Environmental education has greatly increased in popularity within the last decade along with increasing environmental awareness and thus consequently coevolved with an increased lack of knowledge about the natural world. It has become increasingly possible to sustain life without a basic understanding of the environment or to interact on a daily basis with the environment. Environmental education aims to create and increase awareness and understanding about environmental issues that leads to sustainable actions and choices. Effective environmental education can be seen as having five elements that, when all used properly, foster a lifelong relationship that unites the learner with their environment in a positive way. These elements are that it is related to the learner and what it means to an individual, promotes wonder through inquiry and discovery about natural environment, presented in the context of the local environment, community or culture, an activity that is hands on or related to a real local problem and finally creating a connection that shows how the environment spans many areas of study and is not only related to science (Chin 2004).
The definition and general accepted notion of environmental education is that it is something that happened when you were in grade school, or when you go to a national park, it is an isolated occurrence that does not affect what you do on a day to day basis and certainly does not affect how you lead your life. This could not be more untrue, the fundamental part of environmental education is that the lifelong learning will impact you so deeply that you change or further improve your daily living habits and projections for the future. Environmental education needs to happen every day in t...
... middle of paper ...
... continue to decline. T have any real change, politics must originate from the ecological level, change is impossible to start at the national level, when each ecosystem requires different needs. In order to have real responsibility to local ecosystems, government must move power from the national to the local or state level. Once citizens are again in control of what happens to their environments and communities, they will gain responsibility for the sustainability of their communities as well. Environmental Education is no small task, not just a single class you take in school, but a process through which one learns stewardship, conservation, sustainability and civic engagement. It is with all these practices together, and by people putting theory into practice, that any real good can come to the earth, improve environments and create a sustainable society (Hill).
The environment in America today is far from Eden, but there is a valiant battle being fought by many to return the earth to a more "natural" state. Green and clean is the preferred vision of the future1. This trend towards environmental awareness, or environmentalism, is a prominent theme in today’s American society. Politics, industry, marketing, and media all use the environment as a means to sell themselves. With such a high profile, it seems almost unbelievable that there was a time when the word environment was little known or not used. However, the period was not so long ago. Even before World War II nature was referred to as wilderness and wilderness existed to serve humans2. The shift from nature existing to serve humans to humans protecting the environment was not a very complex project, but rather one of many small influences and their resulting effects. Hence, the rise of environmentalism in American society is the result of gradual social changes, which created a shift in social values.
Beginning with our current and so far to what we have read the topics about biophilia, sustainable urban development, and that of sustainable transport, I can say I have so far learned more comprehensively about sustainability and the subsequent movement back toward a semblance of biophilia, then I have from all my previous schooling. Taking into account how many years it has been since that I’ve had to learn/relearn and also that of the generational gap of information encompassing these given topics, and with my knowledge (and/or lack thereof) may be sparse in consistency there certainly is a lack of usable knowledge from that of when I was in the earlier years (to ease confusion this refers to the levels of k-12) of schooling and that of the known usable knowledge now. To start this essay I will talk about the influences that were/are important in my education, what has/is the primary source to shape my education, and my past/present educational experiences.
...anet and take action to create change. We may not be able to control the laws of nature, but we can control how we affect the land in which reside. The health and quality of living for you and those around you will only continue to degrade and be affected by your choices and how you decide to treat the environment of this planet that we call home. Don’t let the planet fall apart; don’t let your home come crashing down.
Although more people are aware of the impacts we have on our environment, there are still people that choose to ignore scientific evidence, or do not fully understand the consequences. Further education and research are critical components in an effort to become more sustainable. Fortunately, younger generations are learning about the need to address environmental issues so that changes can be made to ensure our way of life is sustainable.
I think that the most promising and auspicious form of environmentalism that we have studied and discussed in our philosophy course thus far is the radical deep ecology movement. Deep ecology includes valuing an ecocentric ethic and individual ethic, not just one or the other.
