Whether one considers sustainability to exist as a three-legged table consisting of the environment, the economy, and society, or as a dualistic relationship between human beings and the ecosystem they
inhabit, there should at least be agreement that ensuring the provision of clean air, clean water, and clean and productive land is foundational to a responsible socioeconomic system. Examining, for a moment, the three-legged model, the question might be raised, Do these legs provide equal support or is there some associated hierarchy of values among them? It is apparent that, without a sustainably productive environment to provide a resource foundation, it would be difficult or impossible to imagine having a sustainable society. Similarly, a sustainable economy depends upon a sustainable flow of material, energy, and environmental resources. Without it, economic systems will fail. However, a sustainable environment need not be dependent on the existence of either society or economy and, as evidenced in the wild, can stand alone as a sustainable system. As the only piece of the puzzle that can actually stand by itself, it should be the model to emulate, and indeed there have been attempts to do so.