1 . Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization. Back then, as well as today, providing food and security was the basic task for a person. However, nowadays the range of required goods has expanded greatly. People feel the need for not only some primary things, such as a piece of bread and a roof over their heads, but also for various facilities and luxuries(奢侈品). Providing humanity with these things is connected to the use of natural resources, which requires energy. The problem is that the common sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost unavoidably associated with environmental damage.

There are certain aspects of economic growth which affect the environment. One of these is the fact that in order to produce more goods and products, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These plants produce a lot of waste, leading to the pollution of water and the atmosphere, which may cause negative long term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people.

Industrial manufacturing leads to the constantly increasing energy consumption.The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. There also exist so­called eco­friendly sources of energy. They are sometimes preferred but replacing the traditional sources with them also requires time, during which people have to make some sacrifices(牺牲)to support these undertakings. What’s more, to produce economically practical energy, people unavoidably have to transform the natural site.This is expensive and, has harmful effects on the environment. For example, application of wind energy would block air flows’ natural speed, which is the reason for their decrease in strength after crossing the windmill. Consequently, the pressure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected, and it is important to remember that the environment and weather conditions are directly affected by atmospheric pressure.

For these reasons, bringing about economic growth without any resulting environmental damage, whatsoever, is impossible.