This forest thrives because of sustainability.
Written By: Grace Brosofsky
By all appearances, sustainability qualifies as an ordinary, slightly cumbersome noun that has begun to grow exceedingly worn from use. However, sustainability thrives upon action founded in a belief that this very thing — action — has impact both today and far in the future. It encompasses everything we can do to allow for the vivid continuance of anything we treasure. With sustainability, I suddenly have the means to protect animals and places I cherish like the mountains not only for the present but also for the future. When many decisions based on the one simple principle of maximizing the lifespan of all of God’s creation, living or nonliving, culminate, sustainability happens.
Most of us have something we love, something we want to still exist when people who might view our century as archaic live in our places. Thus, sustainability empowers all of us, giving us a lifestyle by which we can help ensure that this something does still exist. Sustain. Ability. The word speaks its own meaning clearly. We have the ability to sustain our world rather than just letting it sustain us and suffer in the process. Like any ability, we should use it, and, unlike every ability, we know by its very nature anytime we use it we will use it for good.
I see preserving as a remarkable power in and of itself, but preservation does not serve as a stopping point for sustainability. Sustainability also allows us to make lasting contributions to the world. If we build sustainability into what we create, it will last without pulling too hard on the social, economic, and environmental systems surrounding it. With sustainability, we always take a systems approach; we must think about how one building or product or idea affects everything else and remember that its own prosperity depends upon the condition of, well, everything else.
I can see why the word has become so overused. It captures a very attractive concept that anyone can recognize just by reading it, so no wonder products, places, and even college degree programs have begun to brand themselves as “sustainable.” Even with its widespread use, sustainability remains a personal concept to me. It embodies so many of my goals and gives me a practical path to pursue them. By living a sustainable lifestyle, I can avoid making an impact of the bad sort on my favorite things. By supporting sustainable development, I can enable true progress that both enhances and preserves to happen. Blending a good dose of sustainability into my actions will ensure that they will help our world continue to hold its beauty and vibrancy for years to come.