Dont Blame the Babies

"Hey listen baby, now that your here I've gotta let you in on the scoop. All those cute animals in your story books, dead. ...Although there might be some left in the cages at the zoo. Also, more then a billion other babies like your are starving to death and its because of this system were living in today. If you ask me, baby, were going to hell in a hand-basket.  I'll let that sink in now, food for thought, little baby, ...food for thought." 

No, no, no, if you thought this was the way to teach kids about sustainability, then...
there must be something wrong with you.
 Hopkins & McKeown (2000) say: no, "it is not useful to frighten small children with global issues for which they have no control and for which they are not responsible (pg.21)."


If this is your method, then shame on you.     o_O

___Cite___

Hopkins, C & McKeown, R. 2000, 'Chapter 2, Education for sustainable development: an international perspective' in Tilbury, D., Fien, J., Education and Sustainability: Responding to the global challenge, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication, Pg 13-24

...Futures Thinking

Casper David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog.
This artists works from the German Romanticist era are well known
for simultaneously portraying a sense of human dominion over a landscape,
yet the belittlement of individuals in nature.

What is Futures Thinking?

Futures Thinking is an exercise that engages people from their own perceptions and ideas on the topic of sustainability.

Purpose.

The Future's Thinking process asks participants to envision their ideal future guided by key questions (see "Questions for Participants" below).  These futures can be drawn, written about, or expressed in other manners. By doing this they are instantly immersed in creating what their sustainable world would be like. 

Outcome.
Giving them the opportunity of  having time, alternatives, motivation, choice & using holism results in personal ownership of that world and the process of getting there (ARIES 2009; & Tilbury and Wartman 2004). See more about this in the previous post. The process explores how to achieve change, offers direction for taking action (ARIES 2009) as well as  empowers participants to "realize the stake they hold in the future with a positive framework that motivates them toward taking action on those visions (Tilbury and Wartman 2004)."

Do not direct all your energies towards seeking pleasure but rather towards a sublime ideal. Your energies will then serve you and contribute to the realization of your goal or ideal. - Omraam Aivanhov

Planning an Activity.
Though I'm a fan of stream of consciousness art and believe it has value beyond aesthetics, maybe entering into psycho-analytics, "going with the flow" might not be a good start when doing a Futures Thinking activity. Educators should generally always enter educational activities with a plan knowing what are their outputs, short-term desired outcomes, and long-term desired outcomes. See more about that here.
       Questions and Considerations for Planners...
Tilbury et al (2005) use the following questions and considerations sort of as checkpoints for a complete Futures Thinking, Envisioning process for the participant, I thought they'd look nice on a chart 

An entering script for the 'futures thinking'  envisioning process.
(Tilbury and Wartman 2004)

Facilitating Futures Thinking.
The image to the right depicts a possible entering script for the Futures Thinking, Envisioning process, but there are many ways Futures Thinking can be done. 
Be as creative as you want. 
There are key questions towards participants that will help guide a Futures Thinking activity while exercising core education for sustainable development (EfSD) principals.
Questions for Participants...

Draw your vision… think of five key [sustainability] words that you associate with it… take time to reflect…what assuptions  influenced and informed your vision?...Do any assumptions underpin it?… What elements would need to be present to create this vision?… What implications does this vision have for what you or your community does now?…. What are the implications of this vision for your life, work , and future action?... How does your  neighbors vision differ from yours? (Tilbury & Wartman 2004). I came up with, Why might your neighbors vision differ from yours? What do your vision and your neighbor's have in common? Why might this be? 

Guinea Pig Myself.
I was part of this Futures Thinking activity in a class. The prof. asked the class to close their eyes and clear our mind. Then asked us many questions similar to those above. I envisioned my world and what I wanted for the future. When that part of the "trance like" exercise was done the prof. eased us back into the room and asked us to grab a paper and go somewhere in the room to express ourselves on the page for 15 mins. (more or less). Afterwards, when that time was sadly over the class was asked to walk about the room and look at everyones expressed visions while we reflected on some more questions. Then we chose the closest partners and explained our work and our vision. When we sat down and got back into class-mode the prof. guided a reflection on what just happened; what the purpose of the activity was and about the what we learned.

