[00:07] Every day, the average American consumes about 120 pounds of natural resources extracted from farms, forests, mines and rivers round the world.

[00:18] Behind the many throw-away products are chains of production that consume huge amounts of energy and resources, and generate immense amounts of waste.

[00:28] Many rapidly developing countries are aspiring toward lifestyles like those we enjoy. Our finite planet cannot supply the resources nor absorb the wastes if everyone in the world lives as we do now. All of us must change.

[00:41] In nature, nothing is wasted. Whatever one organism expels as waste, another uses as fuel.

[00:48] Animal carcasses left behind by predators feed other animals. Decaying plants return vital nutrients to the soil.

[00:55] We humans could do the same as nature. We could use materials that re-enter the soil or water without depositing synthetic or toxic matter; or we could reuse discarded industrial products.

[01:07] For the sake of our children and theirs, we must learn from and replicate the processes nature has perfected, leaving no waste behind.

[01:16] For Our Changing Planet, I'm Jane Joyce. To learn more about Our Changing Planet, visit us on the web at www.umac.org/ocp.