Citizens call for national sustainability
strategy
Campaign urges long-range vision from candidates
Washington, DC, July 4—This Fourth of July,
as fireworks compete with the verbal ballistics of political ads,
it is time again to think about what our country stands for, the legacy
left to us by our forefathers, and the legacy we will leave future
generations.
As a contribution to those reflections, the Citizens Network for
Sustainable Development (CitNet) officially launches on this day its
Leadership for Sustainability campaign. The aim
of the campaign is to focus attention on the important role of sustainability
to the country's futureâ?"and to convince the nation's leaders and citizens
to make sustainability a high priority. For the election, the goal
is to make America's sustainability a priority for candidates and
voters.
This year, thinking about what "life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness" means in the 21st century, some people are wondering
how much liberty we can have when we are so dependent on Middle Eastern
oil. Although just a summer movie, the Day After Tomorrow
supplies chilling images to our musings about the possible catastrophic
consequences of climate change resulting from our fossil fuel economy.
In turn, each new Code Orange alert, body search at airports and restriction
of citizen rights adds to this questioning about where the country
is headed in our pursuit of happiness.
So, where is the country headed? As the nationwide debate
about who should be president kicks into higher gear, many citizens
complain that their candidate's vision for the future is too short-sighted.
These citizens want to know their candidate's ideas and commitment
to a long-range sustainability strategy for the United
States.
Most industrial countries and several developing countries already
have or are in the process of establishing national sustainable development
strategies, which aim to bridge the divisions between economic, social
and environmental priorities and policies. In the United States, however,
sustainability is still not getting the attention it needs.
The Leadership for Sustainability campaign wants to change that.
The campaign calls on citizens, public leaders, and candidates for
office to do their part to: (1) raise awareness about what
is needed to make America sustainable ; (2) build support
for the many sustainability initiatives and campaigns
taking place around the country, and (3) advocate for a US
sustainability strategy , with an Office of Sustainable Development
with inter-agency authority to implement it.
To learn more about the Leadership for Sustainability campaign, visit
www.citnet.org.