I envision...

   
   


My Short Reflection.
Like all activities that allow you to explore yourself internally, this felt like precious free time, even despite being guided by someone else through the imagery I created in my mind it. It was very relaxing. I can see how this exercise gives the imagineer a feeling of motivation and ownership of the future world and the path to get there.  To be honest, I wanted to keep drawing and coloring for the rest of the class... ¬  ¬ , not possible.

The five words that have to do with sustainability that I related this to were:

Ecologically Sound.

Integration. 

Local-ism.

Energy Smarts. 

& Pristine.

Okay I know they aren't just words, but it counts. These words helped me give my vision some direction, if it weren't for them, I would have never come close to finishing any specific idea at all in 15 mins. 

Time to reflect on my work afterwards and the way that it compared to others got me thinking. There were many assumptions in my vision. I assumed we'd leave fossil fuels and become a solar powered world. I assumed that everyone would be down with changing the structures of their entire communities anndddd ...would willingly grow trees that would engulf their homes. 

I suppose what influenced these crazy thoughts was that...at my very core I feel close to the earth, I'm a green-y, and I wish everyone else could be to, or at least understand why they should go along with green-y or sustainability efforts.  I've taken many environmental  courses so I understand these things that aren't the norm of knowledge...I cannot assume that others would understand the immanence. Moreover, I grew up being exposed to raw nature, so I have experienced the power of its aesthetics overcoming me ...so I love it even more. 

Others who have grown up never knowing this might not have this appreciation of the natural world, thus creating even more of an obstacle to understand why its important that we change. 

To create this vision there needs to be more education on the matter, its urgency and what can be done, there should be an effort to expose more young people to the wonders of nature, accompanied by legitimate policies, and stronger global agreements.  This means, the community has to change and I have to change too.  

___Cite___
ARIES 2009,  Education for Sustainability - the role of education in engaging and equipping people for change, ARIES, Macquarie University, Australian Government - Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts, Australia            <http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/publications/aries/efs_brochure/pdf/efs_brochure.pdf

Tilbury, D., Keogh, A., Leighton, A. and Kent, J. 2005,  A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia: Further and Higher Education, Canberra: Australian  Government Department of the Environment and Heritage and Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES).

Tilbury, D. and Wortman, D. 2004, Engaging People in Sustainability, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication, Gland and Cambridge

Pillar of EfSD: Envisioning...

Sunrise over Earth

Envisioning is a positive, proactive approach to sustainability and a core theme to reorienting education towards sustainable development (SD) (Tilbury and Ross 2006; & Aries 2009). It is an important tool for improving quality of life and addressing otherwise daunting sustainability issues. Essentially the envisioning process allows people to dream up a better world and share their thoughts with others. Doing these types of activities allows for: Time, Alternatives, Holism, Motivation, & Choice (Tilbury and Wartman 2004; Tilbury and Ross; & Aries 2009).  (see chart below)

What Does Envisioning Enable?

On the other hand, approaching conversation about social & environmental issues from a "doom and gloom" point of view is easy, but can be extremely counterproductive. This method gives a sense of Lack of Time, Unattainable Alternatives, Helpless-ness, Limited Choices, & Stress.

"Hey lady, we gonna die if we don't do something about this gigantic problem, yeah." - Ms.Swan
How might this lady feel now???  Is she more likely to take action or to crawl into a hole and die?

The choice between a positive of negative approach becomes obvious when viewing it from this perspective. 


The Australian Research Institute for Education for Sustainability (ARIES) (ARIES 2009) further reinforces the logical decision by making an insightful and perhaps uncommon observation in saying:
"The future needs to become a more explicit element in all levels of education.  As education for sustainable development is education for a future that we cannot yet predict, it is important that education programs seek to develop skills for understanding and anticipating change and for facing the future with courage and hope."

