It entails a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, engineering, environmental science, ethics and philosophy.
At its core, ESEM looks to "rationally design and manage coupled human–natural systems in a highly integrated and ethical fashion".
Allenby holds that the foundation upon which ESEM is built is the notion that "the Earth, as it now exists, is a product of human design".
[2] The premise of ESEM is that science and technology can provide successful and lasting solutions to human-created problems such as environmental pollution and climate-change.
This way of monitoring and managing ecosystems accepts nature's inherent uncertainty and embraces it by never concluding to one certain cure to a problem.
Another important part of the Descriptive Scenario is how it "point[s] out the good features and the unacceptable elements of the status quo".
[5] Next, the Normative Scenario shows the final outcome or the way the system should operate under ideal conditions once action has been taken.
Typically an iterative process ensues as variables and inputs change and the system coevolves with the analysis.
When examining complex ecosystems there is an inherent need for the earth systems engineer to have a strong understanding of how natural processes function.
A training in Environmental Science will be crucial to fully understand the possible unintended and undesired effects of a proposed earth systems design.
"The perspective of environmental sustainability requires that we ask ourselves how each interaction with the natural environment will affect, and be judged by, our children in the future" ".
[6] "There is an increasing awareness that the process of development, left to itself, can cause irreversible damage to the environment, and that the resultant net addition to wealth and human welfare may very well be negative, if not catastrophic".
[7] This increased presence over the years has resulted in the channeling and redirecting of water from its traditional path through the Everglades and into the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.
[7] In the plan they created a time line of projects to be completed, the estimated cost and the ultimate results of improving the ecosystem by having native flora and fauna prosper.