The extraction economy model, characterized by intensive resource removal for short-term gains, often leads to environmental degradation and social disparities.

J. Henry Fair is a photographer who snaps beautiful, unsettling images of industrial scars. I recently turned to this work and stumbled upon a TED talk he gave last fall in Berlin on the impact of energy extraction on the environment.

At a time when many American politicians are stepping up rhetoric in support of the “extraction economy,” it’s essential to see what that means on the ground.

Fair has accumulated an array of stunning industrial photos from coal ash storage to fertilizer production, making the invisible costs of energy and consumerism visible.

“Every product, everything we buy, everything we spend money on has invisible costs. Those costs are hidden costs that usually result in environmental degradation.”

“Those systems that provide us with free services- clean air and clean water- as we push those systems into failure, we will ultimately have to pay (or our children will have to pay) to replace those services. We’re doing a massive transfer of wealth between the people profiting from these extractive processes and our grandchildren.”

Limited resources and environmental degradation challenge our beliefs about never-ending economic growth. Is this the type of economy we want to strive for?