7gen Bloc

We talk about sustainability all the time, but I suspect we all have different ideas as to what the term actually means. The concept is simple enough -- at a fundamental level, it's about not taking more than our fair share, so that future generations can have their fair share. But the idea is so elastic -- we wrap sustainability around economics, agriculture, transportation, lifestyle, climate change and countless other topics -- it often gets twisted into misconceptions that distort its true meaning.

Fortunately, a myth-busting article by Michael Lemonick in the March issue of Scientific American untangles many of our misunderstandings of what "sustainability" is all about. Among Lemonick's most eye-opening assertions:

• While "sustainability" is most often associated with environmentalism, the modern definition of the term "says nothing about protecting the environment."
• "Sustainable" does not mean "green." Some environmentalists grudgingly accept that given the climate crisis, nuclear power is sustainable. Few would argue that nukes are green.
• The concept is easy to understand, but its practice is tougher to figure out. Using corn to produce ethanol for fuel would seem to be sustainable, until you see "how energy-intensive the cultivation and harvesting of corn and its conversion into ethanol really are."

"The admirable goal of living sustainably," concludes Lemonick, "requires plenty of thought on an ongoing basis." He could say the same about defining "sustainability."