ABSTRACT
Historically, science has pursued a premise that Nature can be understood fully, its future predicted precisely, and its behaviour controlled. However, emerging knowledge indicates that the nature of Earth and biological systems transcends the limits of science, questioning the premise of knowing, prediction and control. The Industrial Revolution took shape in Britain in the second half of the 18th century. By the early 19th century, Britain was producing more than three-quarters of the mined coal, half the cotton and iron goods and a majority of steam engines in Europe. The industrial techniques and processes that originated in England and Scotland then spread rapidly through northern Europe and the USA. 'Plastic' existed as a concept long before it became an industrial product. As Bismarck predicted, some damned silly thing in the Balkans triggered the global tragedy of two World Wars and the Great Depression of the 1930s. The conflicts created a demand for war materiel that natural materials could not meet.
