The Moral Austerity of Environmental Decision Making

"The concept of 'sustainability' in environmental policy making certainly benefits from the kind of serious philosophical and political analysis it receives in this excellent collection."--Steven Kelman, Harvard University

Figures and Tables

Preface

Introduction: The Roots of Moral Austerity in Environmental Policy Discourse

Part I. Moral Principles and Environmental Policy: Basic Issues and Dilemmas

Issue 1: Science as a Substitute for Moral Principles?

Science as a Substitute for Moral Principle / Susan Buck

Science Is No Substitute for Moral Principle / Robert Paehlke

Issue 2: Environmental Justice without Social Justice?

Why Environmental Thought and Action Must Include Considerations of Social Justice / Joel J. Kassiola

Environmental Justice: Private Preference or Public Necessity? / Joe Bowersox

Issue 3: Nature Has Only an Instrumental Value

Sustainability: Descriptive or Performative? / Bryan Norton

Are Environmental Values All Instrumental? / Mark Sagoff

Issue 4: Intrinsic Value Implies No Use and a Threat to Democratic Governance

A Practical Concept of Nature’s Intrinsic Value / John Martin Gillroy

On Intrinsic Value and Environmental Ethics / Bob Pepperman Taylor

Part II: Case Studies in Sustainable Environmental Policy and Law

Introduction

The Subnational Role in Sustainable Development: Lessons from American States and Canadian Provinces / Barry G. Rabe

Sustainable Development and Natural Hazards Mitigation / Anna K. Schwab and David J. Brower

Sustainable Governance / Jonathan Baert Wiener

Sustainability in the United States: Legal Tools and Initiatives / Celia Campbell-Mohn

Sustainable Development and the Use of Public Lands / Jan G. Laitos

The Impact of Political Institutions on Preservation of the U.S. and Canadian National Parks / William Lowry

Global Environmental Accountability: The Missing Link in the Pursuit of Sustainable Development? / Robert V. Percival

Part III: Moral Principles and Sustainable Environmental Policy: An Analysis of Ends and Means

Introduction

Issue I: Science and Sustainability

Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and Values / Robert Paehlke

Saving All the Parts: Science and Sustainability / Susan Buck

Discussion

Issue 3: A Sustainable Environment as an Instrumental Value?

The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Environment / Mark Sagoff

Why Not Foxy Hedgehogs? / Bryan Norton

Discussion

Issue 4: A Sustainable Environment as an Intrinsic Value?

Sustainability: Restricting the Policy Debate / John Martin Gillroy

Comments on Sustainability / Bob Pepperman Taylor

Discussion

Conclusion: Democratic Competence, Accountability, and Education in the Twenty-first Century

Notes

References

Contributors