backstory: Sustainability

Earlier today I was able to listen to a talk by John McArthur, the Center for Sustainable Development Director and Global Economy and Development Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, on sustainability, particularly in reference to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The conversation went from the macro to the micro, exploring what might be some of the things we can do in our own communities to create and maintain sustainable efforts. One student in my breakout group said, in reference to what we mean when we say “sustainability,” that she hopes for a world that is not so full of toxicity, so that people are not fearful of what might happen. Me too. Dramatic, but timely. Now I’m going to go retrieve the tin can I put in the garbage earlier today out of laziness, wash it, and put it in the recycling bin where it belongs.