Economic Growth Without Environmental damage: Mirage or Reality
Billions of years ago, a chunk of mass detached from Sun and started orbiting at the third nearest orbit from it. If anybody was observing this phenomenon from far far way maybe using his gigantic binoculars, he couldn't have predicted evolution of a species called 'Homo sapiens', more intelligent than any other species ever known or existed on Earth.
To describe more about this specie, they are a bunch of smart people with two legs, two hands, a torso and a head. At the apex, lies the brain, its most valuable component, its governor. Its function is supposedly to decide distinguish between what is right and what is wrong and to think in a utilitarian way, for others(includes other people and other species). And what is does is it dreams, to insatiable amounts. It is wise to decide between right and wrong, but its desires are centered to self not to others. It uses others as objects for blame, in case it is revealed he is being selfish.
If anyone can catch this human behavior and think about its implication, its crystal clear. The human wants are insatiable. The resources provided to it by nature lie at the very core of its desires to become rich. Instead of a desire to lead a happy life, human mind desires growth, economic growth, irrespective of whether it gives him happiness. Out of more than six billion humans thriving on earth, even if one desires economic growth and grows, it is at the cost of damage to the nature. The result, this growth is given the name 'success' and then few more and many more following the example.
The inference is very simple, humans are living the way they are meant to.
"Economic growth without environmental damage is a mirage, but Happiness without environmental damage is reality".