Industrial literacy

is understanding...

That synthetic fertilizer is needed, without it we have famine, and before it half the workforce had to farm to feed the other half.
Those crops need pest protection. Before synthetic pesticides we used much more toxic substances.
Before electricity and natural gas we burned unrefined solid fuels inside our homes - wood, coal, dung. Resulting in indoor air pollution. 40% of population today still rely on pre-industrial fuels.
Before modern appliances housework was a full-time job. Each household spent almost 60hrs a week on manual labour, hauling water, sewing clothes, washing, cooking from scratch.
Plastic replaced materials like ivory, tortoise shells, whale bone, that resulted in hunting to near extinction.
Before cars we relied on millions of horses, which polluted our streets with manure
Half of everyone you know over the age of five is alive because of antibiotics, vaccines, sanitizing chemicals in our water supply. Infant mortality was as high as 20% before this. With industrial literacy, you can see the economy as a set of solutions to problems. Source: Industrial literacy