Re: It's everywhere
Regarding water/sewage our beaches and waterways have never been cleaner. All of the fuss over the last couple of years was sparked by us increasing the monitoring of sewage releases whereas in the past we just silently let them happen. It's not really a surprise that when you count things you end up with a bigger number than if you don't count things.
Regarding cars they're safer, more reliable and massively more efficient than they were in the past all whilst not increasing in price in real terms.
Clothing? Well maybe that has gone down in quality but there's no denying that, in many cases, it's ridiculously cheap nowadays. 40 years ago a pair of Levis was about $25. Adjusted for inflation that'd be $90 in today's money but instead they go for half that. Spend $90 on some jeans today and you'll probably get some of similar quality to that vintage pair.
It's easy to talk down capitalism, the west and, particularly, 'Brexit Britain' but the reality is that in almost all ways things still continue to get better for the vast majority of society