Economics reasons that monetary success is a product of competition, and that making profit from competition requires efficiency. Efficiency is usually only concerned with labor and capital, but there's more to it than that.
Countries such as Japan, Germany, and Scandinavian countries produce their products with about half the energy input of American industry. Denmark’s economy grew by 45% from 1990 to 2007 and its CO2 emissions were reduced by more than 13% in that time period. So economic growth doesn't conflict with caring for the environment.
Roughly, energy is 1/10th of the cost of production, so these countries have about a 5% advantage of efficiency for the U.S. It's a pretty large advantage, but this also includes other natural resources. Using natural resources more efficiently, gives one a larger stock of natural resources, and as a result increases competition, which in turn increases monetary gain.
^ Could use some of that I guess, I did something like this last year.