Introduction -- Australia: ecological sustainable development in the national interest -- Canada: from early frontrunner to plodding anchorman -- Germany: regulation and the precautionary principle -- Japan: law, technology, and aid -- The Netherlands: ambitious on goals-ambivalent on action -- Norway: reluctantly carrying the torch -- Sweden: progression despite recession -- The United Kingdom: from political containment to integrated thinking? -- The United States: 'sorry-not our problem -- The European Union: integration, competition, growth-and sustainability -- Patterns of governmental engagement -- Concluding perspectives

1. Sustainable development -- Case studies
2. Economic policy -- Case studies
3. resources conservation
4. society