Sustainability: What is it and Why Should I Care?

Sustainability:-What is it and why should I care?
 
 
Michael F. Forlenza, P.G.
HGS Editor                                                      We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.
 
Native American Proverb
 Corporations, organizations, and governments are rushing headlong towards adopting sustainability policies and implementing sustainable practices. Sustainability has become one of the hallmarks of corporate and government responsibility,and no one wants to be left behind.
Wal-Mart states, “we see environmental sustainability as one of the most important opportunities for both the future of our business and the future of our world.” Dow Chemical Company commits “ to elevate our understanding of our impact on global ecosystems and work toward the most efficient and effective use of the planet’s precious resources.” The City of Houston’s Mayor Bill White says that “We’re committed to making changes and institutionalizing best sustainability practices in the way we manage our city. It will improve our quality of life, protect the environment, save us money, and it’s simply the right thing to do.”
 
These are lofty goals and ideals, but just what is sustainability and why is it important?
 
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines sustainability as: “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.” Sustainability or sustainable development marries two important themes: environmental protection and economic development that is ecologically viable now and in the long run. Common use of the term "sustainability" began with the 1987 publication of the World Commission on Environment and Development report, Our Common Future. Also known as the Brundtland Report, this document defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This concept of sustainability, adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, encompasses ideas, aspirations, and values that continue to inspire public and private organizations to become better stewards of the environment and that promote positive economic growth and social objectives.
The principles of sustainability can stimulate technological innovation, advance competitiveness, and improve our quality of life. The implementation of sustainable practices acknowledges that resources are finite. There is only so much fresh water, clean air, oil and gas, or landfill space. While the limits on many of these resources may seem very distant, those limits do exist. Sustainability embodies the concepts of design with nature and “carrying capacity.”
Many of the concepts of sustainability may seem to run counter to the American way of life. America, the greatest consuming nation in the history of the earth, has always been about ready access to resources and disposability. Critics will say that America has earned the right to unchecked consumption and waste generation through our prosperity. But sustainability is all about leaving a resource intact while using it wisely. Landowners often refer to this as “stewardship.”
The whaling industry in the 19th Century was not sustainable. As whales were hunted to near extinction, American ships were forced to sail from New England to the far side of the world to find their vanishing prey. The end for whaling was in sight due to overexploitation well before the petroleum age, ushered in by Colonel Edwin Drake’s well in Pennsylvania, put an end to large-scale whale oil use. More than one hundred years later, the populations of some whale species such as the Atlantic Northern Right whale remain critically endan