What is the impact of modern lifestyle on the environment?

If this question was asked a decade or two decades ago, I
think that the answer would be vastly different.  In my mind, modern lifestyle is more
concerned with the environment's protection now than it has been for some time.  This is
not to say that the problems of the environment have been solved.  In actuality, the
steps being taken now are small dents in a larger problem.  There is much more of an
emphasis in the modern lifestyle on being conscious of the environment.  Appliances that
are "energy friendly," cars that operate on hybridized forms of fuel, or even energy
lightbulbs that are "green" all represent how modern lifestyle is concerned with
environmental awareness.  The modern lifestyle's trash contains "Recycle" containers and
distinctions for paper and plastic goods.  The emergence of organic food options in the
"modern lifestyle" is not seen as "odd" but rather as progressive and something that
others emulate.

Having said all of this, I would pivot and
suggest that this notion of "the modern lifestyle" has to be qualified a bit more. In
many parts of the world, the conception of "the modern lifestyle" has nothing to do with
environmental awareness.  In the ever competitive setting of globalization, nations seek
to gain economic vitality and do so without much in way of environmental awareness. 
Companies, eager to post profits, have little problem dumping toxic waste in water as
opposed to disposing of it properly and with an environmental focus in mind. 
Communities representing modern urban sprawl and heavy consumption also have no problem
engaging in activities that are not environmentally protective.  For example, the Yamuna
River, one of the most significant rivers in India is the victim to "a modern
lifestyle."  The national capital of New Delhi dumps 58% of its waste in its basins. 
The concept of "modern lifestyle" carries with it different reads, and with it,
different visions of environmental awareness.