Issues in Sustainable Development
Dr. Lisa R. Shaffer
Spring 1998
This class will explore concepts related to sustainable development, and policy issues that derive from attempts to implement such an approach at the local, regional, national, and international scale. The most common definition of sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
This definition is found in the "Bruntland Report," officially called Our Common
Future, issued by the World Commission on Environment and Development in
1987. This report was important in making government leaders aware of the issue of sustainable development.
The course will not attempt to make students experts in all the areas described below. Rather, the objective is to teach students about the concepts and complexities of sustainability, and to expose them to key issues so that they have a basic understanding and appreciation of the range of policy options and tradeoffs that face decision-makers. The course also will acquaint students with a variety of experts in different fields and give them some experience with critical thinking, writing, and leading discussions.
Each week’s session will address one aspect of sustainable development, and try to explore the following questions:
What are the main concepts in the subject or process being discussed? (e.g., biodiversity, climate change, population, food)
How does this subject relate to sustainable development?
What policy questions in this area arise from attempts to achieve sustainable development?

Who are the main actors and how are they affected by sustainable development efforts?
What are the significant linkages between this subject and other topics covered in this course? (e.g., population and land use; agriculture and energy; trade and foreign policy)
Where do things stand now on different scales (local, regional, national, global) in addressing sustainability issues in this area? What changes have happened in the last 5-10 years? What is the outlook for the future?
Class Schedule
Class 1. April 9: Introduction and Overview: The Policy Process; Sustainable
Development
Dr. Lisa Shaffer. Includes discussion of course requirements and the paper due at the end of the quarter; introduction to policy analysis.
Class 2. April 16 : Foreign Policy and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Contact: Dr. Greg Cramer, 202-456-2894 (phone); 202-456-6028
(fax); email gcramer@ostp.eop.gov
Class 3. April 23: Population Policy and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Mr. Robert Engelman, Population Action International
Contact: Bob Engelman, 659-1833, x128 phone, 293-1795 fax, re@popact.org
Class 4. April 30: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Policy
Guest speaker: Mr. Paul Faeth, Director, Program in Economics and Population,
WRI
Contact: Paul Faeth: 202-662-3499; paul@wri.org

Class 5. May 7: Overview of Sustainable Development: How is it defined, how is it measured, how does it vary by region of the world.
Guest speaker: Dr. Allen Hammond, Director, Strategic Analysis, World
Resources Institute.
Contact: Allen Hammond, 202-662-2574 phone; 628-0878 fax; allen@wri.org
MAY 7: PAPER TOPICS DUE. One paragraph, stating the issue and the person/position to whom the paper will be addressed.
6. May 14: Water and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Dr. Mark Schaefer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior for
Water and Science
Contact: Gladys or Angela, 208-4811 phone, 371-2815 fax, mark_schaefer@ios.doi.gov
7. May 21: Biodiversity and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Ian Bowles
Contact: Ian Bowles, 973-2251 phone, 887-5188 fax
8. May 28: Climate, Energy, and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Dr. D. James Baker, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
Contact: Pat Thorne, 482-3436 phone, 482-1156 fax, pat.thorne@noaa.gov
9. June 4: Public Health and Sustainable Development:

Guest speaker: Dr. Jonathan Patz, Director, Program on Health Effects of Global
Environmental Change,
Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
Contact: 410-955-4130 phone, 410-955-1811 fax, jpatz@jhsph.edu
10. June 11: Papers Due at 6:00 SHARP.
Wrap-up. Dr. Lisa Shaffer
PRELIMINARY READING LIST
Items with (*) are required. Additional readings are optional, and should be used as a resource to help students responsible for leading the discussion and students who choose that topic for their policy paper.
April 9: Introduction to Policy Analysis
REQUIRED: (read BEFORE the first class!)
* Weimer, David L., and Aidan R. Vining, Policy Analysis:
Concepts and Practice , Chapter 8, pp. 201-243 [available from
Darlene Otten, UCLA Administrator]
* Sample homework assignments
April 16: Foreign Policy and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, White House Office of Science &
Technology Policy
REQUIRED:

* World Commission on Environment and
Development, Our Common Future , Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 1987, pp. 1-23. (referred to below as
WCED)
*U.S. Department of State, "Environmental Diplomacy,
The Environment and U.S. Foreign Policy,"Department of
State Publications, Washington, DC, April 1997
(www.state.gov/www/global/oes)
* Talbott, Strobe, "Our Mission and the Global
Environment," in State Magazine , Department of State
Publications, Washington, DC, November/December 1996
SUPPLEMENTAL:
Shabecoff, Philip, A New Name for Peace: International
Environmentalism, Sustainable Development, and
Democracy , University Press of New England, Hanover,
1996.
April 23: Population Policy and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Mr. Robert Engelman, Population Action International
REQUIRED:
* Engelman, Robert, Why Population Matters , Population Action
International, Washington, 1997
* Engelman, Robert, "Human Population Prospects," in Environmental Change and Security Project Report , The
Woodrow Wilson Center, Issue 3, Spring 1997.
* WCED, Chapter 4, pp. 95 - 116
SUPPLEMENTAL:
Moffett, George D., Critical Masses: The Global Population
Challenge, Viking Press, 1994, pp. 1-24; 262-298.

