Indicators of Sustainability

What does it mean to be sustainable?  Communities all over the world have wrestled with this question. A first step is often adopting a definition, such as the one from the Brundtland Report, sustainability "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  But what does that mean in practical terms?

Over a thousand communities around the world have attempted to define the key things they need to do, and be, in order to move towards greater sustainability. The efforts of those communities gives clues to what might work in Tompkins County.  Read the full report, Indicators of Sustainability:  Applying Lessons to the Ithaca Area.