Two paradigms of professional development in environmental education

Summary In environmental education in this information age, it is particularly important to adopt the approach of enquiring critically into the environmental, educational and social values informing environmental, educational and social actions when and where required, rather than to simply adopt the approach of emphasising the acquisition and retention of information of an alleged universal type — information drawn from the stockpile of objective knowledge collected by others. This paper argues that to achieve this aim, environmental education in an information age requires aparadigm shift in the areas of professional development — a shift from a paradigm of information technology to a paradigm of information critique. A perspective on the form of this paradigm shift in the particular field of professional development in environmental education is the subject of this paper.Dr Ian Robottom is Senior Lecturer in the Curriculum Studies Centre of the School of Education, at Deakin University, Australia. His main interests lie in teacher education, educational enquiry, and environmental education. He conducts an off-campus environmental education course (B.Ed level) for practising teachers studying at a distance, is a member of the Council of the Australian Association for Environmental Education., and Editor of theAustralian Journal of Environmental Education.     

Educating the South Pacific about the environment

Summary Environmental education is currently fashionable. However, some educators are viewing it with suspicion as a trendy subject which will disrupt their carefully planned syllabii which are geared largely towards the passing of examinations. In the South Pacific there have been a number of attempts to increase people's awareness of their surroundings and to build up a respect for what is loosely termed our physical environment. These programmes have included, increasing the amount of environmental examples in a range of primary and secondary school subjects, formal courses in environmental planning at the tertiary level, and conservation messages through the media.Dr Jenny Bryant is a Lecturer in Geography at the University of the South Pacific, and recently Secretary, now Acting Chairperson, of the South Pacific Action Committee for Human Ecology and the Environment (SPACHEE).     

Environmental education in the South Pacific: Towards sustainable development

Summary This paper suggests that for environmental education to have any meaning in the South Pacific, the variety of physical and cultural environments must be taken into account. It is not possible, however, for each country to develop its own programme, and thus, a kind of dependent development which is sustainable should be undertaken. Environmental education is much wider than utilising formal educational curricula; it should include the use of the media, the employment of environmental economists, and a continuous sharing of information between those who carry out environmental research and those who design and implement policy.Dr Jenny Bryant is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of the South Pacific and Chairperson of the South Pacific Action Committee for Human Ecology and the Environment (SPACHEE). This paper was first presented to the 16th Pacific Science Congress in Seoul, Korea in August, 1987. It has been published elsewhere as part of a UNEP Regional Report (Dahl, 1988).     

Environmental damage — environmental expenditure 2: Statistical evidence on the Federal Republic of Germany

Summary In part one of this paper (The Environmentalist,1990, pp.301–309) it was shown that conventional economic accounting does not reveal the actual damage to the natural environment, although an ever-increasing share of the Gross National Product is being spent for environmental protection activities. In this, part two of the paper, on the basis of acceptable conventions, the results of an empiric research on defensive expenditures in the GNP are presented, again taking the Federal Republic of Germany as an example. The authors would like to see more research of this type in order to understand better the environmental impacts and the structural deficiencies of modern industrial society. Dr Christian Leipert and Professor Udo E. Simonis have contributed frequently toThe Environmentalist (see 1989, pp.171–183; 1990, pp.25–38; 1990, pp.301–309). Dr Leipert is research fellow, Dr Simonis is research professor at the environmental policy unit of the Science Center Berlin.     

Children's “peace with nature” festival — Assisi

The Festival described in this article won the Golden Ball Award for education of the Italian Academy of Lincei. Dr Maria Luisa Cohen, the author, was honoured with the Tree of Learning Award for 1988, by the Commission on Education and Training of the IUCN, for her services to environmental education and her promotion and participation in the Festival.     

An economic scenario that gives top priority to saving the environment rather than encouraging production growth

Summary Welfare, or satisfaction of wants, is not only dependent on produced goods but also on the quality of the environment, leisure time, income distribution, working conditions, employment and the safety of the future.The same amount of production and consumption requires more labour with environmental conservation than without. Under current conditions, environmental measures, nevertheless, often lead to a loss of jobs. The paper enunciates in which conditions environmental measures lead to more employment. In the scenario study the necessary environmental measures have been formulated, their effects on the environment have been estimated in physical terms and their costs in money terms. The (negative) consequences for production and the (positive) consequences for employment have been scanned with the aid of an econometric model.In the short term (20 years) the effect on production is less than expected, among others because employment is created for many jobless: part of the measures could be carried out free of charge. In the long term more measures have to be taken and the possibilities for an ever-growing production in the industrialized world will probably diminish.In the paper, it is explained why saving the environment is not only possible, but necessary as well, in order to evade overshoots in the future and to safeguard the living conditions for generations to come. The author sincerely hopes that studies like this will be elaborated for other countries. By then the politicians and the public might become convinced that it is possible and necessary to shift the priority of economic policy to saving the environment.Dr Roefie Hueting is Head of the Department for Environment Statistics, of the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics. In 1970, he published Wat is de natuur ons waard? (What is nature's value to us?), a collection of articles from the years 1967–1970 on the deterioration of the environment, and economic growth. In 1974, he took (cum laude) a doctor's degree, his thesis being entitled Nieuwe schaarste en economische groei. An updated version in English has been published, in 1980, under the title New Scarcity and Economic Growth. He has published numerous papers and articles on environmental problems, both in Dutch and English, for seminars, periodicals and collections.     

