The Economic or Our Environment

The dilemma between the blind pursuit of higher economic growth and protecting our environment has been a widely debated issue for a long time. While everyone would prefer to protect our environment, I admit that it is inevitable that the environment is affected in the midst of our pursuit of higher economic growth.
I personally think that these two concepts are intertwined, and may even be interdependent. Without natural resources like coal, natural gas, oil, water, our industries cannot run nor produce. However, without the push for improvement and innovation in our industries that presents itself naturally with economic growth, there will not be ideas for sustainable development or improvement of the environment. I do think that protecting our environment is more important than economic growth, but there is more than one way to protect our environment, not just preventing the destruction of land.
While authorities implement measures to reduce the destruction of our environment, every measure has its limitations. Hence, instead of waiting for authorities to do something about our environment, we ourselves should practise the sustainable use of our natural resources. It all takes a bit of discipline on our part, we can reduce the use of water by shortening our shower time, and reduce the use of electricity by consuming products that are energy efficient. Once countries secure a robust economy, they could reduce the depletion of resources by ways like recycling water (e.g NEWater in Singapore), using alternatives of energy like wind power, hydropower, or nuclear energy.
In conclusion, there is an inevitable conflict between our pursuit of higher economic growth and protecting our environment. While all of us speak in favour of protecting the environment, it is only reality that a part of our environment is sacrificed in our pursuit of higher economic growth. However, what is important is that countries do not ignore the protection of our environment once they have secured a stable economy.