Sustainability for 2008 is definitely the buzz word of the year. Similar to the concept green, I can barely pick up a newspaper, magazine or other form of media without seeing this word. But is it clearly understood or has it rapidly become abused or confused through excessive use?

Recently, when I quoted Ed Snodgrass of Knoll Farms (www.greenroofplants.com) as saying, "Sustainability means we don't take more out of the Earth than we are able to put back," I created a flurry of email response.

Scott Kyle, principal of Skaat (www.skaat.com), says the best definition he has heard comes from the Native American perspective of "providing for the needs of the current generation without sacrificing the needs of future generations." Still, "many folks and groups," says Kyle, "appear to corrupt its meaning, which is a shame because the term should mean a product or service that is truly green."

"Those of us in natural resource management fields," says Ellen Powell a Conservation Education Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Forestry, "think of sustainability as the 'truest' green. To us, it means balancing human consumption with ecological viability, so that the resource remains viable for all purposes. In today's world, it's unrealistic to think that people will simply stop using renewable resources, such as forests. For example, if we stopped using wood as a building material, our alternatives would be materials that require more energy to manufacture such as steel. And most of these alternative products are from finite, nonrenewable sources; in other words, not very green. On the other hand, we can provide both forest products and ecosystem services. For land conserved through sustainable forestry is land conserved for clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, recreation, carbon sequestration and a host of other benefits." 

Patricia Stansbury, principal of Epic Gardens (www.EpicGardens.com), has found the definition to be more philosophical or spiritual. "I have been invited to speak at a number of venues including churches about environmental stewardship as a matter of faith, and schools about how choosing locally produced food and consumer goods produces a more sustainable economy," she says.

Anne Bedarf of GreenBlue Institute found it disturbing when Provost Tim Garson of the University of Virginia described sustainability as "only about eco-efficiency." She and her classmates forwarded a letter stating, "Sustainability is the ULTIMATE green, but it's not a thing; rather, sustainability is a process, or a framework, by which our economy, people and planet can move toward equity and be self-sustaining. My work (www.sustainablepackaging.org) is a sector in which industry, government and nonprofits work together to define sustainable packaging. So, I believe each sector of society should develop a definition of what sustainability means for them."

Bedarf acknowledges that "sustainability is more than 'green.' It is a way of living in the world with an ethical outlook that recognizes the impact of where we live, how we commute to class or work, what we eat and what we buy as it relates to impacting other cultures and ecosystems near and far."

Urban/suburban communities benefit as Henrico County's Deputy County Manager for Special Services Angela Harper indicates through "the establishment of a Community Revitalization Department, a proactive step that any locality can take that furthers sustainable land and building use." In her sector, Harper has found the Center for Sustainable Communities sponsored by the National Assocation of Counties (www.naco.org) to be a resource for leadership and guidance.

On the other hand, while businesses are challenged by Jennifer Schamber, Green Profit's 2007 Young Retailer Award Winner, to "green" their brand and by Jennifer Duffield White, editor of Green Profit, to measure their carbon footprints (www.carbonfootprint.com), "Virginia’s farmers," says Megan Weary of Roundabout Farm (www.roundaboutfarm.net), "often talk about environmental sustainability as only being one part of their equation. For us, sustainable farming also means economically viable. Simply, the amount of debt that many farmers take on to grow locally produced food for a population that is used to buying cheap (subsidized) food, can make it an impossible venture."

So, what does the term sustainability mean? To enable an understanding, Mike Ellerbrock and his Virginia Tech colleagues developed a curriculum on Education for Sustainable Development that includes a discussion of the difficulty of defining the term itself. It is available online at susdev.agecon.vt.edu/.

Are you participating in activities that create "ultimate green" sustainability? To share your comments, ideas or strategies, contact me at syhwright@msn.com or leave a comment below. Together, let's create a series of column topics that assist the greening of our community: move the Greater Richmond Area from eco-weak to eco-chic, creating a legacy of healthy green.