SUSTAINABILITY AND BEYOND

In this paper I discuss both the limitations and possible uses of the sustainability discourse. I begin by convassing various conceptions of sustainability and sketching some difficulties with the notions that have been introduced. Next some possible uses of the idea of sustainab ility are identified. I go on to discuss these in the context of dispu tes over public lands in the United States. Finally I say why we must go beyond sustainability if we are successfully to address the present disorder regarding the human relationship to nature. (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science B.V.