Earlier this century people became aware that if things continued in this way they could end up having a hard time even breathing. They came up with the idea of making polluters pay for the cost of the pollution they were responsible for. With that idea, a struggle over environmental rights, like the earlier one over human rights, became inevitable.
廿世紀初，開始有人意識到，如此下去大家連呼吸都困難，因此不願再忍受汙染，並提出「讓煙囪負責自己吐出的煙」﹘﹘汙染者必須拿錢出來處理汙染時，一場類似爭取人權的環境權爭奪戰便無可避免了。