I. Foresight as a Foundation for Security

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has often been called our nation's environmental Magna Carta. NEPA's structure and language are constitutional in character. Widely recognized as the world's first comprehensive statement of environmental policy, NEPA became a model for environmental policy and law around the globe.

NEPA has had as much impact as any environmental statute in history. With some imagination and daring, NEPA could help us meet the 21st century challenge to confront global climate change, restore human and natural ecosystems and species, and build a green economy.

A prime motivation for NEPA was the explicit concern that economic and social factors were overriding environmental quality in public decisions. In a time of war and national security priorities (Vietnam, nuclear threats, Cold War detente with China and Russia), social upheaval (racial and gender equality and urban neglect), and economic problems (energy crisis, budget deficits, inflation, and scarce public dollars), the U.S. Congress and ultimately the president agreed that the deteriorating quality of our environment could not be relegated to second-class status. The parallels today to the need for NEPA are striking.