A recent cartoon (below) extrapolates the use of the word 'sustainable'. It predicts that in 50 years each sentence will on average contain the word at least once.

The cartoon is clever, and 'sustainable' is indeed overused. But there is a good reason why we hear about sustainability so much these days. It is important.

Despite the odd hiccup, and ongoing deprivation in some regions, we seem to have by and large worked out how to get richer. But can the planet handle the strain on its resources?

The United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability released its report, 'Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing', last week.

Too much sustainability? xkcd.com

The panel is composed mostly of political leaders, and has global representation. One of the members is Australia's[...]

[Published in GreenNews - Read the original article]