Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY

Consider this: Quite simply, we have invented a new ecology, one in which, to an ever-increasing extent, all the resources of the world that previously nurtured many millions of species, are channelled toward just one. - Colin Tudge                         

           

 The word sustainability is derived from the Latin sustinere (sus, up; tenere, to hold). Some meanings from the dictionaries for sustain are  “maintain",  "support", or "endure”. We can consider sustainability at a number of different levels, including the individual, a community, an organization, or a planet. It reminds us of our responsibility to pass on to our children and grandchildren a world with as many opportunities as the ones we inherited. The most popular definition of sustainability can be traced to a 1987 UN conference. It defined sustainability as:

 "Meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs". (WECD, 1987).

 

We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. While it has been commercially profitable for enterprises to use more natural resources and employing fewer people, in the 21st century we'll have to use fewer natural resources while employing more people.  21st century well-being will require the nurturing and valuing of: Natural, Cultural, and Human capital. Isn't it true that all wealth is ultimately, a product of a healthy environment!

As Fritjof Capra states, "Living sustainably means recognizing that we are inseparable part of the entire web of life, of nonhuman and human communities, and that enhancing the dignity and sustainability of any one community will enhance all the others" (Bioneers Conference workshop, 2003)

I found this animated video on sustainability relevant to the topic of discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NiTN0chj0