[In part 2 of this series, I review the beginning of Sustainability and the U.S. EPA, a book written by the prestigious National Academy of Sciences for the EPA. In this "Green Book" the Academy makes the case that the EPA has the authority to regulate any and all activity, in the name of achieving "sustainability."]
The Green Book includes two Minnesota connections: the Committee credited with writing the book includes Dr. Stephan Polasky of the University of Minnesota and the Committee thanks Deborah Swackhamer of the U for making a presentation to the committee.
The preface to the Green Book covers about a page and a half (pages vii and viii). In the preface's first paragraph alone, the authors use the word "sustainability" nine times without bothering to define the word anywhere in the preface. Since the Academy is urging that most human activity be regulated by the EPA using this single word, it would help us to know what the authors mean by it.
The EPA itself provides little help. On its website, the Agency defines "sustainability" as follows,
"Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. Sustainability is important to making sure that we have and will continue to have, the water, materials, and resources to protect human health and our environment."
This feel-good vagueness is of little help in understanding whether the Agency will allow you to build a shopping center or drill for natural gas.
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