We're finally going to get the bill for the Industrial Age. If the projections are right, it's going to be a big one: the ecological collapse of the planet, says Jeremy Rifkin. At the dawn of the industrial age two hundred years ago, we took a wrong turn when we started living on nature's capital instead of nature's incomes. We started gorging upon resources that took nature millions of years to create. These resources were saved up by nature according to its own plan of functioning. Nature has her own way; she better understands her own affairs than we. We have one planet to live on and all our needs have to be satisfied with whatever is in here. We can not import a thing from other planets for our survival, no matter how much we advertise our dubious moon missions. All we can do is blow up billions and console the taxpayers with few rocks. This senseless exploitation of resources can not go on forever. This cradle to grave economics in which we turn every natural resource into a toxic waste is inherently unsustainable. In nature, there is no such thing as waste. So called waste generated by one living being is effectively utilized by another and so on until nothing is left. This is called the cycle of life. But today our linear system of living has replaced this natural cyclical system. This is where cow comes into picture. Living with cow is living on nature's incomes without depleting its capital resources. In the natural plan of Vedic living, human society depends on cows for its requirements of economic prosperity, food production, soil fertility, nutrition, healthcare, fuel supply, transport, spiritual wellbeing, sustainable development, individual and social peace, higher consciousness, development of human qualities, performance of religious duties, environmental protection, ecological preservation, advancement of art & culture, cottage industry etc. Many of the maladies staring in our face today can be traced to this factor - humanity distancing itself from the timeless culture of cow protection.