Irargerich's The End of a Cold Night
(see photostream)

There are many types of envisioning activities that already exist and have been put into practice. Nevertheless, there are endless activity opportunities yet to be discovered. 
Tilbury & Wartman (2004) list some well known ones: 

Futures Trees - allow people to consider in depth possible future impacts of a particular change. The change is drawn as a tree trunk, the impacted groups as the main branches and the linked consequences of that change as successively smaller branches.

A history of the future - challenges learners to imagine themselves living in a more sustainable world 50 years in the future, then to construct a visual history of how this change came to be.

Timelines - with which people construct a personal, community or even national timeline of important past events up to the present, then build alternative scenarios of the future based on probable versus ideal futures.

Futures Thinking - for imagining the future, drawing it or writing about it, and sharing ideas. Then reflecting on differences between your future and others' and possibilities achieve this ideal goal.

A real life example

From Envision NGO

A national education charity, Envision, based in the UK provides 16 - 19 year olds in 130 schools and colleges  with opportunities to make a difference. Their program addresses a range of issues in the local community and facilitates grassroots improvement projects through envisioning activities and other resources. Their website provides very useful information on envisioning such as news, media, resources, and case studies, while also providing pages for educators and businesses to learn more. Hit the jump for many resources on envisioning and empowerment.

The following is a clip from their "About Us" page:
"The Envision program helps young people to design their own local community projects tackling issues ranging from street crime to climate change. Our programs seek to provide individuals with a powerful and rewarding experience of making a difference. Thereby inspired by their experience, these people will be both willing and able to continue acting as effective role models for their communities wherever they are building powerful legacies of their own (Envision 2010)."

The future... is an act of the imagination. 

- Warren Ziegler (Tilbury & Wortman 2004)

___Cite___

ARIES 2009,  Education for Sustainability - the role of education in engaging and equipping people for change, ARIES, Macquarie University,   Australian Government - Department of the Environment, Water,  Heritage, and the Arts, Australia <http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/publications/aries/efs_brochure/pdf/efs_brochure.pdf>

Envision 2010, 'Envision: Young People Making a Difference', Envision, accessed on the 8th of September, 2011, <http://www.envision.org.uk/>
Hopkins, C & McKeown, R. 2000, 'Chapter 2, Education for sustainable development: an international perspective' in Tilbury, D., Fien, J. 2000, Education and  Sustainability: Responding to the global challenge, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication, Pg 13-24

Tilbury, D. and Ross, K. 2006, Living Change: Documenting good practice in Education for Sustainability in NSW. Macquarie University, Sydney, and Nature Conservation Council, NSW.

Tilbury, D. and Wortman, D. 2004, Engaging People in Sustainability, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication, Gland and Cambridge

Beyond Words.

In reading Fein et al's (2000) IUCN - Education and Sustainability: Responding to a Global Challenge I came across many things that made me stop and wonder. There was one idea in particular though, that caused a small epiphany causing energy to rush through my nerves from my brain to the tips of my fingers and toes while I in the subway cart on my way to work.

    "...those that argue that sustainable development is too ambiguous a concept upon which to base public (and educational) policy have missed the importance of sustainable development as a way of transcending conflicting worldviews. Indeed, their bi-polar, either-or way of thinking is absolutes could be seen as symptomatic of the reductionalist way of thinking of the Western scientific worldview that is one of the root causes of social and ecological decline (Fein et al p4)."

The common thread of debate and misunderstanding in sustainability, sustainable development (SD), and education for sustainable development (EfSD) is the misconception of  black and white  distinctions, which pertain strictly to the 

conflicting world views        *

that we have constructed. 

The western, scientific worldview remedies categories to all things & concepts. However, in assuming that things & concepts must be reduced to their absolutes, many important qualities are overlooked. Perhaps there is something else then this rationalistic way of understanding.