This change can be subtle or drastic, but as truth may have it we life in a global society where the climate is changing drastically, weather patterns are becoming increasingly unstable, the ice caps in colder regions are beginning to melt, earthquakes are growing stronger in magnitude and becoming more prevalent. As of today all the signs and studies have proven true, human activities definitely have a large role to lay in the growth of global warming, by the continuous creation of factories along with the growth of greenhouses, toxic gases consisting of carbon dioxide continue to be distributed into the atmosphere, and with this continuous growth comes the destruction of plants which are responsible for purifying the air by taking in the carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, it is easy to see why; and although few have come in defence of human beings to place this claim on the stage to be closely analysed and debunks, unfortunately for them all the facts presented so far have added up in support of the claim. Mankind may be on a dangerous path to destruction, but not for long this is not how thing must remain, and as time would have it, it is not too late. We may not have the abilities to turn back the hands of time; but rather we can proceed with tim into a better tommorow, increase educational engagement in the sciences, by teaching children at a younger age about climate change during their introductions into chemistry, biology, and earth science. Inclined with the education of the student a focus on better interacting with the environment to improve habitats for animal and teach the importances in reducing the damaging toxins in the air and on the ground. following these steps may not have a great effect right away; however in the long rich , by following these steps we can give birth to a future where the children we know today will grow to become environmental specialist, engineers, social
Finally, research has shown that basic education is paramount to a nation’s ability to develop and achieve economic development and sustainability targets. Once these targets are identified, a country will need to re-examine its education curricula at all levels, that is, pre-school to tertiary education. Also, as a government develop policies within their countries they should ensure that there is an interconnection between the environment, economy, and social structures and that they become an integral part of formal education, starting with kindergarten and continuing through primary and secondary school and then on through training at the college, university and professional levels.
Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2014). Environment: the science behind the stories (5th Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.
Communication is central to an entity’s involvement in environmental affairs. The field of environmental communication deals with this directly, aiming to educate, alert and solve environmental problems we face on Earth. Through strategic and developed communication practices environmental communicators analyze the language and symbols we use to define the natural world. Some of the major components of this sector include environmental news and media, public participation, environmental conflict, risk communication, “green” marketing and campaigning and conflict resolution. Scholars in the field address human responses to the natural world, while attempting to unveil the mask that covers and alters many environmental issues. Environmental communication
...son can make a difference, but efforts are much stronger when things are done collectively by a group, community, city or state. As mentioned earlier, one does not need to fully understand the environment, science, matter and evolution to recognize that these natural phenomena are strong and impactful on the world as we know it. Perhaps the best way to live sustainably is by living an exemplary life for others to follow. Not only do people benefit by sustainable communities and habitats, animals, plants and everything else in nature does as well. There is an old expression that states life what we make it; the same can be said about the environment, to an extent. Of course there are things out of the control of humans, but with the things that we can control, it is in the best interest of everyone and everything to be as proactive and wise with things as possible.
When we sit in a science class, most of the time we are bored as bored can get. We really do not get a chance to explore on our own to find out what’s really out there. Teachers sometimes are not able to get in depth outside the textbook because they are required to teach that all in the year. That is why a lot of kids do not really get into science because they are stuck to the book all the time. Some kids love science and do not really care about the work they have to do. Environmental science, is more than the book really says.
Environmental philosophers are able to open up a range of different ideas behind our environmental crisis. They do this by not only looking at physical marks left by humans on the earth but also at the very humans themselves. Theories don’t only explain complex dynamics and structures but give us an opportunity to reflect upon our own behaviors and decisions in relation to the environment.
Everyone says this generation is the future, the people and the citizens of tomorrow’s society. Except if this generation is not educated to grow and progress with the planet and learn how to help it, there will be no “next generation”; the earth simply will not be able to sustain our life forms. This is why science education is important to the future of our lives and our planet. Where if not for the innovation of science and its cures, we would still be living in the Dark Ages where the simple flu would have killed a family, and smallpox and other diseases caused epidemics and panics. Every day science classes are educating kids on the basics and the higher levels of science. Out of all these kids a few are bound to become doctors and research biologist that will help cure cancer, the planet of harmful pollutions, and more. One might say that science was the one that started the pollution in the first place, but as you can see, it has started to help fix the damage it has caused. Also, science education (although thought impractical by some) surrounds our everyday life and is need to understand some of nature’s simplest things. This is why science education is so important in the 21st century.
Environmental pollution has always remained a serious problem in society today. Our planet is often being polluted by many toxins that are not only deadly to us, but our wildlife too. Environmental pollution leads to air pollution, environmental crisis, and global warming. Now there are many different ways that can help these topics be preventable. People need to understand what environmental sustainability truly is. Learning environmental sustainability will give people the tools and knowledge to help sustain our planet before it is too late. Planet earth is our home and people need to understand the damage being done to it. Understanding these important key factors will lead our planet to become healthier and a better place for life to live.
Is it right that future generations, who have committed no crimes, be forced to live in a contaminated environment with freshwater depletion, polluted air, global warming and biodiversity reduction just because our present generation has caused the damage? Should our future children be ensured an ecologically healthy environment? I think they should. I strongly believe that protecting the environment is extremely important. We are all part of the environment; Earth is what we all share in common. It is our home and we are obliged to preserve it. As someone who is aware, who cares and who is concerned, I’d like to help you understand why protecting our environment is vital. I believe that protecting the environment is essential for healthy living, in creating a healthful environment for our future generation and last but not least, the Earth is our one and only home.