"More from Less" response to criticism thread, part 2:
The upper continental crust of the Earth weighs about 7*10^21 kg. 80 billion tonnes is 8*10^13 kg. So we’re consuming ~0.000001% of the planet under our feet annually. That’s… not scary at all.
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.…
The upper continental crust of the Earth weighs about 7*10^21 kg. 80 billion tonnes is 8*10^13 kg. So we’re consuming ~0.000001% of the planet under our feet annually. That’s… not scary at all.
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.…
Of course, the above is a ridiculous calculation. That’s the point. It’s as ridiculous as modeling global tonnage of materials and thinking that the resulting number means anything about scarcity, or sustainability, or much of anything else.
Assessing planetary health by calculating global material tonnage makes about as much sense as assessing the health of Walden Pond by modeling the amount of its water leaving in the wet bathing suits of visitors every year.
So no, I didn’t include this work in my book about our changing, and often improving, relationship with the planet we all live on.
amazon.com/More-Less-Surp…
amazon.com/More-Less-Surp…
I state clearly in “More from Less” that the planet as a whole is probably not yet dematerializing. But global trends have to start somewhere. Dematerialization has started in the rich world. It will spread, no matter what the MF research says.
amazon.com/More-Less-Surp…
amazon.com/More-Less-Surp…
