The importance of values ​​cannot be overstated, they shape our intrinsic motivation (Kollmuss, & Agyeman, 2002, p.251). The importance of looking at values ​​allows us to see the interconnections behind people's actions. Too often society sees the natural environment as something at our disposal, a set of resources to be consumed (Cohen, 2006, p.13). Our value system causes great environmental destruction, only a change in the priority of our values ​​will allow us to counteract this trend. Our Western values ​​and American values ​​in particular are very inward looking as a country and individually. People are naturally interested in what is immediately in front of them. They put family above community, community above country. They only face problems when pushed into a corner. Elke Weber's research on a “finite pool of concerns” highlights our long-term myopia (Gertner, 2009, p.2). When issues such as clean air or clean water are directly threatened, we are able to act if we perceive the threat to be sufficiently dangerous. Let's quickly move on to what we believe are other more pressing issues, such as the economy. We can see the model of Western society adopted by other countries or having a goal to aspire to (Cohen, 2006, p.132). The rise of developing countries to first world states, coupled with limited resources, means that the quality of our lives as we know it is unsustainable. Western society has a history of manipulating the environment to suit our will. The value of convenience and consumption can be better understood in a city like Los Angeles. For all practical purposes the city of Los Angeles should not exist; there is no fresh water supply large enough to support it. The city is spr...... middle of paper ......gement of the ecosystem will allow both ourselves and the environment to benefit from it; too often the value of prosperity is seen as a zero-sum game. In an economic sense, a business would be designed to depend on a resource that is destined to run out. It makes much more sense to conserve our resources more responsibly by relying on resource renewal. Using market-based incentives to promote environmental protection. Economic prosperity is linked to environmental quality (Cohen, 2006, p.24). The idea of ​​cap and trade applies a market-based method to control and limit pollution. It incorporates the value of the free market combined with pollution control. A change in the priority of our values ​​will allow us to combat environmental damage. Putting our health and that of our children above the false compromise of economic well-being.