370)

The table below presents these tags alongside snippets of the extended formulations of the principles in Allenby’s words. Interestingly, this also reflects the evolution of his thought over the years—but mostly reinforces the impression that they have not changed that much. They are arranged as simply as possible according to some of the early lists published. The most recent (partial) listing (from Techno-Human Condition) is included but the target audience of that book dictated a unique approach to their expression. Still it is easy to see the similarities.

Allenby’s ESEM principles have no implementation order required or implied. They are all equally important, though depending on the application, they may not all be equally relevant. In fact, in keeping with the complexity of the systems they purport to manage, they all must be applied simultaneously, or severally, as necessary to analyze and manage the target complex system. In his published lists, Allenby has loosely organized the principles into theoretical, governance, and design categories, but these categories are, in general, only of limited interest in most uses of the principles. Still, these categories are preserved in the table below with notes indicating when a principle has migrated into another category due to evolution in Allenby’s thought. On occasion, Allenby has also numbered the principles, but the numbers should not be used as a reliable reference since they have changed over time.

Note that the tags proposed for these principles are useful, but they are not necessarily approved by Allenby. Any confusion they introduce is entirely the fault of this author.

Though it is unlikely to be necessary, citing this document can be done as follows:

Roberts, T. (2011). Summary of Allenby’s ESEM Principles. Available at: http://repository.asu.edu/items/16658.