Wikipedia definition of sustainable is: “The capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time”.
When we talk about creating a sustainable home or sustainable lifestyle we are generally talking about being self-sufficient. We grow our own food; we capture our own rainwater; we supply ourselves with energy. In doing so we try not to be wasteful and recycle what we can. We are creating our own little ecosystem with the capacity to endure. Once that equilibrium is met we can say we are sustainable.
To be entirely sustainable takes a lot of work and you will need to educate yourself a great deal. It requires a great deal of trial and error and you will need patience and time. Most of us however would be more than happy to live in a solar passive home that was comfortable, and/or a home that is self-sufficient for rainwater and power as well as recycling as much as possible. These are very achievable goals for anyone building a new home or renovating. At Ecohabit we specialize in achieving these goals for our clients.