Fifty years ago, when Atlanta was just a charming, southern town of modest ambition, very few people could have foreseen our emergence as the commercial and social capital of the New South. One hundred years ago, when much of our City's infrastructure, such as our sewer system, was put in place, no one anticipated the kind of explosive growth Atlanta has experienced in recent decades. And there is no end in sight. Over the next ten years, the population of metro Atlanta is expected to grow by one million people. As our population grows, so does the demand for public services.
More people means more traffic, more energy and water needs, and more waste.
While lack of foresight and decades of under-funding and infrastructure neglect now pose huge environmental challenges, I believe we have also been offered a great opportunity. As the 20th century comes to a close, Atlanta has an excellent chance of sustaining, and even improving its quality of life. We now understand that a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand in hand. We now have the opportunity to learn from our past mistakes and manage our natural resources with greater wisdom and foresight. That means changing the way we behave and the way we do business.