Economic growth and technological advancement can be good means to accomplish something but when do they become obsessive tools for the power hungry scientists and techies and others. They are but security seeking measures because we humans aren't sure about our place in the cosmos.
And the more we have, the more anxious we become because deep down inside we know that is not really not what we are seeking. The more we rely on technology the more disconnected we become from the ecology of the natural world. Yes solar panels are good but in the end are they enough to assuage our feeling of separation from our place in the cosmos.
The ecological crisis is also a spiritual crisis. We have veered far away from our womb in our pursuit of power and control and in the end especially with facing a plague we have to realize that we are not in charge here and surrender to the natural order of things and accept our more minor role in the scheme of things than we would like to have. We are stewards of the earth and its master.