Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Foreword
- List of contributors
- List of tables
- List of figures
- List of text boxes
- Introduction
- Part I Communicating climate change
- Part II Facilitating social change
- 15 Stuck in the slow lane of behavior change? A not-so-superhuman perspective on getting out of our cars
- 16 Consumption behavior and narratives about the good life
- 17 Educating for “intelligent environmental action” in an age of global warming
- 18 Education for global responsibility
- 19 Changing the world one household at a time: Portland's 30-day program to lose 5,000 pounds
- 20 Changing organizational ethics and practices toward climate and environment
- 21 Change in the marketplace: business leadership and communication
- 22 The market as messenger: sending the right signals
- 23 Making it easy: establishing energy efficiency and renewable energy as routine best practice
- 24 Forming networks, enabling leaders, financing action: the Cities for Climate Protection™ campaign
- 25 Ending the piecemeal approach: Santa Monica's comprehensive plan for sustainability
- 26 States leading the way on climate change action: the view from the Northeast
- 27 West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative: using regional partnerships to coordinate climate action
- 28 Building social movements
- 29 Climate litigation: shaping public policy and stimulating debate
- 30 The moral and political challenges of climate change
- Part III Creating a climate for change
- About the authors
- Index
- References
17 - Educating for “intelligent environmental action” in an age of global warming
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Foreword
- List of contributors
- List of tables
- List of figures
- List of text boxes
- Introduction
- Part I Communicating climate change
- Part II Facilitating social change
- 15 Stuck in the slow lane of behavior change? A not-so-superhuman perspective on getting out of our cars
- 16 Consumption behavior and narratives about the good life
- 17 Educating for “intelligent environmental action” in an age of global warming
- 18 Education for global responsibility
- 19 Changing the world one household at a time: Portland's 30-day program to lose 5,000 pounds
- 20 Changing organizational ethics and practices toward climate and environment
- 21 Change in the marketplace: business leadership and communication
- 22 The market as messenger: sending the right signals
- 23 Making it easy: establishing energy efficiency and renewable energy as routine best practice
- 24 Forming networks, enabling leaders, financing action: the Cities for Climate Protection™ campaign
- 25 Ending the piecemeal approach: Santa Monica's comprehensive plan for sustainability
- 26 States leading the way on climate change action: the view from the Northeast
- 27 West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative: using regional partnerships to coordinate climate action
- 28 Building social movements
- 29 Climate litigation: shaping public policy and stimulating debate
- 30 The moral and political challenges of climate change
- Part III Creating a climate for change
- About the authors
- Index
- References
Summary
If you want to understand nature, you must be conversant with the language in which nature speaks to us.
Richard FeynmanWhat does it mean to be “conversant with the language in which nature speaks to us,” and how do we help others develop this capacity? From a pedagogical perspective, if we want to address climate change and help people become a part of the solution rather than the problem, we must answer this question. One of the authors watched as her two-year-old son took the hand of another little boy on the playground and brought him over to the fence to “see the pretty sunset.” His sense of wonder and enthusiasm for sharing it inspires hope for the future, and yet there is strong evidence that people of all ages understand little of the language or patterns of nature. Too often, as children grow up, they lose their appreciation for and sense of connection to the natural world. This is, in itself, a deep loss. But even if we retain an appreciation for the beauty of nature, few of us ever develop an understanding of the inherent complexities and dynamics of our environment. To solve environmental problems, an intuitive appreciation for nature is certainly necessary, but it is by no means sufficient. How do we learn the patterns of nature? How do we encourage the development of “environmental intelligence” and, more importantly, “intelligent environmental action”?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Creating a Climate for ChangeCommunicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change, pp. 266 - 280Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
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