Power and influence magnify the scope of our decisions, but they do not dictate their rectitude or lack thereof. If we recognize individuals to be the problem as opposed to the variety of nebulous legal aggregates that these individuals may comprise, then solutions to our environmental problems become easier to formulate, and maybe even easier to achieve. The individual polluter either has a head problem or a heart problem. Head problems are relatively easy. They require only a basic education concerning environmental issues.
Heart problems are more challenging.
To the degree to which our citizens lack the capacity for self-government, we must then rely on civil government to restrain our unethical behavior. If we are not careful, the cure may prove far worse than the disease since we know that excessive regulation and centralized control have historically proved to be insidious threats to the freedom, prosperity and well-being of a nation. Paradoxically, they also endanger the very environment they seek to protect. Excessive regulation strangles productive enterprise and stifles creation of new anti-pollution technologies. Decreasing productivity produces a declining standard of living.