After completing the reading, I believe that the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is the best framework of the bunch. The main premise of the LCA framework is to construct a quantitative assessment of a certain product or service in order to evaluate its material and energy usage. There are a few components of the LCA framework that I believe separate it from the other proposed models. First off, many of the other models have the potential to be compatible with an LCA. Let’s look at the biomimicry framework as an example. Biomimicry aims to model human consumption after the natural world and to utilize natural phenomenon to make technological enhancements. Whereas biomimicry is a rather restrictive approach to sustainability, the LCA framework can simply include some of these methods, while analyzing their long-term merit. One example from the text regarding biomimicry was how naturally occurring silk is stronger pound-per-pound than steel. The LCA approach would help uncover whether or not the mass-production of silk would actually be more efficient than steel production.
Another strong feature of the LCA model is that it is highly feasible. One of the main critiques to this model is that is time consuming and costly to perform. In my opinion the main reason that this is the case is that it is in its infancy and there is a lot of potential if it were to be fully adapted. The reason it is time consuming is because when you look at a product or service it is non-obvious as to how much energy it is actually consuming. For example, if someone asked you what the environmental impact of your television is, you would not know where to begin. The more this field is analyzed, the less time it will take to understand the material and energy use of the things we produce. In other words, the more time allotted to this model, the more things will become standardized.
The article also states that a critique to the LCA model is that it does not adequately address social and financial analyses. While at a surface level this may be true, I believe that this deficiency can easily be addressed. In terms of financial analysis, you can simply attach a price tag to the amount of resources and energy being consumed by the product or service. This information is already readily available and would greatly benefit the overall LCA model. In terms of a social analysis, if you understand all of the inputs of the product or service one can have a better prediction of the social ramifications. The LCA model is powerful because it can be both proactive and reactive. With the LCA, you are able to see the environmental impact of products currently in use and you can use it to decide whether or not a new product or service should be initiated.