Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., recently drew heat for saying, “rich people, it turns out, like clean air and clean water,” at a town hall. Brat was pointing out that economic growth is good for the environment. Sam Levine at The Huffington Post quickly pounced on Brat’s comments, mocking him with a headline that says “Getting Rich Will Solve That Whole Environment Thing.” In reality, they’re right — economic growth will help solve “that whole environment thing.”

As Brat said, everyone likes clean air and clean water, including rich people. Everyone wants to see a healthy planet, and that desire does not disappear as people grow wealthier. But one thing does change as the country grows wealthier: the amount of resources available to devote to protecting the environment and invest in energy-saving technologies.