Conservation of Biomass

A well known conservationist and entrepenuer, William McDonough, came up with three principles that I think everyone in America and the world should know about.
#1. Waste equals food. If we can eliminate the concept of waste, everything becomes a product that can be consumed, another product to use. By adopting this principle, resources are maximized because the end product can be incorporated back into the system without being refined. Most importantly, this will eliminate pollution and reduce the need for primary resources, allowing nature time to replenish.

#2. Use the current natural income. Nature does not mine capital reserves. Most businesses would suffer by relying only on capital reserves. The same is true for nature. Since the natural world is our ultimate source of income, it does not make sense to abuse resources necessary for the future.

#3. Respect diversity. There are no two places on this earth exactly alike in geography, resources, population, or otherwise. This means that not everyone can reach sustainability in the same way. By allowing people to be innovative in their approach our diversity is maximized to its full potential, which equals respect. For example, the Midwest produces ethanol from corn; in the South, ethanol can be made from leftover cotton residues (stalks, leaves, etc).