Environmental damage — Environmental expenditure 1: Statistical evidence on the Federal Republic of Germany

Summary The conventional economic accounting systems have not played an enlightening role in statistically revealing the actual damage to the environment. They can, however, be methodologically improved; and they must be complemented by assessments of the ecological costs of the production process.In this article statistical evidence is provided on the level and structure of environmental damage and protection expenditures in the Federal Republic of Germany,i.e. on the environmental damage itself and on the environmental protection investments by industry and government, the capital stock for environmental protection, the total costs of and expenditures for environmental protection.Dr Christian Leipert and Prof. Udo Simonis are both regular contributors toThe Environmentalist (see 1989, pp.171–183; 1990, pp.25–38). Prof. Simonis is Director of the International Institute for Environment and Society (Wissenschaftszentrum) and Dr Leipert a member of its research staff.     

Planning for environmental project implementation and development: as exemplified by the songklha lake basin planning study,Thailand

Summary This paper describes use of the economic-cumenvironmental regional development planning process (as differentiated from regional economic planning and regional environmental planning) for its first application in the Asia-Pacific region, for The Songkhla Lake Basin Planning Study, in southern Thailand. The study project was carried out, with Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan financing, as a joint venture of the national economic and national environmental planning agencies. Because of its pioneering nature, in both technical and institutional aspects, numerous lessons were learned from the project. These are described, and yield guidelines valuable for future studies of this type.Dr Harvey F. Ludwig, Chairman of Seatec International Consulting Engineers in Bangkok, has a unique record of distinguished experience in environmental engineering. This includes, in addition to his present role, experience as a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, in research (four USA national awards), in government (as Assistant Chief Engineer of the US Public Health Service Engineering Group, the predecessor to USEPA), and with numerous international assistance agencies including the World Bank, ADB, and many UN affiliates. Dr Ludwig moved to live in Bangkok in 1973 and has since been a continuing adviser to the National Environment Board of Thailand and to the Institutes of Water Resources Research of Indonesia. He is the author/coauthor of some 160 professional publications and the senior author of a textbook onEnvironmental Technology in Developing Countries, now being printed by CRC Press of Boca Raton, Florida. His work record includes projects in more than 30 Developing countries.     

Evaluating aquacultural use of thermal effluents: An application of system dynamics to environmental problem solving

Given the ecological burden imposed by power plants located in the coastal zone, efforts to improve the marginal benefits realized from their operation are warranted. Indeed, if this source of environmental pollution can be utilized to compensate for past ecological damage, then the benefits will be magnified many-fold.This study addresses the economic feasibility of utilizing heated effluent water from power plants to invigorate the growth of oysters raised under controlled conditions. The preliminary findings indicate that given proper combinations of system capacity, supplemental nutrient supplies, sea water flow and temperature gradients, such an operation is feasible.This is also a demonstration of a viable application of a sophisticated computer modeling approach to environmental problems. System Dynamics a technique pioneered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is applied to evaluate the physical, biological, and economic interrelationships of the aquacultural system variables. It offers many advantages for the environmental manager and researcher, a number of which are realized in the present investigation.     

Three years after Chernobyl: Some γ-radioactivity values from barra,Outer Hebrides,UK

Summary Plants and animals were investigated to ascertain their- radioactivity values on both dune sites (machair) and inter-tidal sites on the western coast of Barra, Outer Hebrides, UK. Material in both habitats was clearly contaminated. The accumulation of-radioactivity through food webs to organisms such asNucella lapillus (dog whelk) in the inter-tidal sites and in sheep and cattle in terrestrial sites is described.Dr F.B. Pyatt is the Section Leader and Principal Lecturer in Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences at Trent Polytechnic. Dr E.H. Beaumont was previously Lecturer in Zoology at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.     

The object of environmental ethics

Since the term environmental ethics began to be used a generation ago, it has covered many different kinds of environmental notions, problems, ethical systems, and forms of behavior. A variety of cases are presented and examined under two terms,environmental ethics andecological morality, in an effort to illustrate different kinds of ethical objectives. In order to understand the connections between various strands of environmental ethics, personal and social values and subcultural norms of environmental ethics are examined under Christopher Stone's concept of moral pluralism. G. J. Warnock's notion of the general object of morality is proposed to integrate the variegated purposes of environmental ethics.     

