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If we were to focus on a global scale the answer is obvious. Poverty is the one of the things which contribute least to pollution. To work out how impoverished an area is we collect a large volume of data. This includes literacy rates and average income among others but the one I which to focus on here the is the number employed in agriculture. How is it possible to pollute the earth with maize? I'd like to know how!
However it is also possible to look on a spiritual or metaphoric level. Is human suffering the real "pollution" of this world. Is this what we need to stop? Indeed we have to concede to the fact that this is unforgivable, but does it degrade the Earth in a similar way to the Greenhouse effect. No.
Poverty if anything builds spirit. It doesn't destroy it. One of the truly great things about humanity is our ability to hope. Just listen to their songs and look at their unwavering belief in all things good. I digress
Those which make it through poverty do however can give rise to huge global economies, just look at the Asian Tigers! These economies are doing wonders. So much for the metaphoric argument.
As for real pollution? Well it goes without saying the tigers contribute greatly but they can no longer be seen as impoverished. While the average pay may not seem like much to us, everything is affordable to the workers in this area. True poverty is in run down agriculture areas or in the slums of cities. Just how are these people contributing to pollution? I'd like to know.

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