There's been a push to contaminate the environment by the ruling groups. I think they want to make people believe that this mindless consumerism is part of our nature and that humans as a whole are to blame for it, but I'm sure things would be a whole lot different with a decent government that cares for the nation.

Taking care of nature and the environment has a lot of benefits too. It teaches people about the ethics of being responsible and it usually is the source of many resources that are important for the economy as well. There is also the aesthetic value of it as well, since it is what makes the country attractive to people.