Nature is Sustainability.
Nature is inherently sustainable because it has created a perfect balance for sustaining life throughout millennia of evolution. Nature runs in cycles that sustain each other.
There is no waste in nature. Nature has a perfect system that can continue indefinitely, assuring optimum conditions for all life forms. Nature is ever changing, but always adapts itself to the emerging new conditions and modifies itself accordingly. The term "sustainability" in the human context means the process of people maintaining change in a balanced environment, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations. It is defined through the following interconnected domains or pillars: environment, economic and social, which are based on the principles of Systems Thinking. Sub-domains of sustainable development have been considered also: cultural, technological and political.
Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of humans and other organisms. Ways of reducing negative human impact are environmentally-friendly chemical engineering, environmental resources management and environmental protection. Information is gained from green computing, green chemistry, earth science, environmental science and conservation biology.
Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails international and national law, urban planning and transport, supply chain management, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from reorganizing living conditions (e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors (permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy and sustainable fission and fusion power), or designing systems in a flexible and reversible manner, and adjusting individual lifestyles that conserve natural resources.
The term 'sustainability' should be viewed as humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem equilibrium (homeostasis), while 'sustainable development' refers to the holistic approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end point of sustainability. Despite the increased popularity of the use of the term "sustainability", the possibility that human societies will achieve environmental sustainability has been, and continues to be, questioned—in light of environmental degradation, climate change, overconsumption, population growth and societies' pursuit of unlimited economic growth in a closed system.