The environmental crisis arises from a fundamental fault: our systems of production - in industry, agriculture, energy and transportation - essential as they are, make people sick and die.

Everything is connected to everything else. Everything must go somewhere. Nature knows best. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

It is simply economically impossible to require controls that even approach zero emissions.

The modern assault on the environment began about 50 years ago, during and immediately after World War II.

What is needed now is a transformation of the major systems of production more profound than even the sweeping post-World War II changes in production technology.

The most meaningful engine of change, powerful enough to confront corporate power, may be not so much environmental quality, as the economic development and growth associated with the effort to improve it.

By adopting the control strategy, the nation's environmental program has created a built-in antagonism between environmental quality and economic growth.