There is no economy and there are no nations, no humans, no life without Earth’s biosphere, and the complex web of living creatures we share it with. Humans have come of age in a time of relative climatic stability—temperate and regular seasons, nutrient dense soil, predictable weather patterns, stable ocean patterns, and an amazing array of biodiversity.

Yet our actions threaten this stability from all sides. Emissions are heating up the climate and the oceans at unprecedented rates. Consumption of land and habitats is rapidly reducing the populations of mammals, birds, fish, and insects. Chemical and plastic waste output is wreaking havoc on the health of other animals and ourselves. This only scratches the surface.

We’ve separated ourselves from these natural systems and see ourselves as independent of them. But we are not.

We’ve forgotten that we can only take what the Earth has to give. We’ve forgotten that we have to live in whatever waste we create, no matter how out of sight it seems. We’ve forgotten that we too are animals, interconnected in the web of life.

It’s time we remember how to live within our means and to design systems that work within the boundaries that Earth provides.