TABLE OF CONTENTS It is essential that the human race, with all the power it has over the environment, moves rapidly to reduce the impact of the techno-sphere on the geosphere-biosphere before it is too late. This will not happen because it is the right thing to do. William McDonough and Michael Braungart, in an approach inspired by design and nature, make the case that an industrial system that 'takes, makes and wastes' can become a creator of goods and services that generate ecological as well as social and economic value (McDonough and Braungart, 2002). In this section it is argued that the impact of the techno-process can be reduced by introducing paradigm shifts in technology, particularly those relating to materials. It is important that these technologies are also fundamentally economic otherwise they are inefficient and not viable in the long run.
Economic viability attracts investment, and insufficient investment has in the past found its way into sustainability. Natural capital is undervalued. Consider the techno-process:
It has an input and output rate and volume dimension. If the impacts of the techno-process on the geosphere-biosphere are to be reduced then the rate and volume of flows through the process need to be reduced.
A large proportion of what passes through the techno-process resides in it as the materials with which we build our techno-world (the techno-sphere). The rate and volume of the flow to produce or waste these materials can be reduced by:
reusing the materials even...
