There is not a single grain of sand on a beach that is sustainable, the wind will blow it and the tide will pull it back, and yet the beach, as a whole, is sustainable because there will always be sand. Life is only as sustainable as the resources that feed it. Life needs energy, sand . . . is just sand. Should you wish you can download a larger version of this picture, simply click on it.			Sustainability It is said that "ideals are like the stars that guide mariners". In other words, quite necessary to achieve direction but impossible to grasp. Sustainability can be an ideal such as this. A large problem with the more prosperous economic nations of the world is that they appear to have no firm guidelines on what sustainable growth is, and indeed many are only interested in short-term gain with no regard to true sustainability. It is like they are not even aware that the stars are there. It may be better to think of sustainability as a simple equation such as the following: So you see, sustainability can be more solid than just an elusive ideal, it can be adopted as a good-sense lifestyle on a personal level or a guiding principle behind a country's economy. Of course, global economics is vastly more complex than any simple equation can express. Global trade is directly dependent on the fuel costs and availability involved in transportation, without fossil fuels where is the global trade? At Springstone we are as sustainable as our locality allows - water, electric, food, fuel and resources included - but we have no control over external forces which could alter our own little equation. We feel that living as sustainably as possible is the only way which respects this beautiful planet which perpetuates all life.