Sooner or later, we must realize that we have to live within the planet's means. We can't use more water than the Earth is capable of providing. A globally sustainable civilization doesn't mean one that's poor or without joy. On the contrary, we can have spectacularly affluent civilizations where we don't use more resources than the environment can provide. I call this eco-affluence. There can be new lifestyles of the grandest quality that heal rather than harm our global ecosystem.
A quality of life that doesn't damage the environment doesn't mean “back-to-nature.” You don't have to live like Thoreau (unless you want to). It could mean living in a superbly sophisticated city, near family, with the excitement of creative work, cultural diversity, elegant parks and superlative entertainment. Cities can be both beautiful and ecologically correct. A good lifestyle may mean developing a connection to religion, beauty and community. Future civilizations will be anything but simple, and they will have a wide variety of lifestyles.
There are many ways to be affluent without harming the environment. Some involve the love of nature, some involve high technology and some involve opera, baseball, theater, or jazz. The Earth will have large protected areas of ancient and immense biodiversity, and some people will be passionate about understanding this biodiversity. Some will be crazy about ocean racing, paragliding, birding, breeding orchids, hydroponics, cricket, camping or walking in beautiful places. Digital technology will bring global computer games with virtual reality of great richness. With hi-fi earphones and high-definition goggles, we can take state-of-the-art entertainment anywhere.
The future will be characterized by a rapid growth in knowledge and new techniques for putting knowledge to work. Routine work will continue to be done by machines, leaving humans to focus increasingly on jobs that demand human feeling and creativity. The 21st century will bring extraordinary levels of eco-affluent creativity. There will be a near-infinite number of eco-affluent avocations and hobbies.
我们迟早一定会意识到，我们不得不在地球所能提供的物质财富范围内生活。地球能给我们提供多少水 源，我们就只能用多少，绝对多用不了。全球可持续的文明并不意味着我们过穷日子，没有快乐可言。相 反，我们有非常丰富的文明资源。在此情况下，我们所使用的资源不会超出环境所能提供给我们的。我们 将此称为生态资源丰富。我们可以拥有最高质量的新的生活方式，这种生活方式不但不会破坏全球生态系 统，反而能治愈生态环境创伤。
不破坏环境的生活质量并非是“回归自然”。你不必像梭罗那样过着苦行生式的田园生活，（除非你想那样 生活）。这意味着生活在非常高级的城市里面守着家，享受创造生活带来的喜悦，享受多元化、高雅的公 园以及高雅的文艺生活等。城市可以做到既漂亮又环保。好的生活方式可意味着信仰宗教，享受美感，参 与社团生活。未来文明绝非生活单调，而是有各式各样的生活方式。做到既富有又不破坏环境的途径很 多，有些牵涉到对大自然的热爱，有些涉及到高科技，有些又与戏剧、垒球、剧院及爵士音乐有关。地球 会有许多古老而又极富生物多样性的保护区，而有些人将对了解这些生物多样性充满热情。有些人将会热 衷于环球帆船赛、滑翔伞、捕鸟、养花、水栽培、板球、野营、或在美丽的景区散步等活动。数码技术将 给全球的电脑带来极其丰富的虚拟现实的电脑游戏，运用高保真耳机和高清晰护目镜，我们可以在任何地 点观看最先进的娱乐节目。
未来世界的特点是知识快速增加，将知识应用于工作的技术快速提高。日常工作将继续由机器完成，让人 越来越专注于需要人类情感的工作和创新性工作。21世纪将会有很多高端针对生态资源富足研究的创新。 将会对生态资源富足的研究产生几乎无限多的业余爱好和兴趣。