Sustainability—What
Is It?
(A Question to SCD Program Community Members)
Because the word sustainability suggests different things to different
people, we decided to question a number of our Prescott College Sustainable
Community Development (and associated) students in both the undergraduate
and graduate ADP programs.
We hope this will help to illustrate some
strands of consciousness in the complex tapestry of the sustainability
movement. We posed
this question: “When you hear the term sustainability, what
phrases do you feel best reflect the ideas and practices associated
with this term?” The responses are printed here.
Living responsibly; finding meaning and
purpose in life; working for and supporting community (“we” not “me” thinking);
having respect for all living things; [and] reviving and perpetuating
traditional knowledge...
Miki’ala Catalfano, Bella Vista,
California
Indigenous Studies
|
The ability to continue without outside resources; nourishing
and preserving; [and] nurturing Mother Earth and her inhabitants
so that they can flourish...
Jeanna Carter, Lopez Island, Washington
Sustainable Community Education
|
Political cooperation both at home and internationally;
supporting local agriculture; using organic growing methods;
using alternative
energy sources: wind, water, solar, and hydrogen; using green
building sources; using appropriate technology; harvesting forests
in an intelligent manner that respects and preserves the forest;
improving the lives of the poor; restructuring business to include
formation of cooperatives and ethical practices; community building;
promoting self-sufficiency; building a healthy, knowledge-based
society; [and] intelligent use of resources, assuring there will
be enough left for seven generations...
Sandra Wolf, Tres Piedras,
New Mexico
Sustainable Community Development graduate
(Master of Arts)
|
Agro-ecology and organic gardening; bioregionalism and localization;
cultural identity; fraternal solidarity; [and] insurrection and
revolution...
Christian Andres, Quito, Ecuador
Sustainable Community Development
|
Sustainability is when you and your friend
no longer have to sigh, “Oh well,” at the end of
another discussion on problems in your community that you have
no hope of solving
because those in power do not have the environment in mind.
Abbey Carpenter, Prescott, Arizona
Sustainable Community Development graduate
(Master of Arts)
|
Sustainability is the authentic progression of life’s
song that plays best when all creatures move in turn and tempo
to the sounds and rhythms of the world. Sustainability turns
the circle of life like a complex but beautifully organic kaleidoscope
that extends with each note played. To me, sustainability is—The
key we play in, the harmony we create, the rhythm we share, the
right measure and balance to our progressions, the needed, reverberating
essence that keeps the composition of life playing on.
Kathleen
O’Halleran, Prescott, Arizona
Sustainable Community Development (Master of Arts)
|
Renewable energy; social justice; zero
population growth; organic agriculture; [and] “Living in Truth” (Vaclav
Havel’s
phrase which means that The System—communist, capitalist,
or globalist—controls us because we accept its lies;
we need to speak truth to power, we need an interior life so
that
we can recognize truth, we need to speak our truth in community.)
Tom
Brodersen, Prescott, Arizona
Public History graduate
|
In terms of what we are doing in Mesa (Arizona): Adaptive
reuse—reusing
older structures and infrastructures into a new use more compatible
with present conditions, and avoiding the need to tear down
and start from scratch; anything that continually lessens our
impact
on the environment around us, such as lowering our garbage
and waste output, reducing our energy consumption, carpooling;
[and]
an adage followed by my Mormon pioneer ancestors and by my
family today goes as follows: Fix it up / Wear it out / Make
it do / Or
do without.
Dave Richins, Mesa, Arizona
Sustainable Community Development
|
The concept of systems that are self-organizing
and self-perpetuating cycles; [and] Masanobu Fukuoka’s
concept of “recognizing
the limits of our knowledge (and thus the depths of our ignorance)
of the workings of nature”; The very best phrase I heard
was from a former Pennsylvania state energy official: “Sustainability
is a society living in harmony with Nature forever.”
