Sustainability takes into account all of the inputs and outputs that go into a process and whether or not they could be maintained over the long term. This is an idea that can be applied generally or to a specific concept, like sustainable design where architects take building materials and availability of sunlight into consideration when constructing new homes.


A sustainable farm would aim to use affordable, environmentally friendly practices in a way that feed into one another so it could hypothetically continue on indefinitely. For example, the farmer might use native species of plants that whose water input could be satisfied entirely through rainfall and percipitation stored in cisterns. That same farmer might put complementary plants in close vacinity, such as the famed "three sisters" planting where fast growing corn act to trelise beans which fix nitrogen for squash that provides shade for its other two counterparts. The plants might be fertilized by a few hogs who eat the corn husks and stalks at the end of the season.

This sense of connection and everflowing continuum is at the essence of the big concepts in green living. Carbon footprints are merely a means of calculating how sustainable your daily choices are.

Even though a lot of media attention has been given to certain products, like CFLs (compact florescent lightbulbs)and Bisphenol-A free water bottles, a truly green lifestyle extends beyond merely buying things that are more environmentally friendly than their alternatives (although that sure is part of it). Green living is about thinking about the water you use, the food you eat, the way you move from one place to another and the clothes you where while you do it. It's about knowing what's going on in your local and national goverment and how you can take action to help.

To help guide you I'm creating the Get Green lens series, each lens highlighting a different way to put yourself on the pathway towards a sustainable lifestyle that considers the basic inputs and outputs in your life.