Chapter 19: Planning for a Sustainable Future

1. Chapter 19: Planning for a Sustainable Future Big Question: How Can We Plan, and Achieve, a Sustainable Environment?

2. The Ideal Sustainable Environment

3. The Process of Planning aFuture • Environmental planning occurs at every level:house, city, county, state, nation. • All societies have usually tried to plan their use of land and resources. • Our society has formal planning processes for land use. • Environmental planning and review are closely related to how land is used.

4. Environmental Planning in a Democracy In a democracy, environmental planning leads to a tug-of-war. In planning, we need to achieve a balance. Who speaks for nature? Who legally represents the environment?

5. In Planning a Nation’s Landscapes, How Big Should Wildlands Be? Some argue that nature can be saved only by thinking big. The Wildlands Project argues that big predators are keys to ecosystems and require large home ranges. One proposal is to reclaim American prairie, removing towns and cities.

6. The Wildlands Project The Wildlands Project has created a major controversy. • A fundamental threat to American democracy? • Good or bad science?

7. Our Need for Nature in anIncreasingly Urban Environment Modern humans first appeared in the Pleistocene era. Before the rise of civilization, our ancestors had to use all of their human senses to survive. Our world is becoming increasingly urban. Fewer people have much direct contact with nature.

8. The Need for Nature in Cities Recent studies verify our need for nature in cities. Trees also help to protect us from air pollution and heat. How much contact with nature do we need?

9. The City Park Parks have become more and more important in cities. Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park in New York

10. Olmsted's Influence in Seattle Olmsted’s parks were naturalistic, an example of “design with nature.” See the Friends of Seattle's Olmstead Parks Web site. For a list of Seattle boulevards he designed, influenced, or recommended, see the Seattle Parks and Recreation's "Park History – Olmstead Parks" Web page.

11. Garden Cities A system of countryside and urban landscapes with cities surrounded by greenbelts.

12. The Ecological Capital of Brazil: How a City Transformed Itself Population increased to 1.5 million from 300,000 in 1950.

13. Curitiba By 1970, Curitiba was well on the way to becoming an example of environmental degradation and social decay. The city turned itself from an urban disaster into a model of planning and sustainability by 1995.

14. Curitiba's Transit System The public transportation system was a key factor. More than 1.3 million passengers ride buses each day.

15. Recycling in Curtiba Recycling solved Curitiba’s serious garbage problem. The city planned affordable housing and attractive parks. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audit%C3%B3rio_da_%C3%93pera_de_Arame.jpg

16. Regional Planning: TheTennessee Valley Authority There was a time in the 20th century when large-scale environmental planning by the federal government was seen as a social good. The TVA was a successful experiment in regional environmental planning. It was responsible for promoting economic growth and social well-being across seven states suffering from exploitation of timber and petroleum, and severe poverty.

17. Environment and Law: A Horse, a Gun, and a Plan U.S. law has always emphasized individual rights--nearly unlimited discretion to use one’s own property however one wished. But an individual’s behavior can’t infringe on the rights of others. Another common-law doctrine is that of public trust: grants and limits governmental authority over certain natural areas such as navigable waterways.

18. Three Stages in the History of FederalLegislation Pertaining to Land and Natural Resources In the first stage, the goal was to convert public lands to private uses. For example, • Homestead Act of 1862 • Rights-of-way to railroad companies The second stage saw the beginning of protection for public lands.

19. Creating Parks Congress made Yosemite Valley a California state park in 1864, and created Yellowstone National Park in 1872.

20. The Third Stage In the third stage, Congress enacted laws about the environment Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1946 National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) in 1969

21. Legal and Extralegal Processes In the 1980s, a new type of “radical” environmentalism arose: sit-ins, and sabotage (ecotage). Civil disobedience and ecotage make groups like the Sierra Club look like moderates. They have been successful in defending the environment in some instances. See the Wikipedia article on the Earth Liberation Front.

22. Mediation Environmentalists are now relying more on the law, such as the Endangered Species Act. Some first seek peaceful ways to avoid the cost and delay of litigation, such as mediation. In some states, mediation is required by law.

23. Mediation versus Litigation The proposed hydroelectric project at Storm King Mountain illustrates mediation’s advantages over litigation.

24. International EnvironmentalLaw and Diplomacy Some issues of concern to many nations are addressed by a collection of policies, agreements, and treaties loosely called international environmental law. Successful agreements include the Montreal Protocol of 1987 to reduce air pollutants that destroy stratospheric ozone

25. Protection by International Law Antarctica is one place where international law protects the environment.

26. The Challenge to Students ofthe Environment • To continue to work toward environmental and social justice for all the people in the world. • To enhance the development of sustainability; to minimize local, regional, and global environmental degradation. • To develop and support international agreements to control global warming and pollutants.

27. Chapter 19: Planning for a Sustainable Future This is the last slide of the last lesson. Again, please email eschelp@uw.edu if there are any questions