Ever since Rachel Carson came out with her book Silent Spring in 1962 warning of the dangers of using DDT, environmentalists have been warning of the dangers of polluting the Earth. While many countries have seriously attempted to reduce their garbage and air and water pollution, others seem to be more concerned with increasing their economic output.

Studies show that in the developed, western nations, many of the world’s pollution problems are declining. A 1996 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the emission of gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that are believed to cause global warming have dropped by two-thirds since the 1980s. Improvements in wastewater treatments have also led to a reduction of raw sewage that is dumped into the developed countries’ waterways. The amount of contaminated land and water in First World countries is...