“Sustainable development may be achievable in theory but not reached in practice if public policies and market forces do not lead to the needed investments.
We can summarize in the following way: the world is facing enormous ecological and environmental problems, but running out of natural resources is not the right way to describe the threat. Earth has the energy, land, biodiversity, and water resources needed to feed humanity and support long-term economic prosperity for all. The problem is that markets might not lead to their wise and sustainable use. There is no economic imperative that will condemn us to deplete our vital resource base, but neither is there an invisible hand that will prevent us from doing so. The choice will be ours to make through public policy and global cooperation.”
–Jeffrey D. Sachs, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet
