The election of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will result in political appointments to the environmental agencies and the policies they pursue which will be much more to the liking of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) community and much less so to industry. The impact of this change will be amplified by Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-Cal.) ouster of Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) as chair of the U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee. Indeed, environmental policies will take on a distinctly California character with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) as Speaker of the House and Sen.

When the 111th Congress convenes, a priority for environmental policy leaders should be to ensure sustainable soils. The escalating crisis in soil destruction and nonpoint source pollution is tied to a decades-long reluctance to curb the environmental impacts of agriculture.

Movies frequently entertain us with icons of wise leadership. Yoda in Stars Wars is the serene, all-knowing one who teaches Luke Skywalker the ways of The Force to save the galaxy. Mr. Kesuke Miyagi in Karate Kid rescues the boy and goes on to mentor him to be at the top of his fighting rank. He could do all this because he had a "brown belt"... from JC Penney. But in the real world, what does it take to lead?

Imagine a world in which retailers and manufacturers know where every consumer item is at all times. From manufacture to the point of sale, every consumer item can be tracked individually along the supply chain. Out-of-stocks are virtually eliminated. Imagine finding every item on your list, every time you go into a store--any store. Would you spend less? According to the retail industry you would.

Editor's Summary

This issue of Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis is devoted to excerpts from Agenda for a Sustainable America, edited by John C. Dernbach and published in 2009 by ELI Press. Copies can be ordered by calling 1-800621-2736 or visiting http://www.eli.org.

Editor's Summary

Editor's Summary

Editor's Summary

Although the United States led sustainability reforms in international financial institutions in the 1980s and 1990s, these environmental and social considerations were not given sufficient attention during the last presidential administration. The United States is still in a position to continue positive change on these issues, however, and can do so by encouraging multilateral development banks and export credit agencies to integrate social and environmental considerations into their lending decisions.