Why are short-term solutions often offered to achieve sustainability? Why must sustainable solutions ...

Policymakers in democracies very often act for short-term good because in order to be reelected, they need to produce immediate, positive results. This has been a major hurdle for addressing environmental dilemmas, since so many are cumulative problems that gradually worsen and can be resolved only in the long term. Often the best long-term solution is not the best short-term solution, a fact that explains why much of what human societies presently do is not sustainable. The costs for addressing environmental problems are often short-term while the benefits are long-term, giving politicians little incentive to tackle the issues. For this reason, pressure on policymakers by groups with heavy citizen involvement, such as conservation organizations like the Audubon Society or an environmental nongovernmental organization such as the National Resource Defense Council, is important for issues that involve long-term effects.