A mere century of industrial progress unleashed a scourge of global warming that, if left unchecked, threatens to afflict our planet with climate upheaval and ecological breakdown on a scale not known for millions of years. Humankind's destructive dependence on 600 million oil-burning motor vehicles is not only overheating the fragile bubble of the atmosphere, it is showering all living creatures with toxic pollutants. Our insatiable hunger for raw materials -- fossil fuel, timber, minerals -- is devouring the Earth's last expanses of primeval wilderness, along with countless millions of plants and animals that have resided there for eons.

Industrial fishing practices are silently dismantling the farthest reaches and depths of the oceans, that watery cradle from which all life springs on our blue planet. The very icons of progress that pervade our lives and homes -- plastics, batteries, pesticides -- are sewing the seeds of cancer and other illness in the youngest among us. Meanwhile, Asia's explosive economic growth is poised to accelerate all of these disturbing environmental trends, doubling or tripling their potential impacts.

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