Although sustainability and sustainable development are buzzwords, the business community, the agriculture sector, governments and communities embrace them. Your Internet search should indicate that sustainability is important and serves to be the underlying reason we do things: we want to sustain our livelihoods, our families, and our well being. We want to live in an environment that is clean and continues to produce fresh water and air, recreational activities, wildlife and soils that are productive long into the future. We also want to be able to have the opportunities to work in jobs and have careers that are meaningful and fulfilling. Each of these elements, in a nutshell are the reasons we do what we do.
Keep this in mind as we move through the next modules in the class. Sustainability is the broader context in which we must make decisions. If we make decisions that serve us only in the short run, and for only economic reasons, we will jeopardize our futures.