Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Friday, July 04, 2025 — Houston, TX

Mishal Thadani


NEWS 5/16/10 7:00pm

Sustainability a personal responsibility

Recently I was interviewing for a job position involving renewable energy when my interviewer asked me a question I've never really been asked before: "What does sustainability mean to you?" To be honest, I tanked this question. I thought about all the times any professor, lecturer or die-hard environmentalist spoke of sustainability, without providing a clear-cut definition for it. I spattered about leaving carbon footprints and how being wasteful was contaminating the environment, but knew I was skirting around the core of the birthing of sustainability.