1. Sustainability When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
– John Muir

2. Quick Questions What is sustainability?
Does sustainability affect only the environment?
What makes a choice sustainable?
What is sustainability?
Let students express and develop their own definition of sustainability. Help encourage the idea of long-term thinking.
Sustainability is commonly defined as “the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Does sustainability affect only the environment?
Guide students to think of sustainability from a broader perspective than just the environment. Can a business be sustainable? A community? An entire economy?
What makes a choice sustainable?
Ask students to provide examples of sustainable choices and help them make the connection between them.

3. VIDEO: What is sustainability?
This video shows what sustainability is, its origin and its importance to try to achieve a global well-being of the present and future generations. 
Source:

4. Goal of Sustainability
To create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

5. Categorizing Sustainability
Environmental
Economic
Social
These are the three most common approaches to evaluating sustainability. Environmental sustainability is most commonly considered, but all three are equally important to long-term success.

6. Environmental Sustainability
The capacity to preserve the basic functions of the environment.
Supplying natural resources
Energy and greenhouse gas emissions
Abundant biodiversity
Discussion question: Can you identify and explain the basic functions of the environment?

7. Economic Sustainability
The capacity to maintain long-term economic growth for your farm and surrounding community.
Increasing net worth
Decreasing need for off-farm inputs
Improved infrastructure
Example: A business that is able to be profitable year after year is economically sustainable. Investing in long-term assets like buildings and equipment, diversifying revenues, and reducing dependence on others are all ways to improve the economic sustainability of a business. These things help ensure that you can be stable today and into the future.

8. Socially Sustainable
The capacity to guarantee human welfare fairly across all people.
Increased education
Long-term health
Planned farm succession
Planned Farm Succession - A plan for transitioning the farm to a new owner when the need arises.

9. Sustainability
These three categories must all be met to achieve complete sustainability.
If any one category fails, the entire system fails.

10. Three-legged Stool Sustainability can be compared to a stool.
Each leg represents a different component of sustainability.
If any one leg fails, the entire stool collapses.
Environmental
Social
Economic

11. Sustainability in History
We can see examples of systems that failed to be sustainable throughout history.
The most devastating case of unsustainable agriculture in recent history was the Dust Bowl.
The Dust Bowl is one example where you can clearly see the influence of the three types of sustainability.
Dust Bowl photo USDA/Public Domain by Janet Larsen

12. VIDEO: The Dust Bowl
Source:

13. Quick Question
What environmental, economic, or social factors eventually led to the Dust Bowl?
What was the result?
Photo: The original Migrant Mother photograph by Dorothea Lange

14. The Dust Bowl: Unsustainable Factors
As a result of World War I, grain demand and price increased to feed the growing number of soldiers.
In turn, the industrialization and technology from WWI was applied to agriculture and resulted in an increase in production.
This encouraged farmers to put far more prairie ground into production.
Drought from

15. The Dust Bowl Effect 35 million acres of farmland ruined
100 million acres of topsoil gone
Dust storms from the Great Plains to New York
60% of people in the area relocated

16. Sustainability in Agriculture
What are some of the sustainability challenges we face today?
Water Use
Animal Care
Nutrient Runoff
Farmer Wellbeing
Deforestation
Community Engagement
Greenhouse Gases
Farm Profitability
Energy Use
Economic Stability
Sustainability
Also…
Chemical drift
Climate change
Drought and flooding
Soil erosion
Water quality
Species extinction
Super weeds
Feeding the future population!

17. Sustainable Choices
Look at the entire system. Does this work with or against natural systems?
Plan for the long term. What is the best choice for tomorrow? Next year? Future generations?
Conserve natural resources. Is this choice the most efficient use of our surroundings?

18. Takeaways
Sustainability is living with natural systems to preserve them for future generations
Three types of sustainability are: Environmental, Economic, Social
Make sustainable choices:
Look at the entire system
Plan for the future
Conserve natural resources