Imagine a world in which the ordinary effect of human activity—particularly activity that contributes to economic growth and social development—also protects and restores the environment. Imagine, too, a world in which large scale poverty has been eliminated.¹ This may sound like pie in the sky, but it is emphatically not. Indeed, if we do not make a transition toward this world within the next 50 years, the future will be painful and costly for both humans and the environment.² Making the transition is possible, but it will not be easy. The means and the end are indicated by a set of concepts called sustainable development.

Sustainable development is a new way of approaching the environment and its relationship to everything else we care about as a society.³ It does not lend itself to the neat categories Americans often use to describe themselves and others. It is not Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative. It is not about more government or less government, but about better governance. It is not about more economic growth or less economic growth, but about growth in things we value, including jobs, productivity, and profits, and reduction or elimination of things we don't value, such as waste, pollution, and poverty.⁴ It is based on a vision of society directed athuman quality of life, opportunity, and freedom. It is based on an understanding that the economic, social, environmental, and security goals of society together provide a foundation for realizing that vision. These goals, in turn, can be realized completely and coherently only if they are achieved at the same time.