models and concepts. Innovation may involve the generation of knowledge that is new to
the world through R&D activities and it can be based on existing knowledge that is only
new to the enterprise. R&D can be done in-house, or alternatively the results of R&D can
be in-sourced from specialized Research and Technology Organizations or Universities
(RICARDIS, p. 18)’.
4
As was noted earlier, as and when the economists engage in a discourse on
knowledge economy, they generally tend to take knowledge resources to be the
same as information resources (Clemens 2007). However, they need to be reminded
of the fundamental question that needs to be taken seriously but is hardly ever
asked.
What is it that can sustain all that which sustains humanity and the planet’s bio-diverse
world?
As to the humanity, in final analysis, there are three things that are important.
First, it is the ecology of knowledge, interpersonal interactions and freedom to trade
that sustain a society, an economy and the world as we keep making and remaking
it. Second, as to the life in general, it is the universal interconnectedness across
nature’s ecosystems, and across the universe, that sustains earth’s biodiversity
across these systems. And third, at a deeper level, it is the complex dynamic
processes of environmental nesting (Pandit 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001a, b, 2006,
2007a, b, 2012b, 2013; Schwarzburger 1998; Hebeisen 1997, p. 154), going on
across and deep within nature’s ecosystems, in which humanity is embedded, that
sustain the biodiverse world including us, the Homo sapiens. Environmental
nesting among species involves both ecological and evolutionary complexities that
shape their interactions with other species in the food web. Knowledge of both
kinds of complexity is necessary for predicting how the species will respond to
environmental change including land use change and climate change (Harmon et al.
2009, p. 1347).
Knowledge resources are indispensable for policy designing, for wise investment
in sustainable development, for organizing economy and society in the most sustainable mode. They are necessary for developing innovative multidisciplinary
research frontiers and for developing technology, and for building up interfaces
across the disciplinary walls and boundaries. Context-dependent knowledge
resources are necessary to making it possible for society and humanity to adopt
healthy and wise policies with regard to natural resources. If creation of knowledge
resources and information processing were the same, as many people think, there
would be no need for investment in science, in basic research or in R&D. Therefore,
the question that we should be asking is this: What is the structure and dynamics of
(scientific) knowledge (Pandit 1982)? More than information in the ordinary sense,
4
Knowledge plays a vital role in all these various types of innovation, which is why the Lisbon
European Council in March 2000 has set the objective of making Europe the most dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world. The central role of knowledge was restated by the high
level group on the Lisbon strategy, which recommended the realization of the knowledge-based
economy as the top priority for the EU (RICARDIS, p. 18).
Knowledge-Based Climate Economy …
145
the world through R&D activities and it can be based on existing knowledge that is only
new to the enterprise. R&D can be done in-house, or alternatively the results of R&D can
be in-sourced from specialized Research and Technology Organizations or Universities
(RICARDIS, p. 18)’.
4
As was noted earlier, as and when the economists engage in a discourse on
knowledge economy, they generally tend to take knowledge resources to be the
same as information resources (Clemens 2007). However, they need to be reminded
of the fundamental question that needs to be taken seriously but is hardly ever
asked.
What is it that can sustain all that which sustains humanity and the planet’s bio-diverse
world?
As to the humanity, in final analysis, there are three things that are important.
First, it is the ecology of knowledge, interpersonal interactions and freedom to trade
that sustain a society, an economy and the world as we keep making and remaking
it. Second, as to the life in general, it is the universal interconnectedness across
nature’s ecosystems, and across the universe, that sustains earth’s biodiversity
across these systems. And third, at a deeper level, it is the complex dynamic
processes of environmental nesting (Pandit 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001a, b, 2006,
2007a, b, 2012b, 2013; Schwarzburger 1998; Hebeisen 1997, p. 154), going on
across and deep within nature’s ecosystems, in which humanity is embedded, that
sustain the biodiverse world including us, the Homo sapiens. Environmental
nesting among species involves both ecological and evolutionary complexities that
shape their interactions with other species in the food web. Knowledge of both
kinds of complexity is necessary for predicting how the species will respond to
environmental change including land use change and climate change (Harmon et al.
2009, p. 1347).
Knowledge resources are indispensable for policy designing, for wise investment
in sustainable development, for organizing economy and society in the most sustainable mode. They are necessary for developing innovative multidisciplinary
research frontiers and for developing technology, and for building up interfaces
across the disciplinary walls and boundaries. Context-dependent knowledge
resources are necessary to making it possible for society and humanity to adopt
healthy and wise policies with regard to natural resources. If creation of knowledge
resources and information processing were the same, as many people think, there
would be no need for investment in science, in basic research or in R&D. Therefore,
the question that we should be asking is this: What is the structure and dynamics of
(scientific) knowledge (Pandit 1982)? More than information in the ordinary sense,
4
Knowledge plays a vital role in all these various types of innovation, which is why the Lisbon
European Council in March 2000 has set the objective of making Europe the most dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world. The central role of knowledge was restated by the high
level group on the Lisbon strategy, which recommended the realization of the knowledge-based
economy as the top priority for the EU (RICARDIS, p. 18).
Knowledge-Based Climate Economy …
145