What is sustainability?

After I wrote a post about getting started with sustainability actions, I started thinking about what sustainability means.  We hear the word a lot but how much do we know about what sustainability really means?  I looked at some definitions and thought about what I know about our planet.  Here’s what I think sustainability means. 

One article used the phrase “healthy planet”.  In the biggest sense, sustainability means that individuals, corporations, and governments make choices that support a healthy planet.  A healthy planet is one where all of the creatures (including people) and plants can live healthy lives in a habitat that supports them, for many millennia into the future.  Based on this definition, we have a long way to go to reach sustainability.  We are using irreplaceable resources at an alarming rate, polluting the planet, quickly losing biodiversity and habitat, and changing our climate.  And there is no Planet B.  I am not suggesting that everyone needs to cut back to using only enough resources to barely remain alive, because there is more to life than just existing.  However, if we make lifestyle changes where we can, it will make a difference.  Each of us needs to evaluate our own situation - what aspects of our lifestyle are most important to us and what aspects we can change.  Start your sustainability lifestyle changes using baby steps so the effort is not overwhelming.  Here is a more detailed list of aspects I would include in addressing sustainability.  The list seems overwhelming, but don’t let that stop you from taking baby steps.  I’ll write more on each of these topics as time goes by. 

• Disposable items:  While many of us think of obvious items such as plastic straws, our disposable culture includes much more.  Items that are discarded instead of being repaired, reused, or recycled may be considered disposable.  Anything that goes into a landfill is actually a disposable item.  Items designed so they cannot be repaired are disposable even if you keep them for a few years. 
  
• Biodiversity: The earth has many millions of living things with a wide variety of types and needs. All species of plants and other living creatures, including human beings, are intricately linked by their interactions with each other and the environments they live in.  Taking away or modifying habitat or the “residents” of that habitat has an effect on every other living thing in that habitat.  Healthy habitats and residents are essential for a healthy planet.  Threats to biodiversity include monoculture (large areas with only one type of plant), invasive species, and loss of habitat through human activities. 
• Consumption: Manufacturing and transporting all the items we buy takes resources and energy.  Managing these items after we discard them also takes resources and energy, and some items create greenhouse gases as they decompose in landfills. 
• Energy: Energy requires resources for production and use.  Even renewable energy sources require resources to manufacture and then dispose of the components.  Some forms of energy production generate greenhouse gases. 
• Greenhouse gas emissions: These emissions are changing the earth’s climate.  There are many greenhouse gases, and some (methane, for example) are much more effective at increasing global temperatures than carbon dioxide.  Freon is not only a very powerful greenhouse gas but also destroys a high-altitude ozone later that protects the earth from some of the sun’s harmful radiation.
• Pollution: Tens of thousands of different chemicals are put into the air and water every day and can cause significant problems.  The list includes simple things like air fresheners and complex things such as chemicals discharged into the air and water during a manufacturing process.