Conserving in the Community

Applying the principles of conservation and efficiency to economic development is called sustainable development. This term was defined by the United Nations in 1987 as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Sustainable development is not a new idea. It is the latest expression of a long-standing ethic that seeks a stable relationship between human activities and the environment and considers current activities' effects on future generations. Where traditional approaches have sometimes led to congestion, sprawl and pollution, sustainable development hopes to find lasting solutions to these problems.