graykeeper, I would say that people want the benefits of the status quo, but not the drawbacks.  We keep trying to find a way to do that, to get only good out of our choices.  The sociopaths behind the big corporations are able to do just that.  They get the benefit, and we get the "externalized" costs.

I would also say that universally humans have very few real needs, and the issue is biological, not cultural.  We need air, first of all.   We can't go without for more than a few minutes.  We need water and food.   We need shelter from the elements, including clothing (most of the time).  All of those things that we need, NEED to be as pure as we can keep them.   We need medicine when we are ill or injured.   And we need non-destructive ways to experience our creativity, a drive based in our intelligence as an animal.   Beyond that, we don't have any real needs.  

Climate change is changing everything, and it's only going to get worse.