A better planet : 40 big ideas for a sustainable future / edited by Daniel C. Esty, with a foreword by Ingrid C. Burke.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / Ingrid C. Burke
Introduction / Daniel C. Esty
Part one: Nature, land, and water. Sustaining humans and nature as one: ecological science and environmental stewardship / Oswald J. Schmitz ; A habitable Earth: protecting biodiversity through natural systems / Thomas E. Lovejoy ; A restoration agenda for native forests / Mark S. Ashton and Craig R. Brodersen ; Private lands: the future of conservation in America / Larry Selzer ; Stewards of the land: harnessing American agriculture for a sustainable future / Erin Fitzgerald and Greg Gershuny ; Toward an evergreen revolution: sustainable intensification in smallholder farming / Meha Jain and Balwinder Singh ; Found water: reuse and the deconstruction of "wastewater" / G. Tracy Mehan, III ; People and the ocean 3.0: a new narrative with transformative benefits / Jane Lubchenco. Part two: innovation and technology. Red lights to green lights: toward an innovation-oriented sustainability strategy / Daniel C. Esty ; Environmental protection through systems design, decision-making, and thinking / Paul T. Anastas and Julie B. Zimmerman ; Genomics as a driving force for climate change response and community health / Vasilis Vasiliou and Alexia Akbay ; There's an app for that: can technology save the planet? / David Rejeski ; Reimagining solar fuels to power the planet with renewable energy / Gary W. Brudvig ; Fostering energy innovation for a sustainable Twenty-First Century / Kenneth Gillingham ; Building climate change resilience by design / Amanda Brown-Stevens ; Bracing for impact: transforming the National Weather Service for the climate change challenges ahead / Monica Medina. Part three: law and policy. Building public and political will for climate change action / Anthony Leiserowitz ; Broadening action on climate change: the Paris Agreement cannot do it alone / Susan Biniaz ; Helping kids stand up for their rights: the role of climate change litigation / Paul Rink ; Environmental justice for all must be a human right enforceable in U.S. state constitution / Barry E. Hill ; Reinventing political borders for environmental and social harmony / Saleem H. Ali ; Deploying machine learning for a sustainable future / Cary Coglianese ; Focusing the environmental protection enterprise to put ideas and policies into action / Derry Allen and John Reeder ; Science as a foundation for policy: the case of fracking / James Saiers. Part four: resources, economics, and sustainable business. Next-generation corporate sustainability leadership: new lines of accountability / Carter S. Roberts ; Making companies work for society: harnessing global financial markets for sustainability / Todd Cort ; Waste and materials management: from harm reduction to value creation / Marian Chertow and Matthew Gordon ; Can we define planetary boundaries on the human use of materials? / Thomas E. Graedel ; Natural capital, equity, and sustainable development challenge / Eli P. Fenichel ; International carbon pricing: the role of carbon clubs / William Nordhaus. Part five: society, equity, and process. Hip-hop sustainability: toward diversity in environmental communication / Thomas RaShad Easley ; Driving systems change through networks / Bradford S. Gentry ; Moral and spiritual contributions to a flourishing Earth community / Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim ; The public health science of environmental justice / Michelle L. Bell ; Science by and for citizens: a historical perspective / Deborah R. Coen ; In the calm before the storm: prioritizing preparedness for natural disasters / Courtney Durham ; Planetary sustainability in the urban century / Karen C. Seto ; Reimagining the city and park for a sustainable urban future / Alexander J. Felson ; Built to learn: from static to adaptive environmental policy / Lori S. Bennear and Jonathan B. Wiener ; Why big ideas so often fail / Samara Brock, Austin Bryniarski, and Deepti Chatti
Epilogue: how to make big ideas work / Ingrid C. Burke and James Cameron

A practical, bipartisan call to action from the wold's leading thinkers on the environment and sustainability. Sustainability has emerged as a global priority over the past several years. The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the adoption of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals through the United Nations have highlighted the need to address critical challenges such as the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, water shortages, and air pollution. But in the United States, partisan divides, regional disputes, and deep disagreements over core principles have made it nearly impossible to chart a course toward a sustainable future. This book offers fresh thinking and forward-looking solutions from environmental thought leaders across the political spectrum. The book's forty essays cover such subjects as ecology, environmental justice, Big Data, public health, and climate change, all with an emphasis on sustainability. The book focuses on moving toward sustainability through actionable, bipartisan approaches based on rigorous analytical research