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There is a significant shortcoming in environmental education across much of the United States: an almost total lack of reference to consumption.

Tens of millions today view wholesale land set-asides and prohibition of raw material extraction as the very essence of environmental protection, and this is a view that pervades much of environmentally oriented education in today’s classrooms. Moreover, there is little awareness on the part of Americans of where the raw materials come from that support this nation’s economy, lifestyles, and consumptive habits. There is likewise almost zero attention given to such matters via environmental education.

As a consequence, the U.S. today is a massive net importer of basic raw materials, although it has the capacity to procure much of this material domestically. Proposals to source materials locally are routinely met with moral outrage, while at the same time, consumption of the same raw materials that are the focus of outrage is seldom questioned. Thus consumption continues unabated, while material procurement is little by little shifted to somewhere else, often justified on environmental grounds. The result is systematic export of the environmental impacts of U.S. consumption and a corresponding heavy toll on the environments of countries all over the world. Where environmental standards are lower than in the U.S. – a common reality – impacts of U.S. consumption are not only transferred, but also magnified.

The issues referenced here are not, and should not be, political issues. They come down to fundamental ethical issues, issues that go well beyond what is outlined in these few brief paragraphs. But the bottom line is that environmental education simply must evolve so as to link economy and environment.

This book examines population, economic, and consumption trends globally, and links these trends to environmental consequences, environmental policies, and individual responsibility. Read more about this topic at:
https://www.amazon.com/Irresponsible-Pursuit-Paradise-2nd-ebook/dp/B0753LGM57

The Wilderness Committee presents this classroom resource that introduces students to basic concepts of species at risk in British Columbia.

This new edition of Information is Beautiful by David McCandless beautifully portrays data in accessible ways.

This easy-to-use guide is designed to provide maximum flexibility for learners in both formal and informal settings. It may be used as a standalone teaching tool, or to supplement lessons in other areas. This guide includes information about the marine industry with useful lessons for students in grades K-12 with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) objectives and alignment to NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards).

The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) is an independent, marine industry-led entity that engages industry, regulators, environmental groups, educators and the public by promoting sound environmental practices. NAMEPA is a non-profit organization committed to “Save Our Seas” and preserving the marine environment through educating seafarers, students and the public about the need, and strategies for, protecting global ocean resources.

**Updated version of this guide being released soon!**

This easy-to-use guide is designed to provide maximum flexibility for educators in both form and informal settings. It may be used as a standalone teaching tool, or to supplement lessons in other areas. This guide includes information about marine debris and useful lessons for students in grades K-12, with a focus on STEM objectives. These engaging lesson plans are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) is an industry-led organization that works to educate seafarers, port communities and students about the need and strategies for protecting the marine environment. In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NAMEPA has created An Educator’s Guide to Marine Debris to provide educators with a tool to help students become more informed on marine debris and encourage environmental stewardship.

Journey 2050 is a free agriculture education program that challenges participants to answer the question “How will we sustainably feed 9 billion people by the year 2050?” Using an inquiry based approach the program encourages students to make decisions and adjust them as they see their impact on society, the environment and the economy at a local and global scale.

The UN shared a new graphic to illustrate the 17 SDGs that may appeal to different audiences.

In view of the overwhelming pressures on the global environment and the need to disrupt the systems that drive them, an ecosystemic theoretical and practical framework is posited for the evaluation and planning of public policies, research and teaching programmes, encompassing four dimensions of being-in-the-world (intimate, interactive, social and biophysical), as they combine, as donors and recipients, to induce the events (deficits/assets), cope with consequences (desired/undesired) and contribute to change (potential outputs). The focus is not on the “bubbles” of the surface (consequences, fragmented issues), but on the configurations deep inside the boiling pot where the problems emerge.

This website provides detailed fact sheets about the importance of pollinators in the United States and how to conserve them through agriculture.

How can urban environmental education provide positive youth development? What are different ways to include youth in civic environmental issues? Learn more in this video with Jacqueline Davis-Manigaulte and Eduardo Gonzalez (Cornell University Cooperative Extension, USA).

How does restoration-based education occur? Who is working to reverse the damage to ecosystems caused by the increase in urban development? Learn more with Tania M. Schusler (Loyola University Chicago, USA) in this video!

What is critical environmental education? How can we empower people to make a difference in their own communities? Learn more in this video with Arjen E.J. Wals (Wageningen University, the Netherlands).

How do we define the concept of "Sense of Place"? How does sense of place play a role in engaging learners in urban environmental education? Learn more from Jennifer Adams (Brooklyn Colly, CUNY) in this video!

Hear from Daniel Fonseca de Andrade (Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) about “Cities as Opportunities”, a chapter in the forthcoming “Urban Environmental Education Review” book. This chapter and video focus on cities of the global south, which were previously colonized, and share many environmental challenges in their struggles for independence and development.