Question: Is a "state of sustainability" a new concept in the process of being invented, or an old concept in the process of being rediscovered?
You can call sustainability a state, philosophy, concept etc. All of these and more. But the real power comes from understanding the deeper meaning: Sustainability is hot-wired into your make-up, and needs discovering. The ability to enjoy the taste and pleasure of food has been around for ages, and that spawns all kinds of concepts, philosophies, models, etc. Not to mention restaurants, dishes etc. Sustainability is a sense waiting to be, dare I say, enjoyed more.

Look at any child’s drawing and you will see an innate understanding of sustainability. (They all draw house, sun, sky, garden, tree, water, people, and animals.) The ability to function as part of a balanced system is genetic, part of the survival mechanism in the human make-up.

The built – in instinct to behave in a sustainable way can be over-ridden. For example, when a person believes that FOR THEIR OWN IMMEDIATE SURVIVAL they must drop an atom-bomb to wipe out a whole island, or for the near immediate survival of their loved ones they must earn wages at a job in a highly polluting corporation. (This goes back to what I said about stress. Stress any system enough and sustainabilty is over-ridden as survival is the most powerful instinct.)