Sustainable development requires extensive foresight along with specific and expansive planning. In order to achieve the status of "sustainable" a government or governments must have, or come to have, the means with which to start anew and recreate the lifestyle of the citizens within. Sustainable development requires a thorough evaluation of all economically related areas including agriculture, forestry, marine resources, energy, industry, and transportation as well as others related to the natural environment and of course the built environment. From there a framework must be laid out in order to develop fruitfully while at the same time paying close attention to the bigger picture involving future generations.
The idea behind sustainability is that problems can be temporarily solved for the current population, but thought must be given to the future if life is to procede comfortably for those to come. While resources are abundant they can not be taken for granted; as countries begin and others continue to develop, technology becomes more advanced, the population expands and all appears to be running smoothly. But these things, as good as they may seem and usually are, devour our resources and without adequate supervision and increased efficiency, sustainability is impossible. .
Resources must be maintained and rationed in order for sustainable development, but it also must be recognized that no matter how much is done, there is not an unlimited supply of anything in this world and plans for sustainability must involve such things as well. Alternatives to our natural resources are being explored and although many adequate alternatives have been developed and explored they have yet to be adequately implemented into the system. Alternatives such as wind farms, hydro-electricity, solar power, geo-thermal and bio-mass for the generation of electricity have begun to take some of the burden off of power plants in some local areas.
