The time has come for us to collectively reexamine--and ultimately move past--the concept of sustainability in environmental and natural resources law and management. The continued invocation of sustainability in policy discussions ignores the emerging reality of the Anthropocene, which is creating a world characterized by extreme complexity, radical uncertainty, and unprecedented change. From a legal and policy perspective, we must face the impossibility of even defining--let alone pursuing--a goal of "sustainability" in such a world.

Melinda Harm Benson and Robin Kundis Craig propose...