The EfSD principals are like this, as well as many other things we have gotten used solidly defining. So how might we begin to let go of this predisposition?

Moral of the story?
The world we know transcends mere policy, science, and language.

With an awakening zeitgeist, those who more readily grasp concepts holistically will be one giant leap ahead of the rest.
...So get to it.

Everyday Life.

If you've ever traveled by airline you might have noticed the HSBC advertisements as you board, un-board, and walk through your terminal.  Through their advertising they show that have grasped this concept of holistic objectivity from the anthropogenic stance. As a large organization growing in success and holding Forbes 25th ranking for most sustainable companies (Coster 2011), HSBC takes a holistic approach to sustainable development.

   "For HSBC, being sustainable means managing our business across the world for the long term. That means achieving sustaiable profits for our shareholders, building long-lasting relationships with customers, valuing our highly committed employees, respecting environmental limits and investing in communities"


Here are some HSBC advertisements that grasp holistic objectivity:

 

"The more you look at the world, the more you recognize what really matters to people."

"The more you look at the world, the more you recognize how people value things differently."

"The more you look at the world, the more you recognize how people value things differently."

 

"The more you look at the world, the more you recognize what really matters to people."

 

"?" 

 

"We see no problem in different points of view, only potential."

*Sorry about the 'eh' quality of some of the photos, they were too interesting to not put up.

Activities.

  ACTIVITY ONE
Find examples of products of our contemporary society (businesses, NGO, or artist approaches etc. ) that embody objectivity and holism.
Discuss why it might be an advantage to approach things this way, for the 'doer' and for society. Could their be any disadvantages?
In order to get better learning outcomes it is important to allow time for individual reflection as well as incentives to share personal ideas with the larger group.

  ACTIVITY TWO

Find the dictionary definition to a globally familiar noun, verb, or concept.
(Maybe participants could be given a few options per table to make the activity more efficient).

Then brainstorming and minor internet research will be done to answer the following questions:  how may the assigned topic have of value in different cultural settings for humans? What about ecologically for different species or natural systems?
Once info is gathered and put in the form of a list / poem / photo gallery / power point.... doesn't matter, then ask how these diverse uses would affect different definitions, from different individuals from different cultures, from other species, and from natural systems?

Again, in order to get better learning outcomes it is important to allow time for individual reflection as well as incentives to share personal ideas with the larger group. 

IE:
A rock, for instance, is categorized as a rock in the western scientific view because of its properties;   solid, made of distinct natural minerals, and from a planets' crust. Nevertheless, rocks have a range of cultural and ecological significance that more broadly defines the idea of "rock" for any-given person, creature or system:

         rocks give kids something to learn to skip on water, and enjoy.

         rocks are used for arts and crafts.

         rocks can make weapons to catch food for tribal hunters and their 

         families.

         rocks are used for those who cook outdoors in the bush, to lift pots
         over a fire.

         rocks preserve ancient fossils to awe at.

         rocks are used to wonder about and discover the history of our planet.

         rocks are used in some countries to hijack cars on lonely roads at night.

         rocks are used in riots from the desperate and forgotten impoverished.

         rocks are used as paperweights on a desk.

         rocks give adventurers things to climb.

         rocks sometimes give us mountains to look at.

         rocks give a safe home to invertebrates underneath.

         rocks give essential hiding places for creatures in a waterway.

         rocks slow down the flow of runoff's path to the sea, giving it time to 

         filter contamination through the layers of the earth and seep back, 

         cleansed, into the aquifer.

         rocks slow down the flow of a river or stream, allowing ecosystems 

         to flourish.

Personal Reflection: Therefore, in reality, a rock is much more then its given properties. It is also understood by different people, creatures, and systems through its interconnection with so many major aspects to the life we know today. The concepts of sustainability, SD, and EfSD as well as their principals, and many other things in the world embody this logic, as no one definition would suit a holistic approach. 

