To avoid global heating disaster, we need to put an end to extractivism as the basis for our economy.

It is an error to suppose that local cultures of the past had an inherent understanding of sustainability. Some groups recognized problems and adopted ways of life to protect their environment. Others did not, and caused environmental crises that wiped them out.

In regard to our current situation, the problem that drives us to too much growth is partly in the desires of masses of people, and partly embedded in laws and institutions. For instance, the fairly new "principle" (adopted in the 1980s) that a corporation "must" maximize return to its investors regardless of all other values.