One of the peculiar commonplaces of our time is the realization that civilized life cannot continue in its present form. In 1987, in study titled "Our Common Future", the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development observed that humans, through their technology, activities, and sheer numbers, now have "the power radically to alter planetary systems." Indeed, "major, unintended changes are ocurring in the atmosphere, in soils, in waters, among plants and animals, and in the relationships among all of these. The rate of change is outstripping the ability of scientific disciplines and our current capabilities to assess and advise. It is which evolved in a different, more fragmented world, to adapt and cope. It deeply worries many people who are seeking ways to place those concerns on the political agenda." That somber conclusión rets upon an analysis of economic and technical factors.