An executive in Phoenix runs a company in Akron by use of his laptop and FAX machine. Numerous workers do not even report to an office today. Whole industries have moved to places where wages are lower and labor laws and environmental standards less stringent than they are in the United States. Capital moves around the world for the most advantageous investment yields, virtually instantaneously. A financial crisis in Southeast Asia affects the economy in the United States.
Environmental degradation is no longer a local matter, but a global issue.
Political borders do not make any difference. Acid rain from factories in Canada or the Midwest pollute lakes in upstate New York. Nuclear waste from Chernobyl fell in Finland. And cancer is a major disease in industrialized areas like New Jersey. Population growth in the last 100 years has been astounding.