The Big Picture - Ministry of Education€¦ · The Big Picture: Putting a Price Tag on Nature...

The 'Why' and the 'What' of

Teaching Green

The Big Picture of

Ecological InterconnectionsEcological Interconnections

The 'Why' and the 'What' of

Teaching Green

ACTING TODAY, SHAPING TOMORROW

Elise Houghton

Environmental Education Ontario (EEON)

Educating Our Way to Sustainability

www.eeon.orgwww.eeon.org

[email protected]

Thinking The Big Picture

An exploration of the idea that thinking and livng and working thinking and livng and working sustainably are the biggest challenges of the 21st century

"Sustainability" - social responsibility that "Sustainability" - social responsibility that re-designs social and economic actitivy ("progress") to be within the carrying capacity of the Earth

Thinking The Big Picture

If sustainability is, first, a form of social responsibility: of social responsibility:

1) Should public education be at its core?

2) Can we educate our way to sustainability?

2) Can we re-design education help students 2) Can we re-design education help students see "in the big picture?"

Seeing The Big Picture: Our

Environmental "Predicament"

WHY TEACH GREEN?

As H.G. Wells famously said: "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."

� Change = seeing, imagining, re-design, doing.

The Big Picture: Why Teach

Green?

David Orr: "In the modern curriculum we have fragmented the world into bits and pieces fragmented the world into bits and pieces called disciplines and subdisciplines. As a result, after 12 or 16 or 20 years of education, most students graduate without any broad integrated sense of the unity of any broad integrated sense of the unity of things. The consequences for their personhood and for the planet are large."

"What is education for?"

The Big Picture: Our


WHY TEACH GREEN?

It takes some courage to look at the "Why" of It takes some courage to look at the "Why" of Environmental and Sustainability Education

� What is sustainability education for (how What is sustainability education for (how is it different from environmental education?)?

The Big Picture: Looking at Our


"Environmental education" focuses on the "Environmental education" focuses on the environment - the beauty, wonder and scientific interest of nature and the outdoors, the damage that humans have done through over-exploitation and done through over-exploitation and pollution, and remedial and preventative measures for environmental protection.

The Big Picture: Thinking on Our


"The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." — Al bert Einstein

We can't look only at the recipient of the damage. We need to take a good look at the cause.

The Big Picture: Thinking on Our


The Big Picture: Are we Our

Environmental "Predicament"?

Will we choose to evolve from thinking about our human-environment predicament as:our human-environment predicament as:

� EE:Focused on the enviroment ("out there"), affected by us, and affecting us in turn

To ESE: Focused on our own thinking and � To ESE: Focused on our own thinking and feeling - on our worldviews, our needs, our economic assumptions, our fears, our care about future generations, our willingness or reluctance to change

The Indicators: Our

Environmental Predicament

The indicators are clear that we have reached a Tipping Point, socially, reached a Tipping Point, socially, economically, fuel-wise and ecologically.

WORKING TOWARDS WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY IS NOW

URGENT

The Why: Educating for Our


Therefore, educating for future sustainability is also urgent. sustainability is also urgent.

� Human population - multiplied by overall per capita consumption of energy and natural resources - has outdistanced the carrying capacity of the Earth.carrying capacity of the Earth.

� As a species, we are in ecological overshoot, and have been since about 1980.

The Why: Global Ecological

Overshoot (Unsustainability)

This means that global human demand now draws on the Earth's natural capital beyond draws on the Earth's natural capital beyond its regenerative (renewable) capacity.

� We are depleting the Earth's capital resources as well as the "interest" these resources can generateresources can generate

� Depleting one's capital is unsustainable over time, both in resources and in "ecosystem services"

The Why: Global Population

World population on February 9, 2009 was � World population on February 9, 2009 was

6,759,500,793 (US Census Bureau)

� In 1900 it was 1.6 billion

� One projection for 2050 is 9 billion � One projection for 2050 is 9 billion

� "success has to do with how fair we are in the distribution of resources"

The Why: Global Ecological

Overshoot

Six main categories of global human environmental impacts : environmental impacts :

� Growing crops

� Grazing animals

� Harvesting timber

� Harvesting fish

� Land use for insfrastructure, housing, industry, energy generation, roads, etc.

