sus·tain·a·bil·i·ty səˌstānəˈbilədē/noun:
the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
After this morning’s meditation, you timed your shower at three minutes (shaved a minute off!) and didn’t leave the water running while you lathered your hair. Of course, you didn’t leave your phone charger plugged in—that would be an energy drain—but where is it? You sit down to eat fruit and granola from Saturday’s farmers’ market and find it on the kitchen chair. Whew! You leave the Tesla in the driveway because it is bike-to-work day. After you pick up your lunch at the place that doesn’t have the best sandwiches, but they have recyclable plastic forks and don’t use Styrofoam so all your friends eat there anyway, you head to the break room safe in the knowledge that you didn’t contribute to the beef industry practices. The TV is tuned to the news and, after a story about another crisis created by Putin’s Papaya Pawn is an exposé about the North Pacific Gyre—The Garbage Patch that is somehow forgotten, no longer news. Who still creates this growing environmental disaster? Everyone you know is conscientious and caring. It must be some other country. But the United States is 15th in the sustainability rankings, languishing behind Australia and New Zealand, Canada and most of Europe. Sustainability is a complex subject—at the crossroads of economy, culture, and society, not only a matter of environmental concern. Of the UN’s proposed seventeen sustainable development goals, only a third are environmental because of the recognition that embracing shared goals requires a semblance of fiscal, educational, and gender equality in a society. In this issue of Sisyphus, we want to spread good words about minimalism, conservation, sustainable building, urban villages and farms, the “shop local” movement AND sustainable businesses’ key performance indicators, poverty, education, and immigration reform.
Share a piece that exemplifies a cause you are passionate about. Remind readers of the simple things that freedom ensures. Pay attention to the details of a thriving society. A solid civilization and vibrant community look to art for their inspiration.
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