Home > Thoughts on what sustainability is
Home > Thoughts
on what sustainability is
It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, 75 degrees without a cloud in the sky
in the state of Oregon in the United States of America on a small planet hurtling
through the Milky Way Galaxy at 65,000 miles an hour while it orbits a star
in one of the billions of galaxies astronomers say there are in the Universe.
Joan and Jack Jones linger over breakfast, talking about the usual stuff: Their
kids, money, politics, the weather, who’s going to take out the garbage.
The topics aren’t wildly different from what might have been on the minds
of individuals who talked on mornings on this planet before our great-great-great-great-great
grandparents were born. Say citizens of the Roman Empire, or people in those
civilizations that rose up along the Nile.
Those societies are gone. These days, an increasing number of people in Oregon
and elsewhere around the world seem to be using a particular word to talk about
how modern societies can continue to exist—about our future and the future
of generations to come. The word is sustainability.
Don’t apologize if you don’t know what it means. There is no single
definition. People who use the word may be focusing on economic matters, on
the natural world, on the social realm, or on all those. The middle ground where
the economic, social and environmental overlap has been called the new "triple
bottom line," and some say that is where the most encouraging progress
toward a brighter future is occurring.
Are we in trouble? Are we in good shape? If we don’t know, how should we
go about figuring that out? This publication won’t give you tidy agreement
and definitive answers. It’s more like a brainstorming session than an
instruction manual.
The Oregon State University Extension Service’s goal for the publication
is to "promote dialogue among Oregonians concerning the future of our communities,
industries, resources and economy, and concerning the quality of life we want
to make possible for our grandchildren."
To add breadth to the articles that follow, we asked Oregonians to come to Corvallis,
review drafts and point out perspectives they felt were "out in the state"
but not in the drafts. Those advisors and reviewers are listed on page 28.
We assembled the publication so that a person who’s never heard the term
sustainability could follow a logical path and learn a bit about the word and
some issues, efforts and viewpoints related to it.
There are six sections:
1. Thoughts about what sustainability means
2. Issues you may encounter that are often linked with sustainability
3. Sustainability-related efforts in Oregon involving individuals, groups, companies,
communities and state government
4. What’s going on in the name of sustainability in other parts of the
world
5. The future
6. How to learn more or get involved
Some have told us point blank we should not produce a publication about a word
without defining it precisely. On the other hand, the many definitions of sustainability,
and related confusion and disagreement, are reasons the Extension Service feels
there’s a need for more information and discussion.
In the future, many believe, decisions linked to the word sustainability are
going to affect our lives in just about every area: Jobs. Economic winners and
losers. Personal health. Community health. The way we travel. The air we breathe.
The water we drink. How we produce and sell food, timber, computer chips. On
and on. Businesses are looking at sustainability, and so are governments, churches
and other entities with an amazingly broad range of interests. In addition,
the terrorist attack on America on Sept. 11, 2001, changed the way most of us
in this country think about the future—our views of the challenges ahead.
The State of Oregon’s motto is alis volat propiis—"she
flies with her own wings." Those who came before us here often didn’t
agree with one another. They wrestled over the future and made mistakes. But
they also took actions, sometimes controversial ones, that made a difference
for the better.
If you want to look at some of those, travel in any direction and check out
the amazing variety of forests and farmlands. Oregon’s land use program
was created by a coalition of farmers, union members, environmentalists and
other citizens who were worried about urban sprawl detracting from their quality
of life and the beauty of the state.
As our small planet speeds through the universe in the days, months and years
ahead you’ll decide what sustainability means to you, if you haven’t
already. You’ll exercise your rights and fulfill your obligations as a
citizen of a place on that planet with a reputation for innovation, for not
shrinking from a challenge, for flying "with her own wings."
I believe I can speak for everyone who helped assemble this publication in saying
we hope the information that follows helps you on your journey of citizenship,
and that during that journey you discuss your thoughts and experiences with
others. Isn’t that an important part of what got Oregon this far?