Includes bibliographical references and index. John C. Dernbach is identified as the principal author, with contributions from fifty-one other individuals.

[Pt.] I. Modest progress toward an increasingly distant goal. Environmental and public health protection : steps forward and steps back -- Growing consumption and population -- Greater poverty, unemployment, and attention to environmental justice -- The built environment : shifting toward sustainability -- Governance : communities as sustainability leaders, states as energy leaders (and the federal government catching up?) -- Improving opportunities for sustainability education and engagement -- International activity : a more-sustainable direction but reduced influence -- [pt.] II. Drivers for sustainability. Growing support in spite of mixed public opinion -- More-sustainable decisions are easier to make and more attractive -- Lawmaking is not limited to environmental regulation -- [pt.] III. Obstacles to further progress. Habits, lack of urgency, and uncertainty about alternatives -- Unsupportive law and governance -- Political opposition and growing influence of other countries -- [pt.] IV. Accelerating progress, overcoming obstacles. More and better sustainability choices -- Law for sustainability -- Visionary and pragmatic governance -- An American sustainability movement. This is a guide to making the United States environmentally sustainable. It explains the progress made to date on sustainability, including a description of the most significant obstacles to rapid and increased success. Building on the framework that has guided real progress so far, the author explains in detail how to make a greater variety of more sustainable decisions even more attractive, how law can provide an even better enabling environment for sustainability, and how public opinion and leadership can more effectively be engaged to support sustainability.