We assume that everything's becoming more efficient, and in an immediate sense that's true; our lives are better in many ways. But that improvement has been gained through a massively inefficient use of natural resources.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill.
We are now heading down a centuries-long path toward increasing the productivity of our natural capital - the resource systems upon which we depend to live - instead of our human capital.
The more energy-efficient we become as a nation, the less we need to develop additional energy sources.
As a culture or a civilisation, we are a bit juvenile; it's like 'Oh, I have all this power, whoa, this is so cool, I can transform the earth and I can produce all this wealth. But we're blinded by our success in a naive way. There's more to life, actually, and I think the sustainability issue is also helpful in reminding us about that.
Better understanding of the natural world not only enhances all of us as human beings, but can also be harnessed for the better good, leading to improved health and quality of life.
Energy-saving technologies keep improving faster than they're applied, so efficiency is an ever larger and cheaper resource.
Human beings are going to be relying on natural resources for a long time.
All our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people and harder - and ultimately impossible to solve - with ever more people.
We like to believe that, in our lifetime, the human condition is improving.
The outgrowth of conservation, the inevitable result, is national efficiency.