Gang Green

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CORREA: One of the things we can do — and do do at GE — is behave the same, environmentally, anywhere in the world. In many parts of the world, that means you are doing a heck of a lot better not only with the environment but with safety and cultural diversity. So big companies are actually a force for tremendous good.

LIFSET: We can ask, Will technology automatically solve problems? That's a complicated question and one worth careful attention. We know the fuel efficiency of cars over the past quarter-century has gone up significantly, and they pollute less per mile driven. At the same time, we drive more miles.

Or take something as prosaic as the design of beverage containers. How much plastic, glass and metal do we use now, per ounce, compared with 20 years ago? It is absolutely clear that we use far, far less. But are we consuming more soda and moving from large containers to single-use containers so that we end up having to deal with more containers overall? This is a classic case of opposite forces. Our behavior is at cross-purposes with the potential benefits of new technology.