250 



changes in current environmental policies that we envision, a cahinci- 

 Icvcl Department of the Environment is needed — not just an elcvaicd 

 Environmental Protection Agency, but a department with additional 

 functions and roles. This department cannot be exclusively or primari- 

 ly regulatory but must also be able to formulate and oversee the imple- 

 mentation of a National Environmental Strategy. It can spearhead a 

 radical revision of our country's pollution control laws to encourage 

 innovation, pollution prevention, and more coherent, cross-media 

 approaches. The President and Congress should be united on such a 

 goal and on the overall national and global strategy. 



As human population inevitably will continue to increase for the 

 next half-century or more, and as sustainable development will not be 

 an easy accomplishment, citizens must learn to devote themselves to 

 the achievement of long-term goals, not just short-term satisfactions. 

 I'he nation must stop stealing the environmental capital of future gen- 

 erations and must live instead on its fair share of nature's interest. 



An informed citizenry with an ethical commitment to care for the 

 environment is essential to the future we envision. Success with the 

 technological, economic, and governmental changes that we recom- 

 mend is predicated on the understanding and wholehearted support of 

 the American people. Environmental values must be integrated into 

 the lifestyles of individuals and ^milics as well as into the conduct of 

 businesses, labor, and governments. 



To this end, the nation as a whole and especially its schools must 

 pledge themselves to the goal of environmental literacy. U.S. citizens 

 must have the knowledge, practical competence, and moral under- 

 standing to cooperate in building a sustainable civilization. The pursuit 

 of environmental literacy will require curricular innovations from 

 kindergarten through college, changes in teacher education programs, 

 expanded graduate programs, and continuing education, both formal 

 and informal. Enhanced science research will improve our knowledge 

 of ecosystems, habitats, and public health and will add to environ- 

 mental literacy. 



All of us must develop a greater sense of ethical responsibility for 

 the environment. Environmental ethics are founded on an awareness 

 that humanity is part of nature and that nature's myriad parts arc inicr- 

 dc|K-ndent. In any natural community, the well-being of the individu^il 

 and of each species is tied to the well-being of the whole. In a world 



CWSIS AND OPKWTUNnY XIX 



