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Creative Commons Photo by Stefan: Daikokuten is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune. He is the god of wealth, commerce and trade (hence the bales of rice under his feet).

Most of the environmental movement is built on the theory, that the richer we get, the dirtier the world gets. At first glance, it seems to be logical. The more money we make, the more things we consume, and the more energy we use.

In fact, ecologist Paul Ehrlich and the physicist John P. Holdren (President Obama’s science adviser) came up with a whole new equation to sum up this “money is the root of all environmental evil” theory. It basically says, environmental impact=Population X Affluence X Technology (I=PAT).

But John Tierney, who wrote a piece for the New York Times, says this is based on flawed logic. He adds that common sense and a steady stream of data from the 1970s (when the I=PAT theory was first formed) reveal this flaw.

Tierney writes:

Those projections make it easy to assume that affluence and technology inflict more harm on the environment. But while pollution can increase when a country starts industrializing, as people get wealthier they can afford cleaner water and air.

Research backs this up. Over the years, researchers saw that as societies became richer, instead of an exponential burst of pollution, studies indicated that pollution leveled out. And then dropped! (An exception exists: Kierney points out that in countries with inept, despotic governments and that have poor property rights protections, this inverted U-shape graph never forms.)

If you want to make the world a better–or at least a cleaner–place to live, Tierney seems to say, your faith shouldn’t be in laws or treaties, it should be in, well, you. You need to become a wealth generator and a good steward of this wealth.

The planet is depending on you.