[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_single_image image=”51640″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” eltd_css_animation=”element_from_fade” transition_delay=”1.0″][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]The term sustainable is used everywhere these days it seems, but what exactly is ‘sustainability’? Environmental sustainability is a very broad issue with boundless implications. Books and fields of study have been dedicated to this issue, philosophies founded on it, and raging debates made over it. There are dozens of good definitions in use currently but a good summation of our working philosophy here at Smith Environmental and Engineering (SMITH) is from Robert Gilman at the Context Institute:[/vc_column_text][no_blockquote text=”“Sustainability is equity over time; we think of it as extending the Golden Rule through time – doing to future generations what we would have them do to us.”” show_border=”yes” show_quote_icon=”yes”][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]Another writer about sustainability, James Coomer, puts it this way:[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”transparent”][no_blockquote text=” “A sustainable society is one that lives within the self-perpetuating limits of its environment. That society is not a no-growth society – it is, rather a society that recognizes the limits of growth and looks for alternative ways of growing. It seeks to understand and create within the constraints of the environment.”” show_border=”yes” show_quote_icon=”yes”][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]These two statements offer a good framework for our own deepening understanding of the issues we face every day in our work dealing with environmental problems that have both an immediate element that needs to be addressed as well as a more long term element that must be accounted for. To address only the immediate need is to short change those who will live with the outcome of our work in the future. Therefore, a truly sustainable environmental condition is one that meets the needs of the present day without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_single_image image=”51639″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” eltd_css_animation=”element_from_fade” transition_delay=”1.0″][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]Our philosophy at Smith Environmental and Engineering is focused fundamentally on finding and protecting that balance between the very real needs of today for our clients, our communities, and our environment with the very real needs yet to develop in the future. Experience, expertise, ethical concerns, and hopefully wisdom, shape how we approach and complete projects for our clients. We are proud to say we have been doing sustainable environmental projects since before sustainability became a buzz word and we intend to continue providing sustainable solutions to meet those environmental needs for today and tomorrow. We care so much about sustainability that we built it into our tagline “Delivering Sustainable Environmental Solutions”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
What is Sustainability?
