Add sustainable development to discussion topics in 2010

From a column by Mike Ivey in The Capital Times:

OK, now what?

The worst of the great recession appears over, although a stock market sell-off early in 2010, as some are warning, could well again shake Main Street to its core.

There are signs that layoffs have slowed and employers might actually be considering hiring. But one term I’d like to see enter the discussion is “sustainable development.”

Environmentalists, of course, have been talking about sustainable development ever since the movement championed by Wisconsin’s own Gaylord Nelson and others picked up speed in the 1970s.

The guiding principle is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” according to the Encyclopedia of Sustainable Development.

But sustainable development doesn’t just mean a cleaner environment. It also speaks to an economic system that makes better use of natural resources, increases investment, promotes stability and competition, develops skills and rewards hard work.

Put another way, sustainable development requires us to take a long-term view of the economy, rather than adopting short-term fixes.