Passage Summary: Since the environment is getting better in rich countries, it suggests that we need to stay wealthy to keep fixing the environment, rather than banning all resource use.

Conclusion: The recent environmental improvements support the argument that we should avoid overly restrictive resource policies that might hurt the economy.

Reasoning: Environmental quality has improved in wealthy regions, and maintaining these improvements requires the financial resources generated by using natural resources.

Analysis: The columnist is trying to link economic wealth to the ability to implement environmental protections. To strengthen this, look for an answer that confirms this link, perhaps by showing that environmental progress is dependent on the availability of capital. We want to bridge the gap between the fact that we have more trees now and the claim that we need to keep using resources to afford those improvements.