We all want to live, and to live well, and there's no reason why we shouldn't. But there is no room for anyone to live wastefully, mindlessly, excessively. There's lot of good news here. If you know where to look, you can already see efficient, elegant, sustainable consumption patterns emerging. Thousands of organic farmers are producing high yields of good foods without chemicals.
Drip irrigation grows crops with higher yields using much less water.
Renewable energy sources, from windmills and photovoltaic collectors to fuel cells, are the coming technologies for the coming century. I won't live to see that day, but I see no reason why our children or grandchildren couldn't. We know better. We know of the tremendous problems we cause each other and the millions of other creatures that co-inhabit our finite planet. We also know of the incredible accomplishments we've already pulled off and hundreds of others just waiting in the wings.