� Burning fossil fuels

The Big Picture: What we

Consider to be Ordinary

As an 'average Canadian' you:As an 'average Canadian' you:

� Consume 28.8 barrels of oil a year

� Consume 329 litres of water per day

� Produce 22.6 tonnes of greenhouse gases per Produce 22.6 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year

� Live (possibly without noticing) in a country where 32% of known mammals, 13% of known birds, and 3% of known vascular plants are

classified as threatened

Time trend of humanity's ecological demand

Wackernagel M. et.al. PNAS 2002;99:9266-9271

©2002 by The National Academy of Sciences

The Big Picture: If Everyone

Lived Like Us

If everyone lived and consumed like an "average Canadian," we like an "average Canadian," we would need four (or more) planet Earths.

(We are living on ecological credit.)

The Millennium Assessment: Our


� Virtually all of Earth's ecosystems significantly transformed through human significantly transformed through human action

� The Earth's natural cycles (carbon, nutrients, water) have been modified by human actionhuman action

� Plant and animal populations are declining; 1/4 of mammal species threatened with extinction



� human demand on the world's "ecosystem services" increasing, as the capacity of services" increasing, as the capacity of ecosystems to provide these services declines

� most of the world's fisheries in decline

Desertification increasing� Desertification increasing

� carbon dioxide emissions rising

� use of water and fertilizers rising



� continued expansion of land use, development, agriculture, soil lossdevelopment, agriculture, soil loss

� habitat loss, species loss, invasive species

� loss of tropical rainforests

� acidifing oceansacidifing oceans

� bleaching' coral reefs

� rising sea levels as poles melt (average 2mm past century may rise to 88cm)

The Big Three: Our Scientific


� unprecedented loss of biodiversity - with species extinctions estinated at 50 to species extinctions estinated at 50 to 1,000 times greater than with natural processes alone (30,000 species/year -half the world's mammals in decline)

� the "peak" of global oil production � the "peak" of global oil production (predicted between 2005 and 2010)

� highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions in 650,000 years → climate change

The Big Picture: Our Intellectual


Our "big picture" predicament in our heads

We have chosen to educate ourselves to free � We have chosen to educate ourselves to free ourselves from nature.

� We have chosen to separate ourselves from nature culturally and technologically, persuading ourselves that we can be separate from (and in ourselves that we can be separate from (and in control of) nature.

� We haven't cultivated "ecosystems thinking" habits

� Humans succeed by overcoming limits

The Big Picture: Our Intellectual


As nature and scientists call our attention to our ecological oversights, as a society we our ecological oversights, as a society we choose to

- ignore the signals, ignore the problems

- hope someone will solve the problems

- hope technology will solve the problems- hope technology will solve the problems

- worry about what we might have to give up

- continue to educate for the status quo

(globalization - economic growth -MORE)


Emotional/Psychological Reaction

� Overwhelming; it's too much to cope with

I can't if everyone doesn't� I can't if everyone doesn't

� Are we sure of the science?

� Denial (I simply don't want to hear it)

� Inconvenient (I'd have to give up too � Inconvenient (I'd have to give up too much)

� No time (Timetable is full already)

� (Fear: It's too painful to think about)

Hope: Maybe it will all turn out alright

Our Definition of "Success:" Our


Education prepares students for "success." But if we consider that our definition of But if we consider that our definition of success means more (more education, competition in the workplace, better-paying jobs, more ability to consume and aquire material goods, growing status, a aquire material goods, growing status, a life of comfort and convenience) - how does this success mesh with ecological imperatives?

A Different Kind of Success

What if success had to do with:What if success had to do with:

� How smart we are in the design of societies and economies that conserve our ecosystem services and resources?

� how fair we are in the distribution of resources?

The Messengers - Toxins

Rachel Carson

Author of "Silent Spring" Author of "Silent Spring"

(1962)

Called attention to the urgent

need to reduce pesticides in need to reduce pesticides in

the environment. Credited with inspiring the

genesis of the environmental movement.

