The pharmaceutical company Merck is paying 1 million dollars to Costa Rica to prospect in its rainforests. The forest is linked to the hydrologic cycle. If the forest is cleared, the rivers slow or stop flowing and there is less rainfall. When the Kuna people of Panama clear forest for planting, they leave some tall trees standing so the forest can grow back. The colonists clear all the trees and the soil is degraded by erosion, compaction, and leaching.
Rainfall is diminished.
There is certainly a debate as to the gravity of the population growth and environmental problems. In the U.S. the price of gasoline is low at the pump because its subsidized by the government. If we factored in the true costs, we would be forced to improve efficiency. Energy conservation and renewable energy sources are a great economic opportunity, a gold mine if you will, for an industrialized country to take the lead on. It could develop the technology for reducing emissions, renewable energy, and energy conservation.