This article is the book introduction to The Significance of Sustainability. Please read and comment.

The word “sustainability” has become a cornerstone of the everyday
vocabulary of millions of people all around the globe. For many, it
is considered to be the word of the century, or even millennium.
Interestingly, it has been used in a variety of ways, with an array of
meanings. In 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro sponsored
by the United Nations, the word “sustainable development” was used
for the first time, specifically in the context of a 1987 report entitled,
“Our Common Future.” The term “sustainable development” was
here defined as: “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”

Although this quote is vague in defining the factors that
could potentially have a negative impact on the survival of future
generations, the definition gives humanity something to think
about, along with the motivation to find ways to effectively rescue
the planet for the future of mankind. Since this declaration at Earth
Summit, there’s an ongoing mission to educate the world about
impending dangers that threaten our future.

Simple daily tasks that seem innocent pile up toward our
inevitable destruction. There has been some success along the way
in various countries as their top corporate houses have agreed to
lend their complete support to this cause, as well as forming their
own initiatives to spread the message.
We share the same earth, air, water, and heat with every other
organism on this planet.
The greatest challenge in spreading the word on sustainability
is educating individuals on the steps they must take to help save the
planet. A majority of the blame can be traced to the way the message
surrounding sustainability has been propagated throughout the
world.

During the initial years of its discussion, the most common
images used to represent the subject of our deteriorating world were
often oil wells and smoking factory chimneys. Large corporations
have often been blamed for their greed and its repercussions like
global warming and climate change.
For a while, many of us were satisfied with this half-truth as it
was presented to us. Seldom did we have the courage to look into our
own lives and our own homes to determine the impact our habits
have on our immediate environments.
Being that we are the most dominant and ecologically advanced
species on the planet, it is our responsibility to realize how much
goodness we can contribute to help save this beautiful world for our children, and our children’s children; after all, we all share the same
Earth, air, water, and heat. Thus far, our ignorance has played a huge
role in alienating us from our natural surroundings, reducing our
ability to effectively put an end to all destructive activities.
As bleak as this sounds, luckily it is not too late to make a
change. We might just have enough time to be made aware of our
mistakes, and to attempt to rectify them by making the necessary
changes in our daily lives. We begin this process by diving back into
our natural-born connection with nature – a connection that has
been missing for centuries.
This writing serves an important purpose to help everyone
understand sustainability in its true importance in the role of
supporting and nurturing future generations. Making the correct
decisions in our everyday lives will lead to a plethora of natural
resources for our children, and our children’s children.