Looking for "Sustainable Development" in the United States?

The integration of Sustainable Development Goals in Education

Here is a brief history of Sustainable Development

Early 1960s

Silent Spring being published in 1962 and Limits to Growth in in 1972

1970's

Saw the first important use of “sustainable development” was in the World Conservation Across the US

1992

Agenda 21 was adopted in the first ever UN Conference on Environment and Development

2002

World Summit on Sustainable solidified the “… commit{ment] to building a humane, equitable and caring global society, cognizant of the need for human dignity for all.”

However the United States, many different adjectives were used in order to avoid the term “Sustainable Development”, namely, sustainability, social programs, Smart Growth under the Bush administration. Finally in 1993 President Clinton convened the Presidents Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) in response to UNCED and Agenda 21. However after a short life of 6 years. This non-committal treatment of SD lent itself to a similar treatment of Education for Sustainable Development in the United States.

The dis-jointedness continued since formal education is largely a State affair. The only way to integrate SD in formal schools was through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and this ESD took the form of environmental sciences in the formal curriculum, leaving out the rest of the 3 pillars (social, governance, and economic) of SD.

This has large implications on community awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals, teacher education and in-service training and curriculum content on SD. However, with the United States joining UNESCO recently, there is hope in the revival for SD.