Sustainable (se-sta’ ne-bel):
1. Capable of being sustained
2. Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Over the past few years it is hard to have missed the use of this term by some person or business attempting to show their environmental consciousness or “green” credentials. Sustainable development, sustainable community, sustainable industry, sustainable agriculture. There may be as many definitions of sustainability as there are groups trying to define it or using it as a branding or marketing tool.
But what does "sustainability" really mean and how can you tell if something really meets the definition of sustainable? In short, sustainability contemplates whether the economic, social and environmental systems that make up the community are providing a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all community residents, present and future.
Because natural resources are limited and continue to be depleted at escalating rates, sustainability needs to be considered at all levels of decision making -- local, regional, national, and global. Effective leadership at the local government level means developing systems that meet basic resource needs in ways that can be continued in the future. To do this, we need to figure out what are those basic needs and how do you , as local elected officials meet those needs most effectively now and in the future. How much park space is adequate? How much and what type development is desired and where should it be located? Does the average citizen in Florida really need to use 158 gallons of water (2005 gross per capita average) every single day? What can government officials do to create incentives to reduce the use of our natural resources without limiting the ability of citizens to be free from unnecessary government intrusion? Can we develop more effective, efficient ways to create a way of life that is not only equally or more satisfying, but can also continue indefinitely into the future?
Some communities in Florida have already started to work toward this goal. Typically, successful sustainable localities have three characteristics in common: First, the community created a vision of its future that balances the social needs of the individual citizens, the economic desires of the business community, and the long term health and SUSTAINABILITY of the environment. These sustainable communities took long term views for their communities: not on the order of years, but on the order of decades or generations. Second, the vision incorporated diverse viewpoints from a wide cross-section of the community. Third, the community established action plans that helped them achieve defined, measurable goals. The state of Florida has undertaken various “sustainable" initiatives including: the Florida Green Lodging Program, the Florida Clean Marina Program and the Clean Vessel Act Grant Program.
This website is dedicated to assisting local governments understand, develop and implement a plan to make their communities more sustainable; to help local government officials recognize that sustainable development reflects not the trade-off between business and the environment---but the synergy between them.
Below is a list of websites that describe and discuss sustainability. Please refer to these sites to get a more clear understanding of the broad scope of sustainable initiatives:
http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/
http://www.onearth.org/node/2399
For additional information, please contact
Scott Dudley by email or call him at (800) 342-8112 or (850) 570-7296.