Defining Sustainability........
Isn't it lovely?       The deep blue sea and terra firma.  None can compare.
Though there are countless stars  similar  in size and shape to our sun and companion planets similar in size.  None, within reach, during  our life span, can compare.

I think everyone stepped into this class with some idea of sustainability.  I did.  It was vague. Now it seems to be ever expanding and this assignment is forcing me to put constraints on my definition.   I didn't have any idea how much information there would be to digest.
 What I think is great is that "sustainability" isn't a bunch of people saying  "Something needs to be done!"and doing nothing.  "Sustainability" is people living in a real world running businesses and deigning products and building structures who are thinking about the impact of what they do. What they do Right now,in a complex system, effecting more than just there current project.  What people do ripples out in all directions and into the future.
While trying to read and digest and clarify my thoughts I also had the TV on and what is there but ,http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/objectified/, Independent Lens and it just happens to be a show about how designers effect the way people live there lives.  Watching this show, and listening to well known designers,lets me see what is going on in the design process that I never contemplated.
 Sustainability, has to be a key word in all design, or the economic bottom line can take over completely.
 I think in the world of design ,beauty, is an essential element.  When people think of sustainability, beauty, is not really what comes to mind. People may think of   Life-cycle assessment and
consider  many of  the resources involved, but whether or not something has enduring beauty ,is on the sidelines.  Whole system design can not leave out what makes things aesthetically enduring. 
Looking back to the assignment on GNH, we need to look at how things effect the ability of people to have a happy and fulfilling life.  The definition  of sustainability  needs to be  broad enough to be resilient and enduring.
So I started to think of a list of words that might help me to come up with a definition. Survival,enduring,evaluative,replicable, discernment,beauty, happiness, equitable,measurable, environment,economy,policy makers,people,systems.

Definition:

Sustainability involves evaluating things, in a systematic  and discerning manner to determine solutions that are measurable,replicable and enduring.  Sustainable solutions must  be: environmentally sound, economically feasible, socially equitable, consumer friendly, aesthetically appealing and enduring.

Now ,looking at this definition in a practical way, each of these elements cannot be weighted equally for each situation.  A medical device does not need to be aesthetically appealing if it will hardly ever be seen.   A device which someone will out grow and cannot be used by another consumer does not need to have  50 year longevity.  Things that will be outdated could be made so that they were modular.  While the exterior could be durable the internal components need only be designed to last until they upgraded.  It will take a lot of input and evaluation to make sustainability happen.  Looking at all of the frameworks that are out there it can happen.  It takes people looking at the best ideas ,and those that are successful ,and combining them into the newer, better framework.  Cooperation and collaboration,  using the integrated systems, can lead to the results this Big Blue Marble needs.