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| One Possible Definition of Sustainability |
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| Lucille Whitaker |
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Sustainability to me, is a dream on the path of our species evolution, as well as a process by which we understand and align ourselves to make that dream come true. It is embodied by a sense of stewardship and a holistic approach to design which recognizes the importance of nature. Environmental sustainability can be understood in very concrete terms, and refers to a steady state wherein all the species within a system are able to exist into perpetuity. Social sustainability is a slightly fuzzier term that refers to any system of social organization that preserves the rights and dignity of all its constituents, and allows the human species to continue into perpetuity.
Today the skies of many inner cities are hung dark with soot, and one can no longer see the sunshine through the clouds. Travel to small towns poised on poisoned rivers green-brown from soil runoff, fertilizers, and industrial waste that creates dangerous illnesses. In just decades, industry and municipal practices based on the bottom line has spoiled much of this Earth from which we rose.
Sustainability is the means by which we can restore nature's balance while protecting and advancing humankind. One must recognize that Earth in its original state was a sustainable system, and it was only our recent, uncontrolled growth that has pushed this otherwise stable system to its limits. All natural systems operate in cycles of inflow and outflow, of decay and renewal. Inflow is limited to what a system can bear, and the outflow generated is always reused and reintegrated. Humans break from this, their inflow of resources is not limited, since we are the primary predators consuming everything on this chain of biological and mineral resources. Similarly, our outflow, the wastes we produce, are of little value to the natural system. Since there are no other species who can limit us in the biological order, we must voluntarily transform ourselves into stewards of the system.
Such a transformation is incredibly hard because it plays against many natural inclinations. The desire to horde materials and food, the violent instinct to claim and battle for territory, are just a few of the many chambers of our psychological makeup which we must learn to master. And thus, the importance of social sustainability becomes apparent. Society is the means by which we can serve a greater cause and reign in the primitive drives whose practice multiplied by
technology has brought us to the brink.
Please note :: my personal definition of sustainability grows from a much more immediate sense of how unsustainable practices can negatively affect us. Pretend for a moment that you are 5 again -- remember. The changes that have darkened our world and are damaging our environment have happened gradually, so we must work doubly hard to commit to memory our experiences from a cleaner time. As children we need nature's carousels, somersaulting sunshine, butterfly chases and stargazing. Our bodies are a result of nature, and in the arms of nature, we bloom like meadow flora.
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| 2005-2006 |
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| ©Lucille Whitaker |
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| Learning & translating sustainability concepts---> |
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| i-ID: 458 |
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| Posted: 11/7/2006 7:44:05 PM |
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Abstract:
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