Striking the right balance

MANKIND is facing a dilemma because we need material resources to survive, yet the industrial economic approach to providing these resources has resulted in serious damage to the environment and thus to the very resources needed for our survival.

However, there may be a way out of this dilemma: the adoption of an approach called “preventive environmental management.” This approach reduces the costs associated with pollution, and thus helps increase, not undermine, corporate profits. There should also be a shift to a “service economy,” in contrast to the current emphasis on the production of material goods.