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Summary S t a t e m e n i 



CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY 



Wc, the members of the National Commission on the 

 Environment, are convinced that the natural processes that 

 support life on Earth are increasingly at risk and that by 

 choosing to act or not to act to confront this risk now, our country is 

 choosing between two very different futures. If America continues 

 down its current path, primarily reacting to environmental injuries and 

 trying to repair them, the quality of our environment will continue to 

 deteriorate, and eventually our economy will decline as well. If, how- 

 ever, our country pioneers new technologies, shifts its policies, makes 

 bold economic changes, and embraces a new ethic of environmentally 

 responsible behavior, it is far more likely that the coming years will 

 bring a higher quality of life, a healthier environment, and a more 

 vibrant economy for all Americans. 



\J.S. leadership should be based on the concept of sustainabU devel- 

 opment. By the close of the twentieth century, economic development 

 and environmental protection must come together in a new synthesis: 

 broad-based economic progress accomplished in a manner that protects 

 and restores the quality of the natural environment, improves the quality 

 of life for individuals, and broadens the prospects for future generations, 

 lliis merging of economic and environmental goals in the concept of 

 sustainable development can and should constitute a central guiding 

 principle for national environmental and economic policymaking. 



