the third era
sustainable development and the race against climate change
Beryl Magilavy's new book, still in manuscript
Climate change
is the greatest threat ever faced by civilization, and its advent will create a major turning-point in history: a third era. The only hope for slowing it down?
Sustainable development
, a process already part of government in Europe for over fifteen years, is the only proven way of getting greenhouse gas emissions down. It results in a more equitable, prosperous society, in which taxpayers get their money's worth and politicians are answerable to the public.
Climate change—sustainable development—these themes, and the governance issues on which they are based, are explored in a book of conversations spanning places and eras, describing the achievements in sustainable development and implementation of the Agenda 21 process in Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Siena, Stockholm, and Vienna. With ideas of Machiavelli as a framework definition of good government and how government works, the book discusses corruption, the climate-science denial conspiracy, the decline of investigative reporting, and lack of local democracy and government accountability.
Life at the Top of the Palantine, Rome,
at the Dawn of the Second Era
Corruption in Business and Government - Institutional Inefficiency - Government that Operates for the Few, Rather than the Many - The Balance of Power between Social Classes - The Survival of Culture under New Conditions
II
A Diplomatic Dinner in Paris,
at the Dawn of the Third Era, the Beginning of Climate Change
The History and An Overview of the Science of Climate Change - The Climate‑science‑denial Conspiracy
more table of contents
III
Anticorruption Consulting and a Flirtation in Berlin
Tools for Reducing Corruption - An Example of Corrupt Activity in Local Government
IV
The Roman Quaestor and the Historian
The Importance of Local Government Participation - The Balance of Factions in a State - The Public Harm Done by Corruption - The Commonwealth as Most Stable Form of Government - The Power to Accuse and Impeach
V
Hansen's for Lunch in Vienna
Vienna's History - Sustainable Development Defined and Its Debt to the Indians of the USA - The Distribution of Political Power in a City - Vienna's 1978 Anti‑nuclear Power Campaign
VI
The Eiffel Tower at Sunset and a Walk on the Seine
Wrong and Incomplete Information Hampering Climate‑change Action - The Organized Effort to Deny the Science - The Need for Investigative Reporting - The GNP's Lack of Attention to the Social Value of Economic Expenditures
VII
A Tutorial Stroll in Springtime, Vienna
The History of the Sustainable Development Movement - Accountability, Auditing, and a Participative Planning Process - International Agreements on Sustainable Development - Vienna's Sustainable Development Programs
VIII
Art and Skill in Government, at Lunch in Siena
Siena's History - ISO and EMAS Certification - Local Characterization of Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Didactic Civic Artwork - The Local Nature of the Climate Change Challenge - Machiavelli on History and Governance
IX
In Renaissance Siena,
Machiavelli's Observations on Government
The Balance between Factions - The Challenge of Establishing Civic Equality - Instituting Reform of a Corrupt Government - The Difficulties of Making Changes in the Way Government Is Run
X
A Disconcerting Encounter at the Roman Baths
Who Most Effectively Runs a City - The Importance of Long‑term Political Vision - The Broad Public as Decision‑makers - The Importance of Allies and of Follow‑up Assessments - Policy to Preserve the Environment
XI
Dinner on the Left Bank: a Parisian Couple Reunited
The Paris Climate Action Plan - The Heat Wave that Got Their Attention - The City's Agenda 21 Public Information Process - The Philosophic and Political Bases of the Planning Process and Its Implementation - Paris's Political and Social History - The Parisian Climate Agency - The Difference between the Climate Plan and the Agenda 21 Process
XII
Berlin to Hamburg in a Mercedes, with Lunch
Hamburg's History - Allocating Funding for Climate Change - Sustainable Development Public Education Programs - The Cultural Underpinnings of Sustainable Development
XIII
A Morning Meeting at Paris's Hôtel De Ville
An Ecological Footprint Calculator - The Eight Ecological Actions Urged on Every Parisian - Agenda 21 for Economic and Social as well as Environmental Actions - 37 Key Programs for Advancing Sustainability - Government Inefficiency and the Need for Accountability - Paris's Waste Prevention Plan - Efforts to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Its Own Operations - Including Sustainability in Its Budget and Council's Deliberations
XIV
Planning Colleagues' Lunch in a Sienese Villa Garden
Siena's Political History - Adoption of the Aalborg Declarations - Public Information on Agenda 21 Issues, Particularly Agriculture and Tourism - Siena's Progress Report on Sustainability Indicators - Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
XV
Dangerous Talk in Renaissance Florence
with the Medici Back in Control
The Power of the Individual versus Government - The Political Situation of the Northern Italian City‑states - The Nature of Political Repression - Whether a Prince or the People Are More to Be Trusted - Who Best Determines What Is in the Public Welfare - The Importance of a Shared Set of Civic Values
XVI
A Hamburg Student Pressed for Time
Hamburg's European Green Capital Award Programs - A 250,000€ Prize for Energy Efficienty and Environmental Improvement - The HEINZ Program for Environmental Indicators - Hamburg's Energy Programs - Covering Part of a Freeway with a Noise‑barrier City Park Structure - Modernizing Existing Residential Units - Improvements in the Transport System
XVII
Neighborhoods in Action at Barcelona's Gràcia Festival
Barcelona's Early Volunteer Work toward Sustainable Development - Later Government‑sponsored Organizing - The Municipal System of Sustainability Indicators - Barcelona's History - The Political Process that Led to the Current Multi‑year Plans - The 25 Sustainability Indicators Currently in Use
XVIII
Conversation with the Empress in a Villa outside Rome
The Good of the Individual Inseparable from the Good of Society - The Need for Equity and Social Fairness, Peace, Social Cohesion, and Civility - Public Speaking and Logical Fallacies - The Dangers of Advertising - The Distraction of Celebrity - The Importance of Participation in Civic Life
XVIX
Teaching the Tutor in Stockholm
Stockholm's History and Present Government - The Swedish Educational System - Stockholm's Program for Environmentally Friendly Building Materials - Agenda 21 Work on Public Education - Programs for Cutting Greenhouse‑gas Emissions
XX
Old Friends Talk New Planning in Barcelona
Barcelona's Solar Thermal Ordinance - Photovoltaics and the Plan to Increase Renewable Energy Use - Open Space and Biodiversity Programs - The Innovation District - One Percent for Solidarity and Promotion of a Culture of Peace
XXI
A Transatlantic Exchange of Ideas over Lunch at the Bode Museum, Berlin
Germany's Zero‑waste Program and Packaging Ordinance - Reducing Corruption in Local Government - Anti‑corruption Agencies, Accountability, Audits, and Ombudsmen - Investigative Reporting - Participative Democracy - The Agenda 21 Process in Berlin - What Can Go Wrong with Participative Democracy Processes
XXII
Smorgasbord Interview at the Stadshuset, Stockholm
Stockholm's Programs for Green Building and Noise Reduction - The Development at Hammarby Sjöstad - Climate Change as Integral to Planning for the City - Residential Density - Universal Fiber‑optic Cabling and High‑speed Broadband - The Green IT Strategy - District Heating, Transport, and Green‑space
XXIII
The Urgent Need for Action on Sustainable Development
A Call to Adopt Sustainable Development Universally - For US States to Adopt Agenda 21 - For US States to Form An Organization of States for Sustainability - To Actively Fight the Climate Science Denial Conspirary - To Re‑establish Investigative Reporting - To Engage Academia in the Work of Governance - For Leadership on the Part of Higher Levels of Government
