Meanwhile，both old and new industrialized nations are taking advantage of the changes mandated by the environmental crisis to search for a pattern of progress which will lead to greater human satisfaction and social cohesion.
The choice between these two futures must be made not in 50 years' time but today.
More than two decades when the world could have been addressing these urgent problems have already been lost. Another lost decade will probably be decisive. As UNDP Administrator. James Gustave Speth recently testified:
"Forces have been unleashed in recent years that could give us, early in the new century，very different courses. We could witness large areas of the world dissolving into ethnic violence，poverty，hunger，and social and environmental disintegration. Or we could all be the beneficiaries of tremendous vitality and innovation for the creation of a new，just，and sustainable international order…But we must act now with determination and urgency. Everything that must be done should have been done yesterday. Tomorrow it will be more costly .Time is the most important variable in the equation of the future.”
Mates have drawn back from the brink of collapse，and domestic and international resources have been gradually shifted from military and peace-keeping budgets to investments in economic development，social progress, and environmental protection. The established industrialized nations have all reduced military spending，restricted arms sales, and invested more financial and human resources in working with developing nations to fired the technologies that can meet the legitimate aspirations of their 7 billion people for a higher standard of living while preserving the integrity of local and global environments.