Carbon myopia is concealing a deeper problem: our insatiable appetite for materials

Stop for a moment and pay attention to the things around you. The clothes you’re wearing, the device you’re using, what you’re sitting on, the building you’re in. What are they made of?  The simple answer is “stuff from nature” — woods, metals, rocks, oils, and plants refined into things like furniture, batteries, bricks, plastics, and clothes.  In 2017, humanity’s total material footprint — which refers to the total amount of raw