Sustainability

"Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long time." source (consulted 21-07-2025). The full Wikipedia entry serves as a first introduction to the idea and concept.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability

The US Academy of Sciences offers a clear point of departure and defines Sustainability Science as “an emerging field of research dealing with the interactions between natural and social systems, and with how those interactions affect the challenge of sustainability: meeting the needs of present and future generations while substantially reducing poverty and conserving the planet’s life support systems.” source .

As sustainability problems only exist in social systems, distinguishing between natural and social systems poses a epistimological problem: how do we know about nature, or do we act with regard to nature merely on the basis of a model of nature? That model can be built, used, challened and defined in social system. But it´s not nature itself.

Hence, we should also the question how social systems know about nature and natural systems, and in wich language it speaks about them. Clearly, the Systems Communication between social systems and natural systems is part of Sustainability and Science of Sustainability too.

Sustainability carries the idea of Continuity, of our Species and of Ecosystems and the natural, biological, social, economic Relations that are parts of them.

And also of continuity of our requirements, needs, freedoms, consequences, impacts, well-being, living conditions etcetera. Sustainability carries an idea about future states, options, and preferences to safe us - and our way of life - from extinction.