Background briefing paper
- on the subject of -
Advocating for macro-sustainability reporting in NEPA
(First draft 3/29/10)
There is today an exceptional and important opportunity to insert the subject of
sustainability into the operational thinking of our national government. The executive
branch, and specifically the Council on Environmental Quality, is in the process of taking
“Steps to Modernize and Reinvigorate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).”
The public comment opportunity that is associated with this initiative gives us an opening
to make the point that long-term macro-sustainability concepts should be included in
national environmental quality evaluation and reporting processes, and that meaningful
annual environmental reporting to the nation should be re-established. Acting on this
opportunity provides us a vehicle to reconnect the realities of over-population with
environmental issues and goals.
Here is some background on the subject:
A. Executive Order #13514: Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and
Economic Performance
On October 5, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order that sets
‘sustainability’ processes and goals for Federal agencies, and focuses on making
improvements in environmental, energy, and economic performance. This executive
order defines “sustainability” to mean; “…to create and maintain conditions, under which
humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit the social, economic, and
other requirements of present and future generations.”
This executive order is directed at government agencies and is limited to
procedures designed to incrementally improve the efficiency of government operations.
While this is certainly important, considering the size and environmental impact of
government operations, it completely misses the macro question; “is the nation on an
environmentally sustainable course?” Consequently, their definition of sustainability is a
bit misleading. Even in view of these limitations, however, this order clearly
demonstrates sustainability leadership and an interest and commitment on the part of our
executive branch to move our nation toward a more sustainable future.
B. Presidential Proclamation on the 40th Anniversary of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA)
On December 31, 2009 President Obama issued a proclamation that highlights the
historical wisdom and continuing value of NEPA, and recommits the nation to:
…..environmental quality through open, accountable, and responsible decision
making that involves the American public. Our Nation's long-term prosperity
depends upon our faithful stewardship of the air we breathe, the water we drink,
and the land we sow. With smart, sustainable policies like those established under
NEPA, we can meet our responsibility to future generations of Americans, so they
may hope to enjoy the beauty and utility of a clean, healthy planet.
While this proclamation makes reference to the viability of future life on the
planet (the overarching goal of sustainability), it is not intended to create new evaluation
or reporting procedures. That is presumably delegated to the President’s Council of
Environmental Quality (CEQ), and they have indeed acted.
C. Steps to Modernize and Reinvigorate NEPA
On February 18, 2010, the White House Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) acted by proposing four steps to modernize and reinvigorate the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). These measures are designed to “assist Federal
agencies to meet the goals of NEPA, enhance the quality of public involvement in
governmental decisions relating to the environment, and increase transparency and ease
implementation.”
The CEQ website states that “…..NEPA is a cornerstone of our Nation’s efforts to
protect the environment and a fundamental tool to harmonize our economic and
environmental aspirations. Although the focus of the measures currently being proposed
by the CEQ is directed at Federal activities and agencies, they do state that, “NEPA
emphasizes public involvement in government actions affecting the environment by
requiring that the benefits and the risks associated with proposed actions be assessed and
publicly disclosed.”
One of the draft ‘guidances’ issued by the CEQ pertains to greenhouse gas
emissions and climate change. The public comment period on this draft ‘guidance’ (90
days from 2/18/2010) offers us the opportunity to comment on and ‘connect’ the more
publicly visible issue of climate change with the broader issue of sustainability, and the
critical need to do national macro-evaluation and reporting that includes all of the
appropriate elements (population, health, environment, consumption, technology,
conservation, etc.).
Included in the CEQ’s Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change guidance
(specifically section VI; “Specific Questions for Public Review”), are questions related to
long-range land and resource management issues, and how NEPA assessments should be
conducted. This provides a good opening for public comment advocating national
sustainability awareness, evaluation, and planning.
D. The National Environmental Policy Act
NEPA Title II, section 201 requires that annual Environmental Quality Reports
[EQRs] be publicized to the Nation (via a stipulated CEQ annual report to congress).
Section 101 (b) of that same legislation outlines the general goals of the policy as follows
(selected excerpts):
1. fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for
the next generation. ……………….
3. attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without
degradation, …..
5. achieve a balance between population and resource use which will permit high
standards of living……………
It is clear from this wording that the intent of the NEPA legislation was to protect the
Nation’s environment in order to provide for a sustainable future for all present and
future citizens, and it is interesting that the word ‘balance’ was actually cited in NEPA.
Quite logically then, one would expect that the annual EQR’s to Congress would directly
address the central question; “Is the United States on an environmentally sustainable
course”. Unfortunately this expectation has never been realized.
A brief review of past annual EQRs:
A brief overview of three annual Environmental Quality Reports that were published in
1980, 1993, and 1997, yields the following observations:
1. There is no reference to the central question highlighted above. The reports
contain volumes of data and trend information about many aspects of the
environment, but there is no attempt to quantitatively (or even broadly
qualitatively) address this central question.
2. The first report (1980), by citing numerous spatially small examples of
environmental problems, does the best job of warning readers that we are
indeed degrading the Nation’s environmental resources, but this isn’t stated
directly, and there is no summary section that makes this observation.
Indeed to the contrary, President Carter’s message that accompanied the
report to Congress said; “The signs are unmistakable that we in the United
States are learning how to live in balance with nature and beginning to find
sustainable ways to exist on this Nation’s plentiful but finite resources.”
3. The second reviewed report (1993) also is a compilation of data and data
trends. There is discussion of population growth and its impact on the
environment, but there is no attempt to correlate the population statistics
with sustainability. President Clinton, in his transmittal message to
Congress, notes that, “We have a moral obligation to represent the interests
of those who have no voice in today’s decisions – our children and
grandchildren.” But the report itself does not address the question of
whether or not we are on a sustainable course.
4. In the 1997 report, President Clinton’s message was much shorter and
mostly about data access, the Internet, and the information revolution. The
report was less on commentary, and more on just data reporting, and again
nothing about macro-unsustainability.
In 1997 the annual EQRs were discontinued! An explanation of this is given on the CEQ
web-site:
In 1995, Congress passed the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act
(Public Law 104-66), aimed at reducing paperwork in government. After
passage of the Act, the House of Representatives produced House Document
103-7. This document identified a list of government reports that could be
eliminated from routine production. CEQ's Environmental Quality Report
was among the reports identified. 1997 is the last year CEQ published the
Report.
E. The President’s Council on Sustainable Development (PSCD)
The work done by the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, under the
Clinton administration, recognizes the “unprecedented challenges” that humanity faces,
but in its recommendations for “National Goals towards Sustainable Development,” there
is no mention about measuring or achieving a total balance with nature.
Conclusion:
The PCSD is a good example of how the government typically has addressed the
important issue of sustainable development, but does not examine or make
recommendations about the larger issue of macro-sustainability. An informal literature
search and survey of documents from both the legislative and executive branches of
government over the past few decades, reveals substantial literature about sustainable
development. Significantly smaller quantities of citations refer to the broader concept of
sustainability, or to the goal of protecting opportunity and the quality of life for future
generations. Unfortunately there is no legislative or executive administrative requirement
to actually evaluate and report on what is sustainable for our country, and what course we
are on. Without such an evaluation and reporting process we cannot begin to seriously
claim that we are adequately protecting our natural resource assets for future generations
of life.