The prosperity that we are enjoying today could largely be attributed to the industrial revolution of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Yet this enhancement of our standard of living has come at a steep price: the creation of the so-called linear economy.
In other words, we have a “take, make and dispose” economy. We take natural resources, make things and dispose of them in landfills and elsewhere.
This business arrangement in which companies operate with blinders on has created vast environmental and social consequences. Mass and conspicuous consumption, the burning of fossil fuels, the creation of dense urban environments and increased ownership of cars not only significantly endanger the natural world but will also erode our quality of life.