What words come to mind when you think of sustainability? MONADNOCK EARTH JOURNAL One of the rules to mind when speaking about an issue as dynamic and multifaceted as sustainability is to never assume everyone has the same idea of what that word means. I have a different understanding of it now than I did three years ago, and by Friday I will understand it differently still. Since I am interested in how people form ideas about the environment in ways that are unique to their own experiences, I took the chance during a ride home from community supper this week to ask my son’s two teenage friends to give me the first words that come to mind when I say, “sustainability.” Their answers were interesting. The first friend said, “Vegetables?” The second friend answered, “intelligence.” Now, let’s look at these two word associations. Friend One’s answer might reflect things he’s learned in school, at home, or from the Internet about the environmental impacts of food, s...
