What is sustainability?

Although the word "sustainability" has been around for a couple of decades, it can still be a confusing term for some and often means something different for everyone.  From an Airdrie perspective it really comes down to "the ability of our community to consistently thrive over time."

Pressures and challenges impact quality of life and affect our ability to thrive over time. The demands of a rapidly growing population, a limited water supply and rising energy and food costs are issues that affect us now and in the future.

In the diagram (figure 1) the funnel walls were wide open when resources were abundant. Now the funnel is getting narrower as the world's population increases, consumption increases and natural resources decrease.

As the funnel narrows, higher utility and food costs, longer line-ups, waiting lists for services, unreliable water and energy supplies and polluted land become more common.

Sustainability is about taking action and finding ways to keep the funnel walls open and even widen the opening more (figure 2).