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Sustainability: AGlobal Concept and Context for <br />Taking Local Action <br />Globalization of the economy antl the interconnectetl nature of natwal systems make <br />sustainability a global issue. In the 198] report Our Common Future the Uni[etl <br />Nations' World Commission on Environment antl Development, more commonly known <br />as the Bmntlantl Commission, createtl the now commonly used deSnRion of sustainable <br />development. It defnes sustainable tlevelopmenl as "Development which meets fhe <br />needs of fhe present without compromising fhe ebiltty of future generations fo meet their <br />own needs'. <br />The Shaping Orange County's Future (SOCF) project adoptetl this brief definRion of <br />sustainability, supported by a set of four principles that tlescribe basic troths and <br />contlttions regartling life on earth. These four principles are: <br />1. A natural rescume will be depleted, unless it is used no <br />fester than it is replaced. To live sustainebly humans must <br />avoid taking more from the biosphere Phan can be <br />replenished by naturl systems <br />2. The earth's ecosystems cannot wi[hstantl the systematic <br />builtl-up of harmful substances antl wastes- Human activity <br />protlucing harmful substances antl wastes must be mediated <br />to maintain balance in natural systems. <br />3. Earth's ecosystems (ot which humans end other living <br />beings are a part), are inteNepentlent antl most stable when <br />they include a diversity of species. <br />4. Human neetls span physical, economic, environmental, <br />cultural, social antl spiritual dimensions. Human neetls can <br />be met equitably, Justly, and with dignify without <br />compromising the physical environment." ' <br />The ewnomy tlepends on the environment bath for raw material Inputs antl to aIX as a <br />"sink"for waste outputs. The following tliegram shows the relationship of the human <br />economyto the earth's anvimnmen[. The human economy is a subsystem of the <br />earth's environment antl must remain wdhin the environment's capacity tort resource <br />regeneration antl waste absorption to be sustainable overthe long-term. <br />Fw furtheralabpreb'on on pdnciples of susfainabilitytbe remeris related to The Naturel <br />Step's websde, wwwnefurelsfep.org. The SOCF SUS(alnability principles ere basetl on and <br />adapted lrom the lour system commons laid put by The Natural Step. <br />