Hughes, Barry B., International Futures: Choices in the Creation of a New World Order , Westview Press, Boulder, 1996. Pages 9 -
38
Daly, Herman E., and John B. Cobb, Jr., For the Common Good ,
Beacon Press, Boston, 1994. Chapter 12, pages 236-251
Meadows, Donella H., Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen
Randers, Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse,
Envisioning a Sustainable Future , Chelsea Green Publishing
Company, White River Junction, Vermont, 1992. Chapter 2, pages 14 - 43.
Malthus, T.R., An Essay on the Principle of Population , Oxford
University Press, Oxford, 1993.
Brown, Lester R., and Hal Kane, Full House: Reassessing the
Earth’s Population Carrying Capacity , W. W. Norton & Co.,
New York, 1994.
April 30: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Policy
Guest speaker: Mr. Paul Faeth, WRI
REQUIRED:
* WCED, Chapter 5, pp. 118 - 144
* Dower, Roger C., Daryl Ditz, Paul Faeth, Nels
Johnson, Frontiers of Sustainability: Environmentally Sound
Agriculture, Forestry, Transportation, and Power
Production, Island Press, Chapter 2.
* Brown, Lester R., Tough Choices: Facing the Challenge of Food
Scarcity , W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 1996 OR Brown, Lester
R., Who Will Feed China: Wake-up Call for a Small Planet , W. W. Norton
& Co., New York, 1995.

May 7: Overview of Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Allen Hammond, World Resources Institute
REQUIRED:
* Sustainable America , Executive Summary, President’s Council on
Sustainable Development, March 1996
*Hughes, Barry B., International Futures: Choices in the Creation of a
New World Order , pp. 9-44, 75-106.
*Hammond, Allen, Which World? Scenarios for the 21 st Century , Island Press
(forthcoming), excerpts TBD.
NOTE: PAPER TOPICS DUE AT 6:00 PM TODAY!!!
May 14: Water and Sustainable Development
Guest speaker: Dr. Mark Schaefer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior for Water and Science
REQUIRED:
* WCED, pp. 262-274
* The National Geographic special issue, "Water: The Power,
Promise, and Turmoil of North America’s Water," November
1993, entire issue, but especially pp. 38-53 on "California: Desert in Disguise."
* Reisner, Marc, Cadillac Desert , Penguin Books, New York, 1993, chapters 4, 5,
8.
* Clean Water Action Plan , White House (copies to be provided)

May 21: Biodiversity and Sustainable Development: Guest speaker: Mr. Ian
Bowles, Vice President for Conservation Policy, Conservation International
REQUIRED:
* Mittermeier, Russell A., and Ian A. Bowles, "Life on Earth: Mapping
Conservation Priorities," Choices , (undated).
* Mittermeier, Russell A., and Ian A. Bowles, "The Global Environment Facility and Biodiversity Conservation: Lessons To Date And Suggestions For Future
Action," Biodiversity and Conservation 2 , 1993.
* Bowles, Ian A. and Cyril F. Kormos, "Environmental Reform at the World
Bank: The Role of the U.S. Congress," Virginia Journal of International Law ,
Volume 35, Number 4, Summer 1995.
May 28: Climate, Energy, and Sustainable Development : Guest speaker: Dr. D.
James Baker, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere,
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
REQUIRED:
* Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
* Climate Change: State of Knowledge , Office of Science and Technology
Policy, (undated)
* Barron, Eric J., "Climate Models: How Reliable are their Predictions?" in Consequences , Autumn 1995, Vol. 1, No. 3, Saginaw Valley State
University, Saginaw Michigan
* Cooper, Kenneth, "Coal vs. Goals: India’s Dilemma,"
Washington Post ,
October 16, 1997.
SUPPLEMENTAL:

Understanding the Economics of Global Climate Change , Environmental
Media Services, Washington, DC (undated)
Barry, Dave, "Weather or Not," Washington Post Magazine
Clinton, William J., and Al Gore, Jr., The Climate Action Plan , Oct. 1993.
Lee, Kai N., Compass and Gyroscope: Integrating Science and Politics for the Environment , Island Press, Washington, DC, 1993.
Silver, Cheryl Simon, with Ruth S. DeFries, One Earth, One Future: Our
Changing Global Environment , National Academy Press, Washington,
DC, 1990.
Benedick, Richard Elliot, Ozone Diplomacy , Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Mass, 1991.
Washington Post
, "Linking Business’s Climate and Earth’s," January 12,
1997.
Roleff, Tamara L., (ed.), Global Warming: Opposing Viewpoints ,
Greenhaven Press, San Diego, 1997.
Office of Technology Assessment, Preparing for an Uncertain Climate ,
Washington, DC 1993.
June 4: Public Health and Sustainable Development or Science & Technology and
Sustainable Development
Readings TBD
June 11: Wrap-up.
Dr. Shaffer
PAPERS DUE AT 6:00 SHARP .