This paper offers a fresh perspective on causes of and solutions to environmental problems, and would be useful as an initiator of classroom discussions. The author argues that in our pursuit of a society based on environmentally sound principles, we have perhaps misidentified the villains, and have latched into solutions that may be either naive, or narrow. One commonly identified villain, for example, is population growth. While there is no doubt that more people put a greater burden on natural resources and human amenities, and that population growth should be controlled, this factor is not so important as high per capita consumption based on high per capita income. Other more complex examples, such as corporations, technology, and our socioeconomic systems, are similarly examined in terms of their contribution to the environmental crisis. The author concludes that an intelligent use of regulation and incentive penalty systems which take into account the complex interrelationships in modern industrialized society, will go a long way toward solving the problems, while leaving the most individual freedom intact. (JLB)