In general, any productive activity which introduces substances foreign to the natural environment runs a considerable risk of polluting it.

No action is without its side effects.

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.

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.

It reflects a prevailing myth that production technology is no more amenable to human judgment or social interests than the laws of thermodynamics, atomic structure or biological inheritance.

The environmental crisis is a sign that the ecosphere is now so heavily strained that its continued stability is threatened. It is a warning that we must discover the source of this suicidal drive and master it before it destroys the environment-and ourselves.

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