Dear Sir/Madam,

The article in today's NYT, "Plastic Recycling Is a Work in Progress" shows how terribly wrong we have got our priorities, putting (the) economy (the household of man) before ecology (the household of our planet).  

What most people (especially economists) overlook is the fact that in the long term the economy can only operate within the limits of our planet's finite resources and carrying capacity.

We are literally plundering our planet.

What started out on a small, harmless scale, has developed exponentially over the past century or so and taken on gigantic proportions. Having grown up with it, it seems quite normal, which is why we fail to recognise it for the monstrous crime it has now become; a crime against our own children and coming generations; a crime in which we are all participating, and on which we all depend: oil and gas - two main examples of the booty - are the life blood of our economy.