     ___Cite___
Fein, Stevenson, R.B., Shreuder, D., & Tilbury, D., 2000, 'Education and Sustainability:    Responding to a Global Challenge', IUCN Commission on Education and Communication
Coster, H. 2011, 'Ranking the World's Most Sustainable Companies', Forbes.com, 20/08/11,   <http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/26/most-sustainable-companies-leadership-citizenship-100.html>
HSBC 2011, 'HSBC Sustainability', HSBC, 20/08/11, <http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/sustainability>

The Intellectual 'Cumberia' and Intercultural Understanding

 As the product of cultural hybridization I have always felt somewhat isolated from those who have a stable identity to refer to and to relate to other people of their same culture with. Likewise, I feel an unspoken bond with those who have grown within contrasting ‘worlds’ - inevitably adopting parts of them both.  A phenomena of migration is that foreign information is shared and worlds collide; this molds culture by allowing it to evolve by new thought and artistic expression.

Oh! To wonder what the future holds as transportation hastens of ease and globalization explodes exponentially!

Listening to a fellow hybrid, Kevin Johansen, a Argentinean-American musician I realized how much his song “Cumbiera Intelectual” (Intellectual ‘Cumbiera’) reflected this clash of culture. 
(See the story below.)
I began to think of the communication aspect of EfSD that I have been reading and learning so much about, and how important it is to communicate with culture as well as language. Intercultural Communication encompasses the skills and ability to successfully interact with individuals of other cultures, utilizing appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication and avoiding ethnocentrism, racism, and stereotyping. It is important to achieving a Sustainable Society as well as a society that can engage in intercultural understanding (Tilbury & Henderson 2003).

So much to learn from one simple song… A story of culture, education, and globalization.

The Story

The song is about an humble local man and an intellectual ‘cumbiera’ – a female ‘Cumbia’ dancer - who has studied literature and philosophy. She was characterized by confidence and sharing her knowledge constantly. This humble man who happened to dance with this intellectual ‘cumbiera’ in a tightly packed ‘cumbia’ club is mesmerized by her distinct ways. (In Latin-America typical dancing clubs, such as ‘cumbia’ clubs, are more common in more impoverished areas, so their contrast was unusual). While they danced and eventually went on a date she told him about many internationally renown intellectual topics. When he would talk about smelling flowers, for example, she would end up talking about history, Freud, the Guggenheims, Neruda’s poetry, and even about Virginia Wolf and her many lovers. The humble man mentions throughout the song how all the talking is bad for his health, and is  genuinely worried that she thinks and talks so much, so he will pray to her saint to make her ‘more normal’.  The man proceeds to reveal the value of the humble way of simply being when he describes the radiance witnessed in the times that the ‘cumbiera’ would let go of her thoughts and chatter to ‘just be’ her entire body seamed to let go and breathe. 

Analysis

The intellectual ‘cumbiera’ and the humble man communicated through dancing; part of their common culture, but in large sense they were worlds apart. The ‘cumbiera’ represents the value of academic knowledge and pride; while the humble man represents the value of just being in present moment. 

This song shows the value 

of both intellectualism 

and humility, 

yet it puts them in today’s 

globalizing setting,

which lacks intercultural understanding. 

The as a cultural hybrid, the intellectual is bringing foreign knowledge to a poorer town and is exposing new things that will eventually evolve parts of the culture. The humble man becomes exhausted listening to the academic “chatter”, but listens and admires the womans' confidence. On the other hand, the man happily observes ‘cumbiera’s’ body "breathing" when she would ‘just be’, it portrays an almost therapeutic feeling with imagery and sound.

