Forests and Sustainability

On day six of our time here in Germany we had an excursion into the woods. We all went on a 40 minute hike up to an old hunting cabin, where we then received hammocks. We were not allowed to have electronics at all in order to fully appreciate nature. Upon reaching the cabin a professor talked to us about sustainability and its history with German culture. Sustainability goes back to the Industrial Revolution when Germany was using up most of its woods for fuel. One man, Carl von Carlowitz, realized the problem with this and helped start sustainability in Germany. (He also was falsely blamed for the 1666 burning of London.) We then proceeded out into the woods, having to make sure we were absolutely alone. It took me a few tries to get my hammock up- one time I even fell over trying to get in, and almost hit my head. The experience was quite relaxing, and I took the time to draw the trees above me in my journal. (Most of my records for the trip are kept in there, and I am quite proud of how detailed and extensive it is.) Unfortunately not everyone had pure relaxation- one person had a tick fall on their hammock. After that experience we learned more about Sustainability. Turns out there is an American who played an important role in this, during the 60s. Unfortunately I forgot the man's name. I do however remember another source being mentioned, which was Global 2000, a report given to President Jimmy Carter about what the year 2000 would be like. Finally, the talk was finished with the subject of the UN sustainable development goals, and challenged us to look them up. I looked them up, and there seem to be seventeen main subjects to be obtained from ending poverty to ensuring peace and justice. Learning about all this I can't help but wonder why sustainability has never really been important in the USA? We sometimes get close to caring, like with our National Parks, but what pushes us away from it, or at least from focusing on it?