Übergeek 바둑이:
I agree with much of what you said. It is a conundrum.
I think such judgments can only be made realistically on a local community level. That too would be difficult in our disjointed societies in which there is a great deal of fluidity with large numbers of individuals relocating with some regularity.
I don't think any national or state policy could adequately address the issues you expounded.
In the world as it is, the real problem is that people work for corporations instead of corporations working for people. Of course corporations should make profits, but profit above all else is a disastrous model both for the environment and the work force.