Chapter 2
What’s Wrong with Being Linear, Anyway?
IN THIS CHAPTER
Seeing what the linear economy is and why it’s no longer working
Recognizing why natural resources (fossil fuels, minerals, food, water) are getting harder and harder to come by
Acknowledging that the impact of the linear economy is now catching up with us
The earth has been around for 4½ billion years. We know that living systems have been around for most of that time (3½ billion years) and will probably be around for a few billion more. We humans, on the other hand, have only been part of these living systems for around 200,000 years — a fraction of that time. Yet even in that small period, humans have managed to disrupt every living system on the planet.
In nature, there is no landfill, no concept of waste. Everything in nature becomes a material flow (a natural resource) for something else — either food, nutrients, or energy. Everything we have is right here on the planet. The only incoming resource we have is sunlight (and maybe the occasional asteroid or two).
All living systems on Earth (except humans) are able to live in harmony with that balance. Species are born, they live, they die, and they feed their ...
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