In this modern day and age there is absolutely no reason why manufacturing of all sorts, including the manufacture of energy cannot be done in an environmentally conscious manner. --- We can no longer allow ourselves to be victimized by a dependence on technologies that have not been tamed to the needs of a more crowded planet, with many more people wanting more products. Government may serve as catalyst for the development of new technologies, by rewarding those processes that effectively cost us less in the long run, including the reduced cost of health care due to less toxic methods.
It is time to realize that the human population now has the proven potential to negatively impact every living thing on this planet. As a major force on this planet we must assume a responsibility for protecting the wild and the wildlife that lives within. Our dietary needs can easily be met if our energies are given over to producing peace and not making war.
If the cost of the destruction we have sewn on the world were eliminated, and that money were returned to the country in the form of more disposable income, the resulting higher standard of living would yield higher profit margins for businesses that would easily accommodate more expensive processes that we now claim are prohibitive.
It is neither a platitude nor an oversimplification to say that we must rearrange our priorities.