While the word "sustainability" doesn't exactly roll trippingly off the tongue, the idea of it must become second nature in this state if the Hawai'i 2050 Sustainability Plan is ever going to bear fruit.

There are some clear strengths in the draft of the plan unveiled yesterday at an event to launch public review and discussion of the document (which can be read at http://hawaii2050.org). Among these is the acknowledgment that success can come only through a careful balancing of our community's economic and environmental needs to produce a healthy society.

Also, there are long lists of ways to measure our progress toward our goals. These measures seek to answer questions in each aspect of the plan.

For instance: Is income distributed across a full range, insuring a healthy middle class? How many families are recycling, or showing their commitment to sustainability through some other means? How's the growth of newer, technological sectors of the economy, compared to the health of foundation industries such as tourism?

Having intermediate mileposts will be essential, since the preferred future described in the document sounds almost utopian. Here's a sample:

"In 2050, the energy we use is clean, renewable and produced mostly in Hawai'i. Much of the food we consume is produced locally. We minimize waste by recycling. We are a strong and healthy community with access to affordable housing, transportation and healthcare. Our public education system prepares our people for productive, meaningful and fulfilling lives."

Obviously, this is an ideal, but even approaching it will require constant checking and rechecking of our current location on the course.

Ultimately, the hope is that our decisionmakers and the community at large will develop the habit, and then the instinct, of crafting actions that can deliver significant advances toward at least one goal without sacrificing too much of the progress toward another.

But while the public and its leaders learn the skills of "sustainable" governance, the presence of the yet-to-be-formed Sustainability Council is critical. This statewide panel, which will have to be constituted through a new state law, will serve as scorekeepers, pointing out our collective failings and recommending course corrections.

If the balance we want is to be achieved, these are key people whose selection must come from a broad cross-section of the community — business leaders, environmentalists and, perhaps most critically important of all, representatives of the younger generation — determined to see the plan through.

But even with those monitors in place, the process won't even get off the ground without strong public participation (see box for ways to weigh in). Clearly, attendance at yesterday's summit meeting is decidedly not the only way to add your voice to the conversation.

The only way the final plan will reflect our goals is if we all let the planners know our desires to begin with. The final product will only be as good as the resolve and interest of all Hawai'i's people.