Do Nothing: The Danger of Believing in a World Without Limits

Abstract

Human desire and ingenuity have shaped the modern world. The natural human need to consume and fears of scarcity drive desire for more and more creature comforts. We must and can improve the way we consume.

The American Way of Life is often interpreted as an exhortation to freely pursue individual happiness without regard for physical limits or finite resources. Engendered at the end of the eighteenth century in a new nation, this worldview is rooted in the pragmatic and powerful impulse to satisfy individual well-being at a time when nature’s abundance seemed limitless. That idea continues to beckon us to live large. It is still the context in which we consume nearly two-and-half centuries later.

The penchant for planning, making, and consuming is normal; it is what humans do. Yet as technological innovation has removed nearly all natural limits to our species growth, it has also produced myriad, unintended, negative environmental consequences. Reversing these effects requires us to coordinate “best practices” to guide our individual and collective decisions.

New and constantly evolving tools, data, and methodologies reveal our impact on the planet as we design each new product and service. They allow us to quantify, evaluate, and improve the environmental impacts. It promotes system-wide approaches to innovate truly sustainable ways to satisfy growing global demand.