For our grandchildren

I suppose sustainability to me means living in such a way that future generations have the same chance the previous generation did to make use of the Earth's resources. For this to be true, our generation must live with out degrading the land. A continuous degradation can not be sustainable, because eventually the earth will be so destructed that it is no longer able to sustain life. An acceptance of the sustainable philosophy often requires a person to see the intrinsic value in non-human life forms. While I definitely believe in the incalculable value of the non-human lives on this earth, I do not believe the acceptance of this idea is necessary to understand the importance of sustainability. A sustainable philosophy simply requires looking towards the future, and considering future lives. With each action we take, to be sustainable, we must keep our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren in mind. (Disclaimer: Since our population growth rate isn't sustainable, hopefully many of our grandchildren will be adopted.)