Some of the most polluted places on Earth are in the former Soviet Union

Take a look here!
Mostly in the former USSR, and yet none around Moskov... how strange is that?! ;)

So Popper and Sagan were right in seeing a clear connection between democracy, free speech and the control over common resources...

Imagine now, if history when the other way around, and USSR actually won: we could have more of this kind of ecological devastation, and without anyone complaining (since to complain, you must have some kind of freedom anyway).
After all the "green" way of thinking is an relatively recent invention of the north Europe, it is not present at all in the East and Far East, nor in Russia.