{"id":283,"date":"2026-05-27T09:29:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routledgelearning.com\/sustainabilityprinciplesandpractice\/?page_id=283"},"modified":"2026-05-27T10:57:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:57:37","slug":"what-is-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/routledgelearning.com\/sustainabilityprinciplesandpractice\/what-is-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-69934ac2 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-base-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/routledgelearning.com\/sustainabilityprinciplesandpractice\/flashcards\/\" style=\"background-color:#409750;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Back to all Flashcards<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<!-- Swiper -->\n<div class=\"swiper mySwiper\">\n    <div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>Anthropocene<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>An informal term for the most recent period in Earth\u2019s history during which human activities have had significant impact on climate and ecosystems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>carrying capacity<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The maximum number of individuals that a given environment can support indefinitely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>complex adaptive system<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>A self-organizing system of interacting elements, regulated by feedbacks and resulting in emergent behavior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>ecological footprint<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>A measure of the demand a person, population, or activity places on nature in order to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, usually expressed as acres or hectares of productive land and water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>ecosystem<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>A system of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>ecosystem services<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The essential benefits people obtain from ecosystem processes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>emergence<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The spontaneous appearance of novel properties at the level of a system that cannot be predicted by knowledge of the system\u2019s parts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>equilibrium<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The state of a system in which opposing influences are balanced and in which the system will remain unless disturbed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>feedback<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>A circular mechanism in which the result of an initial process triggers changes in a second process that in turn influence the initial process. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>monoculture<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The planting of a single crop over a large area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>natural capital<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>Environmental resources and ecosystem services that make all economic activity possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>niche<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The role an organism plays in its ecosystem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>overshoot<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The amount by which resource consumption and waste production exceed nature\u2019s capacity to create new resources and absorb waste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>resilience<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The capacity of a system to accommodate change and still retain the same function and structure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>sustainability<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The state in which the needs of all members of the biosphere are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>sustainability science<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>An interdisciplinary field of study of the interactions between natural, social, and human systems and with how those interactions impact sustainable development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>sustainable development<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>system<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>An integrated whole made of interconnected parts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <!-- Swiper Slide -->\n        <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n          <!-- Flashcard -->\n           <button class=\"flip-card\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n            <div class=\"flip-card-inner\">\n              <div class=\"flip-card-front\"><p><p>tipping point<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n              <div class=\"flip-card-back\"><p>The critical transition at which accumulated small changes a cause a system to shift abruptly and irreversibly into a new state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        <div id=\"flashcard-instruction\" class=\"sr-only\">Press Enter or Space to flip the card<\/div><div id=\"flip-announcement\" class=\"sr-only\" role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\"><\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div>\n    <div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div>\n    <div 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