SusNet Basics

Susnet.com

Basics : #togetherness #support #sustainable action

Susnet.com is a website concerned with sustainability issues. The word sustain comes from the Latin word sustinere whose roots, sub meaning under and tenere meaning to hold, together gives the sense of holding something up from underneath to support it.

So, sustainability is the ability to sustain something, to support it and keep it going. What that something can be is open to many interpretations.

There is the matter, the substance that is being sustained, with all the component aspects it involves, and also the agent or agency doing the sustaining, that concern us. Together they make what we may call the sustainability of an item, a topic, a subject, an aspect, whatever it is that is being questioned.

Repeat it Different Ways : #individual

Sustainability is a huge topic with many divisions. There is no useful beginning or end to sustainability that would ever meet everyone's demands. For each of us, it is a very personalised topic from the start. 

How to study Sustainability : #sea of questions #ocean of information

For in-depth information on particular sustainability themes you find here, make a list or draw a mind-map of those that leave you wanting to know more. Next, do a search targeting the topics of your choices. There is a vast amount of readily available information, but also there is a lot of hard to reach and hard to understand material. Some authors will claim opposing views and present contrary explanations, there is much contention. You will soon form a picture of sustainability that has, like some old map, regions of unknown territory. Let us know if you discover interesting reports or have major questions that you feel are holding you back. There is no such thing as a dumb question. General links can be provided and also those on some specific topics by request.

Or... : #the path chosen

There are different kinds of sustainability and they can overlap and also fundamentally interlink as in some great Celtic knot of the universe. Methodologically there is often the sense that how one goes about examining one form of sustainability can be equally useful with another.

Excuses, excuses, excuses... : #do what you can

This subject labeled sustainability is a large whale, a large redwood tree, a large elephant, a skyscraper. What end of it do you approach or describe, never mind take hold of ? There is probably no, one, single, good approach, only many personal flavours. Paths that will please and suit specific uses and minds.

There are many, myriad, multifold, millions of different details and factors involved, so where do you start? What shortlist can you make of “important-est” factors to keep sustainability in the realm of comprehension? Any description or model made of a process can always be bettered with more description and a finer grain to the study, albeit depending on the use intended. In a sense then a model of sustainability is a failure both by its definitions and by lack of definitions from the outset. With this excuse in mind, we can go forward. It is an excuse that is a challenge for those interested to follow.

Popular Sustainabilities : #categories

Here is one categorisation of sustainability that you may find useful;-

Planetary Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Biodiversity

Economic Sustainability

Societal Sustainability

Personal Sustainability

They are interlinked, but do each provide an area of study and also a direction from which to proceed. 

Also proposed here is using the metaphor of 5 elements as headings to different aspects of sustainability.

Not Futile : #hope

As we learn more of the damages done to nature, it is very hard not to be overwhelmed by a sense of loss and by despair. How can all the negative things be happening in the world, why? Is society to blame ? Should we enter a blame game ? Is there a "them" and an "us" and are "they" doing all the bad stuff ? It's all "their" fault. A strong sense of doom, isolation and helplessness can result from loss of trust in society, especially in a material world where politics seems either violent or ineffectual. When such unhappy thoughts become disillusion, something stronger has entered the soul and that needs to have light shed upon it. Isolation and loss of hope are two flavours that further make for unhappiness. The key to a cure perhaps lies in the word "empowerment". But, empowerment is not something given or that falls out of the sky, it has to be sought and quested for. It is often easier to do things for another than one's self and herein lies another key to a better world, communication. It would be nice to think that no matter how sad and disillusioned we may ever become, we would still be willing to help someone else. In the doing of things, such as reaching out or asking questions, begins the path to soul medicine and well-being.

Help : # You are Not Alone

An aspect that cannot be bigged up enough is the willingness of many to share information, help and do deeds. There are many networks of people ready to be approached and to welcome you in regards to matters of sustainability. 

Summary

Up for analysis, Anything and Everything at whatever Time Scale.

Emphases; - Energy and Energy Production.