Tilbury and Henderson's (2003) essay, 'Education for Intercultural Understanding in Australian Schools: A Review of its' Contribution to Education for a Sustainable Future' touches on the obstacles and solutions of encouraging  intercultural understanding.  The ultimate aim for education focused on intercultural understanding is to" equip students with the skills necessary to actively and meaningfully participate as a member of the global community (2003)".  If the intellectual cumbiera would have been educated on all her academic knowledge in the context of cultural understanding she could have communicated better with the humble man she danced with. He would have likely learned a few things that would spark his curiosity and get him thinking.
Implementing intercultural understanding into the formal education sector could be done through analyzation of social issues from multiple perspectives in order to spark positive social change towards a sustainable future. Perhaps social status lines between the intellectual cumbiera and the humble man would begin to fade. 
By analyzing social issues from multiple perspectives learning should progress along the path towards an intercultural understanding (see chart below). Since education builds the foundations of local, regional, national, and global zeitgeists, implementing such an element into education should set the long term culture up for engagement and integration rather then mere tolerance. 

Intercultural Education Ladder
(Tilbury & Henderson 2003)

The chart above shows the gradual learning trend for different steps of realization beginning with education focusing on Intercultural Bias, Intercultural Incapacity, and Intercultural Blindness, and making its way to education focusing on Intercultural Respect, Intercultural Competence,  and Intercultural Proficiency. A constraint to this learning process is that the education for intercultural understanding "exists in a dialectical relationship with the current political, economic and social environment (2003)." Therefore, in attempting to change current intercultural understanding, the conceptual contexts from the relationships that already exist within the community will inevitably be part of the education. However, this can be gradually over come by building the knowledge of each generation at local, regional, and national levels. Tilbury and Henderson (2003) also suggests that since the goal of education for intercultural understanding is to create "non-violent, just, and sustainable world community", certain key traits of this must be committed to.
Education for Intercultural Understanding must commit to:
            Peace                       
                                 Social Justice     
                                                           Sustainable Development
    Envisioning Futures      
                                            Social Critique   
Social Change
                                                                     Globalization
            Critical Reflective Thinking


     Active Learning                             Holistic Approaches
                                        
                                        Values Clarification
Experiential Learning
                                                                         Dialogue
                                Inquiry Learning           


Critical Empowerment
                                        &   Intercultural Communication

___Cite___

Tilbury and Henderson 2003, ‘Education for Intercultural Understanding in Asutralian Schools: A Review of its Contribution to Education for a Sustainable Future’, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 19, Pgs 81 – 95

Won't You Save Me?

"If you take care of the ocean and eat seafood responsibly,
my family and I will be saved." 

Schools of Thought

Something that stood out to me while reading Hopkins & Mckeown's (2000) Education for sustainable development: an international perspective that I related to a previous ethics course.
There are generally two ways of viewing the environment.

a utilitarian anthropocentric view                                            

• The natural environment is rightfully used by mankind and has no value otherwise.
• It prioritizes "sustainable economic growth"
• It emphasizes technological and economic tools in shifting individual, group and industry activities towards a more sustainable path of economic development.
• The Brundtland Report (WCED, 1987) is an example of this because it does not "support transformation of current social or economic system (Tillbury & Fein 2000 pg.3)."                               
• Reinforces our tendencies towards a more efficient globalized technological use and continuation along our present path of development.

                                                       
                              &


an intrinsically valued ecocentric view

• The natural environment is has an intrinsic value that human beings should respect. 
• It prioritizes "sustainable human development" to thrive with the Earth. 
• It provokes fundamental challenges to established interests, by questioning unlimited economic growth because it focuses on issues of social equity and ecological limits. 
• Beyond the Limits: Global Collapse of a Sustainable Future (Meadows et al 1992) is an example of this because it demands radical departures from our current system.                                                                     
• Requires a rejuvenation of civic culture and the rise of an ecologically literate &competent citizenry who understand global issues.                                               

Both have assumptions: about future growth, the scale of economic activity, the balance between top-down order and grassroots activism, and the relationship between communities and larger political economic structures.
Both have historical roots and are fine in their own right.
Extremists, however, can be repelling and can sometimes extremely counter-productive in sustainability measure.

An example of an extreme utilitarian/anthropogenic

view by Milton Friedman.

                 

An example extreme ecocentric views from Earth First.

