“Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment?”

Explanation

As we learn in the text, the first Brandt Report raised the above mentioned question about the deteriorating condition of the planet. Earth is like a “patient in declining health”.
The depletion of forests, grasslands, fisheries and croplands are the result of excessive demand for resources. Over-population has led to a severe strain on the health of our planet.
We must realise soon that in this “Era of Responsibility” it is solely our duty to preserve our planet.
We must realise that the earth belongs as much to the future generation as much to us. Rather making it our property, we should do our best to preserve it for the generations we have “borrowed it from”.