by Ryan Weber

Created on: April 23, 2008

Since the Industrial Revolution littered the skies of London, the bullish march of technology continues to quicken its pace. Charles Dickens commented in his work, A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Although published in 1859, this assessment certainly rings true in modern America. We live in one of the most prosperous civilizations of all time when measured in material wealth. As we contemplate the fate of our planet on Earth day, one question must be asked; are we making the world better or worse?

Nineteenth Century England was both the brightest and darkest times Britons had ever seen up to that point. The shimmer of progress and profits shone brilliantly for those who weren't doomed to twelve-hour work days in the factories. For the working class, dark clouds of ash dimmed the few hours of daylight they were able to spend outside.

Today, things have gotten better for both the profit seeker and the worker; at least in industrialized nations. Improved labor standards have forced large corporations to become even larger multi-national corporations, often with larger profits than GDP of small nations. Corporate giants have not yet been forced to deal with their adverse effects on the planet. Industrialized nations like the US and Western Europe enacted environmental standards which were easily avoided by outsourcing production to less-developed countries which lacked the infrastructure to enforce clean industry. For these countries, the need to provide jobs to its impoverished people was the main concern so they opened the doors to corporations and have largely ignored the economic cost.

Developed nations may finally be on the brink of making a change thanks to explosive oil prices. Only last year, the price of oil per barrel was around $60. Oil rose to a new record of over $123 per barrel on May 7, 2008. Rising oil prices have been forcing consumers and auto manufacturers to do some soul searching. Two years ago, bio-fuels were virtually unheard of, but today gas stations across the US are beginning to provide the alternative to fossil-fuel. Toyota produced the Prius in response to consumer's demand for fuel-economy. It has quickly become the darling of consumers seeking a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle which boasts up to 50 miles per gallon.

Another factor in saving the planet is reducing greenhouse gas emissions like CO2. According to the US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory report, which lists CO2 emissions by sector,

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