The Messengers - Limits

Donella Meadows

Biophysicist, systems analyst Biophysicist, systems analyst

Author of "The Limits to

Growth," "Beyond the Limits,"

"Limits to Growth: 30 Year "Limits to Growth: 30 Year

Update"

Founder Sustainability Institute, studying

the root causes of unsustainable behaviour.

The Messengers - Biodiversity

E. O. Wilson

Concept of sociobiology, theoryConcept of sociobiology, theory

of gene-culture evolution

Author "Conserving the Earth's

Biodiversity, "The Creation"Biodiversity, "The Creation"

"A well informed, educated electorate is necessary to make the right choices for a sustainable world. Education is undeniably crucial."

The Messengers - Climate

Change

James Hansen, Physicist,

Goddard Institute, NASA Goddard Institute, NASA

Testified to US Congress in

June 1988 that climate change

was underway.was underway.

Today: "Carbon dioxide amount is already 385 ppm and rising about 2 ppm per year. And climate is nearing dangerous tipping points. "

The Messengers - Peak Oil

M. King Hubbert

Predicted "peak" of US� Predicted "peak" of US

oil production; applied peak

model to world oil supply

� Described Exponential Growth as a � Described Exponential Growth as a

Transient Phenomenon in Human History

"Our ignorance is not so vast as our

failure to use what we know."

The Messengers - Peak Oil

In 2008, the global economy consumed 82.6 millions barrels of oil per day.millions barrels of oil per day.

What is "peak oil?"

"The term Peak Oil refers to the maximum rate of the production of oil in any area under consideration, recognising that it is a finite consideration, recognising that it is a finite natural resource, subject to depletion."

- Colin Campbell


Environmental Philosophy

Can/should education offer students ideas about non-material ideas of ideas about non-material ideas of fulfillment?

� Should education re-connect children immersed in technology - with nature?

Should education introduce concepts of limits on � Should education introduce concepts of limits on human activity?

� Should public education teach "ecologically?"

� Should education be for a green economic future?

The Big Picture: New Environmental

Insight/Understanding

The Bioneers idea of Nature

It's all alive!� It's all alive!

� It's all intelligent!

� It's all connected!

� (We are part of it!)� (We are part of it!)

� (What we do to the Earth we do to ourselves. We can "do" more like the Earth.)

The Big Picture: Our Economic

Predicament

Environmental economist

Herman Daly said:

“The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment.”

(You can't have an economy without a (You can't have an economy without a functioning environment.)

The Big Picture: Putting a Price

Tag on Nature

Biologists and economists in 1997 estimated that the services the estimated that the services the natural world provides – things like clean air, clean water, and arable soil – have a monetary value arable soil – have a monetary value of about $33 trillion a year.

What should we teach? Values

and Design

"Sustainability education" focuses on US. On what we believe and value, on what we what we believe and value, on what we choose to learn about our dependence on natural systems, on how we make decisions, and how we act towards a sustainable future.future.

� Sustainability education is proactive and integrative. It focuses on design of the interplay between sustainable human systems and healthy ecosystems.

What should we teach? New

Curriculum

The Greek concept of paideia - the goal of education is not the mastery of subject education is not the mastery of subject matter but of one's person. Subject matter is simply the tool.

� We must take responsibility for the kinds of knowledge and values we have chosen to of knowledge and values we have chosen to impart (or failed to), and ask what we must now teach to deal with consequences of our previous choices.


Skills� self-restraint (contrary to the core values of the

growth/gratification/consunption economy for which growth/gratification/consunption economy for which we now prepare students)

� non-material over material satisfaction

� systems thinking

� the laws of thermodynamicsthe laws of thermodynamics

� the basic principles of ecology

� carrying capacity

� energetics


Skills� least-cost, end-use analysis

how to live well in a place� how to live well in a place

� limits of technology

� appropriate scale

� sustainable agriculture and forestry

steady-state (sustainable) economics� steady-state (sustainable) economics

� environmental ethics

Mostly David Orr's list from "What is education for?"

The Big Picture: Our Choice

We will conserve only what we love. We will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught."only what we are taught."

- Baba Dioum, Senegalese Ecologist

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