Professionals in the environmental domain require cognitive interdisciplinary skills to be able to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems. We demonstrate that education in environmental systems analysis allows for the development of these skills. We identify three components of cognitive interdisciplinary skills: (1) the ability…

Recently, schools nationwide have expressed a renewed interest in school gardens (California School Garden Network, 2010), viewing them as innovative educational tools. Most of the scant studies on these settings investigate the health/nutritional impacts, environmental attitudes, or emotional dispositions of students. However, few studies examine…

Sustainability as a concept, though well understood in general terms, is often politically captured by interest groups and as such expressed through issues like concern for global climate change or the need to develop more efficient energy sources, to address regional, national or international priorities. Education for sustainability as a concept…

The purpose of this research is to consider the environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, of adults in Minnesota, and possible factors that influence environmental literacy. Specifically, this study is designed to: (1) measure the environmental literacy of Minnesota adults, (2) explore possible relationships between Minnesota adults.…

The business community is increasingly aware of the natural environmental and how a significant number of business practices are adversely affecting that environment and our planet. Businesses must take a leadership role, though economic systems, not only in recovering and preserving our planet but also managing financial and human resources with…

It is true that many child care centers are lacking in natural environments. The emphasis in programs is more often about rules and regulations for children's health and safety, and concerns about allergies, the weather, and getting dirty. It is also difficult to take groups of children into natural environments with inadequate ratios of adults to…

The idea of using site biodiversity action plans to introduce biodiversity management initiatives into school grounds is outlined. Selected parts of a case study, involving the use of such an action plan to record, monitor and plan for biodiversity on a university campus, are described and ideas for applying a similar plan to a school setting are…

This article explores the development of sustainability at Ringwood School in Hampshire between 2005 and 2010 using two different routes. The author, herself a scientist and sustainability coordinator at the school, shows how the school has explored a range of initiatives, starting with those most straightforward for a biologist and culminating in…

The most important concept in current environmental thinking is "sustainability". Environmental policies, economic policies, development, resource use--all of these things, according to the consensus, ought to be sustainable. But what is sustainability? What is its ethical foundation? There is little consensus about how these questions…

The Environmental Education and Training Partnership Cultural Diversity Workshops were based on theoretical models and designed to increase individuals' awareness, knowledge, and intentions toward increasing culturally sensitivity. This study reports on the evaluation results from 191 participants. Their responses indicate significant changes in…

The marine transport sector contributes significantly to air and water pollution, particularly in coastal areas. In the oceans, the threat to marine life comes in various forms, such as overexploitation and harvesting, dumping of waste, pollution, alien species, land reclamation, dredging, and global climate change. A congressional research report…

Design for sustainable behaviour is an emerging activity under the banner of sustainable design which aims to reduce the environmental and social impacts of products by moderating users' interaction with them. The intended outcome of design for sustainable behaviour is to reduce negative environmental and societal impacts. However, designers'…

The article explores social and educational processes that could undermine the Earth Charter's promise. It points out that the meaning of the Charter would be affected if it is used in a doctrinaire manner, if individuals or groups assume the role of its legitimate and expert emissaries, if it takes on a messianic tone in its central ideas, if it…

In July 2008, the Ashlawn Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, began the implementation of the Global Citizenship Project, which is designed around the four guiding principles of the Earth Charter: respect and care for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence and peace. The intent of…

Engineers, scientists, and environmental groups around the globe are hard at work finding solutions to mitigate or halt global warming. One major goal of the curriculum described here, Save the Penguins, is to help students recognize that what we do at home can affect how penguins fare in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition, students learn how…