Sustainable Environment

Human survival and societal progress hinge on a reliable and sustainable relationship with the natural environment. This relationship must ensure unbroken access to energy, food, and resources while safeguarding a sustainable ecological balance. Humans require clean water, nutritious food, shelter, energy, and infrastructure to survive and thrive. These needs must be met without exceeding ecological limits of their given geography. This can be extended to the concept of sustainability within planetary boundaries wherein humanity can safely operate without destabilizing vital Earth systems like climate regulation, biodiversity, and soil health.

Provisioning systems—such as agriculture, energy production, and transportation—are central to linking human needs with resource use. A sustainable provisioning system requires a reciprocal relationship between humans and nature—giving back as much as we take. This reciprocity between humans and nature can be understood in the drive to maintain resilient ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and engage in regenerative practices. It is widely recognized humanity’s very future survival depends on prioritizing sustainability in energy use, food production, and resource management in addition to the societal structures and people that support them.

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