General Article The US committed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but like other countries, it’s stru

Topic Selected: Environment and Sustainability Book Volume: 439

The US committed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but like other countries, it’s struggling to make progress

Many colonias along the Texas-Mexico border still lack basic infrastructure, including running water. AP Photo/Eric Gay

Scott Schang, Wake Forest University and John Dernbach, Widener University

In a Zen parable, a man sees a horse and rider galloping by. The man asks the rider where he’s going, and the rider responds, “I don’t know. Ask the horse!”

It is easy to feel out of control and helpless in the face of the many problems Americans are now experiencing – unaffordable health care, poverty and climate change, to name a few. These problems are made harder by the ways in which people, including elected representatives, often talk past each other.

Most people want a strong economy, social well-being and a healthy environment. These goals are interdependent: A strong economy isn’t possible without a society peaceful enough to support investment and well-funct...

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