Superficially, it might seem informative.
But if you look into the various industries, not so much.
In aviation, engines have become 1% more efficient per year, which means 3 related things:
1) they burn half as much fuel as ~72 years ago
2) the range is double, so that 737's can fly globe-spanning international routes now (this is game-changing)
3) engines are "powerful enough" for the first time - for any mission, there is an off-the-shelf engine. Until recently the v1 was always underpowered.
Computers might be banal outside of IT, but I remember when floating point was optional and compilers were a crap shoot. :) Also, Moore's Law kept pace in the time window the author wrote about.
We do need to put the pollution genie back in the bottle though. I remember when the Great Lakes and Niagara River were flammable, with green froth oozing from the banks.
There is little awareness of reuse in the West, which is hugely better than recycling.
Not well-known, while the US recycles 99% of cars, but most municipalities just landfill those blue bins since private garbage contractors can't make money off them.