Sustainable Development and the United States

• Author: John C. Dernbach
• Pages: 3-14

CHAPTER 1

Sustainable Development and the United

States

John C. Dernbach

This book is about the meaning of an essential and challenging idea

for the United States: sustainability.

Sustainable development is among the most important ideas to

come out of the 20th century—and it may be, in the long run, the most

important. Sustainable development deserves that label because it

provides a framework for humans to live and prosper in harmony with

nature rather than, as we have for centuries, at nature’s expense. Ev-

erything we care about—a growing economy, human well-being, and

security—is compromised, undermined, or lessened by environmen-

tal degradation. Conversely, a cleaner environment contributes to a

greater quality of life, a growing economy, and more security.

The United States, as we know,has the world’s biggest economy (in

spite of the impending recession), the world’s most powerful military,

impressive scientific and technological capability, a system of higher

education that draws students from every continent, and considerable

(if recently diminished) moral and political influence.

This book evaluates recent U.S. actions from a sustainable develop-

ment perspective and, of greater importance, provides a roadmap or

agenda for sustainability for the next 5 to 10 years. While most of us

have at least a vague idea that the United States (along with the rest of

the world) is not on a sustainable course, we do not have a particularly

clear idea of what to do. This book’s 41 contributing authors provide a

detailed and comprehensive answer to the big question: What does

sustainable development mean for the United States?

We live in times of growing danger and growing opportunity. The

world’s population is likely to increase by about three billion in the

next half century,1andthe world’s economy is projected to increase to

four to five times its present size in the same period.2Yetwith today’s

population and today’s economy, the overall condition of Earth’s eco-

systems, on which human life and well-being depend, is worsening. In

addition, the 2.6 billion people (40 percent of the world’s population)

3