How Come Nature Can 'Waste' So Much... And We Can't?

It’s spring again and the cherry trees are putting on their yearly show. For just a short moment each year, these trees give us a breathtaking show of blossoms. Thousands of flowers bloom, but only a few will take root. At first glance, it seems like a massive waste.

But this 'waste' plays an important role in the cycle of life. And there is a fundamental difference between the ecological and the economic machine, as Joël de Rosnay put it in 1979 in “The Macroscope”:

🍒♻️ Nature operate on “an 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 of solar energy in 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 and a 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 of materials”

...and on the other hand...

🏭🔥 “the basis of the economy is an 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 of fossil energy from a 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 and an irreversible flow of materials from a 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐫 of resources.”

What can the natural world teach us about sustainability and the value of what we consider 'waste'?