As for the forests and wild animals, when they are depleted and if they are to be brought back, it won't be in our time or our children's time. If every country was developed like the United States, the oil consumption would be increased fifty times, iron one hundred times, and other metals 200 times. And the United States itself would have to triple its use of these materials simply in the process of production itself. There are not enough raw materials in the world to do this, nor would the atmosphere be able to take the change. It is not only that materialist development fosters violence, but it also destroys the values of time and space.
Space simply has three dimensions which are filled with material things.
That is why Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a leading Thai monk, says that development means confusion, for it assumes the more the merrier, the longer one's life the better, with no thought of measuring the real value of a long evil life as against that of a short good life. This is contrary to the teaching of the Buddha, who said that the life of a good person, however short it may be, is more valuable than that of an evil one, however long. So, if we follow the idea of Buddhist development, then we need to pursue a good life instead of a high living standard. It is only religion which puts material things in second place and keeps the ultimate goals of development in sight, that can bring out the true value in human life. From the Buddhist point of view, development must aim at the reduction of craving, the avoidance of violence, and the development of the spirit rather than of material things.