The present environmental pollution tends to cause enormous damage in common. For instance, each driver is discharging exhaust gas in addition to factories, which contributes to raising the percentage of carbon dioxide and destroying forests. Every household is draining waste water beside industrial facilities, which leads to polluting water resources such as seas and rivers. An economic activity of the present world gives the highest priority to efficiency and convenience, which wastes natural resources as a whole.
Each volume of effect might be within legal minimum but these factors are damaging surrounding nature through multiplier effect. In other words, Japan experienced the rapid economic growth in 1960's when it expanded productivity in heavy industry and caused environmental pollution. However, the present environmental pollution takes less clear routes than that of 1960's. We can no more guess easily who is responsible for pollution and who are victims suffering from it. In the past cases of mercury poisoning and asthma caused by the air pollution, some big factories were to blame as the origin. To the contrary, difficulty in identifying the origin of pollution means also difficulty in preventing it.
The measures effective in the 60's can't deal with pollution particular to the major forms of pollution today.