SUSTAINING OUR PLANET

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PH: Well, the reason that the present industrial system doesn't work is because it's linear and we live in a nature that is cyclical. A linear system takes, makes, and wastes. It takes things from the resource base, manufactures them into whatever people want to buy, and then, in the process, creates a lot of waste. Ultimately what is made is also thrown away and wasted.

If we're going to have an industrial system that's going to survive or we're going to survive the industrial system, then we need to create a means of manufacturing that mimics how things are made in nature. Nature works in cycles; it's a closed loop system. There's nothing on Earth that comes in or goes out except for sunshine and heat. And therefore, everything we've got is here already.

Now, what cyclicality means in terms of industrial terms is that we have to obey three principals: one is that in nature, there is no waste that doesn't equal food for other living systems. If we're going to change our industrial system, we'd have to change the word waste to food.

Second, nature is enormously efficient and runs on current solar income. The most efficient system in the world is the green plant cell, which is based on photosynthesis and maximizes the use of solar energy. We have an industrial system that's run on extracted reserves, and although every business person understands that they can't spend their capital and survive, this doesn't seem to carry over to the environment. So, we have to change our system so that it runs on current income.

And finally, you can't cycle waste or run on a current income unless you have diversity. This requires a diverse, decentralized, interconnected, highly differentiated commercial and social sector in order for the above principles to work.

MOTHER: You've explained how big businesses can help out with practical solutions. What can the individual do, other than not participate in big corporations?

PH: A lot of people tell me they want to quit their jobs and find a job that enables them to help the environment. They ask me what they should do. I tell them that I am most impressed with the people who stay where they are and do something about the environment. There is no environment out there. It is here, where we all are at any given place and moment in time.

It is difficult in some cases to work for a company that places environmental concerns out in left field. But really, the most important thing that people can do is to work with the institutions and professions and the people they know. That's where they're going to have the greatest effect.

However, the first thing people have to do is change themselves. One of the humbling experiences I had in writing this book is I assumed, having been in many national environmental organizations, that I was aware of the environmental problems we face. So I read two hundred books before I even started writing this book.

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