Darrell
Frey, Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania
Sustainable Community Development
|
Sustainability is a continual process of recycling and reducing
the input and output of energy. It is the redefining of life’s
existence as a whole. Sustainability is about questioning yourself
and creating a spiral effect of conscious thoughts and actions
toward all species.
Carrie McConaughy, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sustainable Community Development
|
Using the waste from one process as the
input for another process; considering the complexities of [both]
nature and humans before
acting; living within nature, not as rulers of it; small ecological
footprint; [and] strong, healthy human community...
Melissa Althoff,
Bayfield, Colorado
Outdoor Education
|
“We are not inheriting the Earth from our parents, we
are borrowing it from our grandchildren.” (a phrase I’ve
heard attributed to the Pennsylvania Dutch); appropriate analysis
at appropriate times; “Committed to Openness” (a
phrase created by my Grandmother and me); If a problem seems
insurmountable, interpret it from another perspective; [and] “The
sower (of the seeds) keeps the wheels of the world turning.” (a
translation of an anagram in a square configuration, from the
Braucherai tradition)...
Matthew Porter Sicher, Kempton, Pennsylvania
Psychology graduate
|
Establishing balance between Earth’s
natural, regenerative patterns and socio-political patterns;
understanding relationships;
[and] educating to foster values, beliefs, and ideologies that
respect the above...
Justin Zych, Prescott, Arizona
Sustainable Community Development graduate
(Master of Arts)
|
Long term viability; holistic approach or management; healthy
ecosystem; risks, costs, and benefits fairly distributed; [and]
clean, nonpolluting...
Thom Hulen, Phoenix, Arizona
Sustainable Community Development
|
I am interested in the interaction between
humans and their environment through learning and understanding
how we have impacted
our surroundings in the past, and how we can change our impact
on the environment in the future. This includes mediating existing
environmental problems and learning how to live within our environment
with less impact on the land by maintaining healthy, viable ecosystems
while using resources wisely.
Rob Baumert, Las Vegas, Nevada
Sustainable Community Development graduate
|
Any action that considers the long-term health of the human
global community is a crucial step toward sustainability. The
potential for a negative impact on the earth’s web of
life is considered before any course of action is implemented.
All
living and nonliving entities are considered equal and the
inherent rights based on this value are protected accordingly.
Sustainable
living is dependent on the human race understanding ecology
[and] the interconnectedness of all things on the planet. It
must be
mutually understood that we are dependent on a healthy biosphere.
Cynthia
Hunter, Silver City, New Mexico
Environmental Studies
|
Interdependence and biodiversity; saving
resources for my grandchildren’s
grandchildren; [and] balance and harmony with Mother Earth and
all her creations—(a poem) Walking softly on Mother Earth,
I take only what I / Need and offer a prayer / Walking softly
on our Mother, I heal / Where others have trod without a care /
Walking
softly, I reach out to help my brothers / And sisters, to give
and to share...
Jessie Emerson, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sustainable Community Development
|
Sustainability is a natural phenomenon occurring when extractions
are made from nature’s interest while not depleting her
capital. This practice only becomes sustainable when sufficient
time and proper management are allowed for the complete replenishment
after such withdrawals.
Matthew Dusek, Ashland, Oregon
Environmental Studies
|
The term sustainability can be used to signify
many different approaches to a lessened environmental impact.
This term ultimately
reflects personal responsibility on behalf of future generations.
Dan
Fairbank, Prescott, Arizona
Environmental Building Science
|
Long-term thoughtful process; humanly attainable and maintainable;
socially appropriate and inclusive; maximum output with minimal
input; broad applicability, yet locally appropriate; renewable
and reproducible; stable, consistent, yet innovative and with
forward thinking; [and] personal and community stewardship...
John
Garofano, Utopia, Texas
Sustainable Community Development
|
Diverse; viable; healthy; long-term; vibrant;
[and] contextual (place and time-based)...
Kelly Coffman, Prescott,
Arizona
Community-Based Learning
|
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