What is Sustainability?

I am still on quasi-vacation in Colombia. I say “quasi” because when you’re one of those crazy wild-eyed online entrepreneurs, you tend to take your work with you, wherever you may go.

And on Tuesday that will be to the Amazon jungle in the southernmost spot on the Colombian map…Leticia…on the border with Brazil and Peru.

Jungle traipsing has me thinking about all things sustainable this morning. And rather than re-invent the wheel I thought I would reach way back into the old Costa Rica Guy archives to pull out some of my ponderings on this topic.

Sustainability is definitely a concept that is near and dear to the heart of impact mindfulness. But exactly what is sustainability?

To address that question I am re-posting an old CRG post that is still relevant and allows me to relax the brain cells a bit while I remain “on vacation.”

Sustain-Ability

This post is apt to be one of those cathartic ones that has me “thinking out loud” (in written form) and trying to answer a question that has been bouncing around in my head.

That question this morning is…what does sustainability really mean?

I think that is important because I tend to see myself as some sort of sustainability guy and in order to be that person I believe it is necessary to have a firm grasp on what it is that I’m talking about.

Because it order to be a “sustainability guy” one must “act sustainable”…and I am not sure I always do that all that well. Maybe that is because I have yet to succinctly define what it really means, for me.

I did a quick Google search on the term and Wikipedia defined it like this:

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of well-being, which in turn depends on the well-being of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.

Wikipedia went on to say that “sustainability has become a wide-ranging term”

Boy is that an understatement!

These days you have “gurus” using the buzzword “sustainability” to address a whole host of human activities, like tourism and development. In fact, Costa Rica is looked upon as a model country when it comes to sustainable tourism and development.

But on a personal level, what does the term really mean…to me?

I believe it has everything to do with interactions and impacts. That is, how I interact with other people, with the planet, and (I know it sounds a little weird) with myself and the collective impacts resulting from those interactions.

According to Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Probably taking that notion out of context somewhat, it implies that our interactions result in impacts, on others, on our natural world and on ourselves (for example, throw a piece of trash out the window of your car and you have both an interaction and an impact, though not a sustainable one).

On a human interaction level, it means helping others to be more capable of enduring, physically, socially, economically, and culturally. On the level of interactions with the natural world, it means conserving and nurturing growth, while doing as little harm as is truly necessary. On a personal level, it entails personal actions that nurture and promote physical, emotional and intellectual health and well-being.

Now that I have a clearer idea about what sustainability really means, it is easier to see where it is I am falling short of my goal of being that “sustainability guy.”

Nevertheless, I believe it is a worthy aim and I will continue to strive for it.

photo credit: just.Luc via Compfight cc