What Does "Unsustainable" Mean?

Unsustainable Practices are practices, methods and approaches that simply cannot endure.

Eating only Twinkies for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday is an unsustainable practice. Betting on the Cubs to win the World Series is an unsustainable practice (at least, that's how I feel). Exploiting our unrecoverable natural resources at the expense of the future of our children is an unsustainable practice, and future generations will never forgive us for it.

Because there are so many unsustainable practices that are a part of our 21st century society, a form of leadership has emerged called Sustainable Society Leadership. These are the people that simply ask the questions:

1. What are we doing?
2. Why are we doing it?
3. Is it sustainable?
4. What are the alternatives?

I've given the definition of Unsustainable Practices. Let me offer the definition of Sustainable Practices:

Sustainable Practices are practices, methods and approaches that will endure.

Simple enough. Now, here is a more detailed definition of the people who now champion Sustainable Practices, Sustainable Society Leadership:

Sustainable Society Leadership is the practice of leaders to create and implement environmental, societal, and economic capacity to endure and benefit the whole of the earth.

I put in the word "practice" in this definition because SSL must go beyond theory and idealism and into a way of doing things like a practice. I included "create and implement" because leaders not only create ideas, but they have to take responsibility for them and provide ways for their implementation. I also put in "environmental, societal and economic" capacity because sustainability was at one time the exclusive domain of environmentalists. Now we realize that our environmental goals must be integrated with our societal and economic goals in order for any of them to work at all. "Capacity to endure" only means whatever we do for the future cannot be based on the scorched earth policies of the past where countries would pillage other lands and other peoples just to satisfy their own immediate needs. And finally, "benefit the whole of the earth" only means our methods and ways of the 21st century and beyond must be around how our way of life is beneficial to the people, the animals and the earth, not just for a few people at the expense of the many.

Some of you may be saying "what's wrong with the way things are? I have a job, three squares a day and I can go out on the weekends. I wear my Crocs and I do my part for the homeless and the environment. I eat organically and I drive a Prius!"

First of all, you should be given a medal, not because of all the nice things you're doing, but because you have the courage to wear Crocs in public.

Sustainable Society Leadership isn't about all of the things you're doing individually. It's about all of the things we do collectively as a society. This idea of creating a world that can endure isn't just for the do-gooders, but for the do-badders, too. It isn't just for the endangered American Bald Eagle, but for the sewer rat and the common house roach, too. I don't have a job, I write books. I don't eat three squares, I graze all day and occasionally like a good hamburger. I've been volunteering at a homeless shelter for the past 10 years but I can't remember the last time I did something out in the field for the environment. I don't drive a Prius, I drive a Jaguar (along with riding my bike). Sustainable Society Leadership can't cater to just those who are members of the 'club' (people who think 'right' things like we do). It must be leadership for all the people, all the creatures and all the lands.

Even more, Sustainable Society Leaders must bridge the connection between various ideas, like serving the homeless, saving the environment, protecting true free enterprise, global connectedness and spirituality. Yeah, I know. That's a lot to put on one plate, but the truth is that they are all interconnected. The SSL must take this interconnectedness for granted and ask the question "how can we re-create a new direction that is mindful of the long view of survivability and empowering to all of the earth's creatures?" That used to be the conversation of tree huggers. Now it's the common sense conversation of all humankind.

That conversation, and it's follow up actions, begins now under the guidance of the Sustainable Society Leader.

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