It's so easy for us to forget the connection between our consumer habits - our attraction to shiny and new things - and how much it's actually costing us and other animals. Shelves and shelves of items in a store represent lost habitat and lost beauty. We don't always bring that cost into the equation of whether or not we want to purchase something (or accept a "free" handout). Shifting to a service-oriented economy (and manufacturing essentials using sustainable practices) would both reduce how much we are destroying and it would do something that is much needed in today's global economy - it would strenghten our local communities and our connections to each other. Shifting away from our destructive habits is easy when we realize we are shifting towards something so much better.
