Christian R. Weisser: The Three Pillars Of Sustainability

In the introduction to “Sustainability”, Christian R. Weisser represents his definition of sustainability by using a Venn diagram portraying the three aspects that, in his mind, sustainability must have to be successful. Specifically, the three aspects of sustainability he identifies are the environment, society, and economy, which he labels as “the three pillars of sustainability.” As Weisser puts it, “Sustainability must consider the environment, society, and the economy to be successful” (Weisser 6). In this quote, he is stating that the process of sustainability is a three-way process; if one of the pillars is gone, the rest collapse and the development of sustainment fails.

A perfect illustration of Weisser’s definition of sustainability is a tree with three roots, each of roots representing one of the pillars. If one root gets injured, the harm does not remain in only that root; it spreads to the others. For instance, if water only flowed to two roots of the tree, leaving one of the roots untended, the entire tree would be harmed. The water is the resource, and the roots are what we need to fulfill us in our nation. If this issue happened over time,

Many people with the term sustainability and have the misconception that environmentalism and sustainability portray the same idea. Although the tree metaphor is an example of nature, the government works in a similar way in terms of economy and society, as it does with the environment. All three pillars of sustainability are the foundations to a successful nation. Likewise, the three roots of the tree must balance to continue to preserve and grow. Overall, sustainability is a crucial concept as it governs all the things we need for our survival and nourishing values. It is how we use our already scarce resources to balance the economy, environment, and society effectively and thrive in the growing