Although there are complications for the two to consolidate their views, realistically most people are not extremists and can, with dedication and time, come to an understanding.  Rationally both sides may see that the lifestyles of the contemporary world cannot maintain human life and its supporting systems because they are simply unsustainable, but also that people value life (like any species) and quality lifestyles (at least basic needs and happiness).

There are various approaches to an argument that can show importance of humans and nature to anthropocentric and ecocentric moral bases.
     For instance:
In order to convince an anthropocentric moral base of the importance of nature one needs to highlight its' crucial role in sustaining and bettering human life.

In order to convince an ecocentric moral base of the importance of humanity one needs to highlight its role to appreciate and admire the intrinsic value of ecology.  Also, one could point out that human species are also a part of nature, thus, having the same intrinsic value and right to life as Earth's creatures.

To do this it is necessary to be able to appeal to private morality rather than
public morality, because the later is ridden with superficial layers supporting subconscious social constructs and the true manifestos of patrons. The private morality strikes the very core of any human being because it addresses uninhibited basic values, such as the desire of a happy, healthy life for oneself and loved ones, and the conscious wrong in damaging what is not ones own, stealing, and killing.

In an ideal world the appropriate setting to access private morality would be easily accessible, there would be educators with infinite time and dedication to consolidate everyones values, and everyone would have infinite time and dedication to listen, collaborate, and learn.
Right now this seems so far from reality, but only because the system that socio-economic factors are constrained to does not encourage sustainable development (SD).  A system in which SD would flourish would symbiotically be supported by emitting embedded values of sustainability and being surrounded by them.

Alternative to creating a new system,  option two is to be faced with the ramifications of our tragedy of the commons. We have reached the peak of this global dilemma where shared limited resources are becoming unintentionally destroyed and depleted because of multiple individuals having acted independently while rationally consulting only their own self interest.  In this future human existence is grim. Neither the ecocentric nor anthropocentric moral based views would likely dominate, because there would be more important worries of survival on hand.




   ___Cite___

Tilbury, D.  & Fien 2000, Education and Sustainability: Responding to a Global Challenge, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication

Hardin, G., 1968, 'The Tragedy of the Commons', Science, Vol. 162, No. 3859, pp. 1243 - 1248

Hopkins, C. & McKeown, R. 2000, 'Chapter 2, Ecucation for sustainable development: an international perspective', in Tilbury, D. & Fien Education and Sustainability: Responding to a Global Challenge, IUCN Commision on Education and Communication, pp.13-24
WCED, 1987, 'Our Common Future: Brundtland Report', UN Documents - Gathering a  body of global agreements, 12/08/11, <http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-ov.html#I.3>

Journal-Portfolio Part 1 - Thoughts, Questions, & Reflections

Part 1 of this Journal-Portfolio will cover thoughts, comments, questions, and critical thinking about readings and activities on EfSD and relate its principals to events from everyday life, global current events, art pieces, nature, science, and possibly other things that spark an interest as I go.

Moksha Funk and Beatriz Miranda's Where the Sidewalk Ends Interpretation.

The purpose of Part 1 is to reflect on the process of understanding of EfSD and catch interesting focal points that arise in the meantime to create my own framework for an EfSD program later on.

Posts in Part 1 will flow by generally including bits and pieces of the following points. However, their overall structure will chronologically address each point in order to build up my holistic understanding of EfSD and eventually reach Part 2 of this project. 

• Reflect on: thoughts, comments questions, & critical reflections about EfSD
• Address how: EfSD confronts my values, assumptions, and profesional knowledge. 
• Consider: the choices, decisions, and difficulties, such as limitations and actual value, faced when developing a framework.

Hit the jump to see source of this Journal-Portfolio project framework:

Living Change - Documenting Good Practice in Education for Sustainability

___Cite___

Tillbury, D. & Ross, K. 2006, 'Living Change: Good Practice in Education for Sustainability in NSW', Macquarie University, Sydney and Nature Conservation Council, NSW