Very, very nice summary, sir. Another book for my wish list, and subscription for my Google Reader. The shorter version would be the proposed fifth law of thermodynamics: "You shorten the cumulative length of the game the more you steal." In other words, the energy quality factor increases hierarchically as an increase in Transformity. "Flows of energy develop hierarchical webs in which inflowing energies interact and are transformed by work processes into energy forms of higher quality that feedback amplifier actions, helping to maximize the power of the system" (Odum, 1994, p. 251). Anyone interested in these kinds of ideas can come to Florida in January to talk about them. I am trying to collect those who view the world through an energetic lens. http://www.emergysystems.org/conference7.php