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Perhaps The Simplest Example Is A Synthetic Plastic, Which Unlike Natural Materials, Is Not Degraded By Biological Decay. It Therefore Persists As Rubbish Or Is Burned-in Both Cases Causing Pollution. In The Same Way, A Substance Such As Ddt Or Lead, Which Plays No Role In The Chemistry Of Life And Interferes With The Actions Of Substances That Do, Is Bound To Cause Ecological Damage If Sufficiently Concentrated.

Environmental Quality Was Drastically Improved While Economic Activity Grew By The Simple Expedient Of Removing Lead From Gasoline - Which Prevented It From Entering The Environment.

The Gap Between Brute Power And Human Need Continues To Grow, As The Power Fattens On The Same Faulty Technology That Intensifies The Need.

The Environmental Crisis Is Somber Evidence Of An Insidious Fraud Hidden In The Vaunted Productivity And Wealth Of Modern, Technology-based Society. This Wealth Has Been Gained By Rapid Short-term Exploitation Of The Environmental System, But It Has Blindly Accumulated A Debt To Nature-a Debt So Large And So Pervasive That In The Next Generation It May, If Unpaid, Wipe Out Most Of The Wealth It Has Gained Us.

Air Pollution Is Not Merely A Nuisance And A Threat To Health. It Is A Reminder That Our Most Celebrated Technological Achievements-the Automobile, The Jet Plane, The Power Plant, Industry In General, And Indeed The Modern City Itself-are, In The Environment, Failures.