The importance people attach to urgent tasks can influence them to spend all their time on minor problems instead of significant ones. Canvas8 spoke to Meng Zhu, associate professor at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, to understand why people sometimes overlook the big picture.

The looming threat of climate change and the after-effects of natural disasters have borne a new-found mental health condition called ‘ecoanxiety’, which is increasingly taking its toll on people's psychological states as the effects of a warming planet are realised.

Facing rising sea levels, unusual weather patterns, and warming oceans, it's little wonder that Australians are concerned about the impact of climate change. And research shows that most people Down Under expect fossil fuel companies to foot the bill to fix the problem.

With more circular initiatives surfacing – from small start-ups to corporate strategies – not everybody is on the same page about what a circular economy entails. As global debates in academic, business and consumer circles heat up, will a zero-waste lifestyle move from a fringe movement to the mainstream?