L. Hunter Lovins and Walter Link presented this paper to the 2001 UN Regional Roundtable for Europe and North America. In it, the authors outline the steps that need to be taken to implement sustainable development and what barriers stand in the way of those changes. They argue that the biggest challenge facing sustainable development is the loss of the natural ecosystem. The new globalization and continued industrialization of the planet present further challenges. Climate problems, water shortages, the environmentally caused spread of disease, genetic technology, and quickly growing populations are other significant challenges that need to be addressed by sustainability efforts. The authors present five steps to sustainability that will slow the coming crisis: implementing natural capitalism, reinventing governance, microlending, improved education and communication systems, and adoption of the precautionary principle.