Governance: Communities as Sustainability Leaders, States as Energy Leaders (and the Federal Government Catching Up?)

• Author: John C. Dernbach
• Pages: 81-100

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chaP tER 5

Governance:

Communities as Sustainability Leaders,

States as Energy Leaders (and the Federal

Government Catching Up?)

    



      











      

    

  

     



              



 



            

Our Common Journey

   possible    

           





    













82 acting aS if tomoRRow mattERS

Somescientists askwhether wehaveeven thatmuch time,emphasizing our

limitedunderstanding ofhow muchstress physical andecological systemscan

takewithoutcollapsingorchanginginwaysthatwouldbedisastroustohumans.6

Theypointoutthatwecouldovershootthetolerancelevelofthesesystemswithout

evenknowingit,leadingtoirreversibleoutcomes.Thatstoryline,whichdoesnot

contradictthemagnitudeof therequiredchanges,nonethelessaddsconsiderable

urgencytothetask.

Sustainabledevelopment requiresthat wereverse certainpathswe havefol-

lowedfordecadesandwilllikelytakedecadestoovercome.FortheUnitedStates,

theseincludehighconsumptionlevelsformaterials,energy,andwater—andland

usethathasencouragedsprawlanddependenceontheautomobile.Wehavelittleif

anyexperiencewithlawinconceivingandcarryingoutmultigenerationalprojects

ofthisscale.WhiletheUnitedStateshasconsiderableexperience andsuccessin

maintainingpolicygoalsover longperiodsoftime inforeignpolicy(e.g., Mon-

roeDoctrine againstforeigncolonization orintervention inLatinAmerica) and

domesticpolicy (e.g.,reduction andprosecution of crime),few ofour national

goalsinvolvealong-termprojectformovingfromanunacceptableorlessaccept-

ablesituationtoanacceptableormoreacceptablesituation(balancingthebudget

maybeanexception).

Bycontrast,politicallifeintheUnited Statesisorganizedaroundtwo-,four-,

andsix-year electioncycles.7Sustainable developmentwillnot happenif every

newpresidentorcongressstartsalloveragainorrevisitsbasicpremises.Wethus

needtodevelopthecapacitytosetandachievelong-termobjectivesandcreatethe

institutionsandpoliticalownershipnecessarytorealizethem.

Sustainabl e developmen t also requi res the syste matic integ ration of env i-

ronmentalconcerns and goals into decisionmaking. Conventional development

decisionsbygovernmentsandprivateactors—transportationprojectsoreconomic

development, for e xample—should inc lude environmental  considerations and

resultinenvironmental protectionandevenrestoration.8 Whilethesechallenges

aresometimesaddressed inenvironmentallaw,theyarebroader.Environmental

lawtendstotargetadiscretesetofproblems—airandwaterpollution,wasteman-

agementandremediation,andendangered species—withasetoflegaltoolsthat

areprimarilyregulatory.But sustainabilityinvolvesmuchmore thanregulation.

“Environmentalpolicyas awhole,”Prof.RichardAndrews oftheUniversity of

NorthCarolinaexplains,“includesallgovernmentactionsthatalternaturalenvi-

ronmentalconditions and processes,for whatever purposeand underwhatever

label.”9This includessubsidies,economic developmentprograms, international

trade,landuse,taxation,andotherpoliciesandlaws.

Sosustainable development is di fferentfrom ordinary governance issues in

twoprofoundways—bylookingaheadoveramuchlongerperiodoftimeandby

systematicallyintegrating theenvironmentinto decisionmakingthroughthe use

ofa widevariety oflegal andpolicy tools.Yetgovernancefor sustainabilityis