Emerging international principles of environmental protection and their impact on Britain

Summary The paper reviews emerging international principles of environmental protection, as well as their refinement, during the last two decades of implementation. It is argued that international efforts were primarily directed towards the prevention of transfrontier pollution and could only succeed if there was agreement on the meaning of the term pollution. The concept of pollution is therefore explored in some detail. Confusion about the meaning of pollution, combined with the impact of international regulation (both global and European) on British practice, help to explain some of the fundamental problems now facing the traditional British pollution control regime, especially its legal and philosophical basis. It is argued that recent and proposed administrative changes will be insufficient to comply with European expectations. Political changes and a more active involvement by the judiciary and the public may be required.Dr Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen is a Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit of the University of Sussex. She obtained her first degree in Geography from the University of Adelaide and her D Phil in International Relations from the University of Sussex.     

EIA — Its potential application to appropriate technology in developing countries

Summary Many developed countries in the Western world employ some form of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A number of sophisticated procedures are used for the assessment of the impact of large- scale developments upon the environment. In developing countries there are both large-scale schemes that are often financed by foreign aid, and small-scale projects in which technology is less sophisticated but more appropriate to human needs. Standard EIA procedures are followed for large-scale developments but assessment of the impact of small-scale projects is often ignored.This paper attempts to define appropriate technology and to describe some of the often less apparent adverse effects of such technology upon society and the environment. The need for assessment of small-scale projects is established and the possibility of applying current EIA procedures to such developments is considered. The final paragraphs refer to the advantages and disadvantages of environmental impact assessment of small-scale technology.Dr Pamela M. Goode and Alastair I. Johnstone are both members of staff at the Environmental Institute, University of Salford, UK.     

Use and abuse revisited: Response to Pluhar and Varner

In her recent Counter-Reply to my views, Evelyn Pluhar defends her use of literature on nutrition and restates her argument for moral vegetarianism. In his Vegan Ideal article, Gary Varner claims that the nutrition literature does not show sufficient differences among women, men, and children to warrant concern about discrimination. In this response I show how Professor Pluhar continues to draw fallacious inferences: she begs the question on equality, avoids the main issue in my ethical arguments, argues from irrelevancies, misquotes her sources, equivocates on context, confuses safety with morality, appeals to fear, confuses correlation with cause, fails to evaluate scientific studies, draws hasty conclusions from insufficient data, ignores a large amount of data which would call her views into question, does not follow good scientific or moral argumentation, objectionably exceeds the limits of her expertise, and resorts to scapegoating. I also argue that Professor Varner fails to make his case because he offers virtually no evidence from scientific studies on nutrition, relies on outdated and fallacious sources, makes unsupported claims, ignores evidence that would contravene his claims, draws hasty conclusions based on weakly supported hypotheses rather than facts, employs a double standard, appeals to ignorance, does not evaluate arguments from his sources, and makes anad hominem attack on a respected nutritionist when his focus should be on evaluating the evidence and arguments from the scientific studies themselves. Neither Varner nor Pluhar have responded sufficiently to the real issue in my arguments, that of discrimination and bias in the vegan ideal.     

Environmental management systems in further and higher education institutions

Many people within the further and higher education sector in the United Kingdom (UK) have now accepted that responsible environmental management of their day to day site operations is necessary, but they are still unclear as to what lengths they need to go to obtain marketplace credibility. Many people in other sectors believe that the only way to achieve real credibility in this area is to become accredited by the new British Standard BS7750 Specification for Environmental Management Systems. Others are expressing concern that such systems are cumbersome to operate and generate a needless level of bureaucracy and additional unwelcome paperwork.This paper briefly discusses the responsibilities of further and higher education institutions with regard to environmental management and outlines one possible alternative to the BS7750 approach, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Environment Initiative. It also outlines the approach taken by the University of Strathclyde over the past three years in the development of an environmental management manual for the Estates Management Department and the development of a system to control university-wide environmental management.In conclusion this paper will focus on the suitability of BS7750 systems within further and higher education institutions in comparison with the approach adopted in the CBI Environment Initiative.This paper was first presented at Global Forum '94 Academic Conference Towards a Sustainable Future: Promoting Sustainable Development, Manchester, UK.Mr K. McDonach is a research assistant and Dr P. Yaneske is Director in the Safety and Environmental Management Unit of the University of Strathclyde.     

Environmental problem-solving and land-use management: A proposed structure for Australia

A three-tiered structure of land-use and environmental management is here proposed for Australia. The structure is based on the idea that environment means the environment of people, and that environmental problems arise when a change in the interaction between people and their environment leads to conflicts about the use of land and resources. The heterogeneity of society means that a range of human aspirations and value systems must be satisfied by environmental managers. Existing methods of environmental management fail to achieve these objectives, due to inadequate perception of environmental problems by decision-makers, and the inability of currently available impact assessment techniques to resolve human conflicts associated with the use of land and resources. The main work of planning and managing land use and the environment would be carried out by regional authorities, supported by federal and state policy. Examples are given of moves towards regional administration in England and Wales, Western Australia, Australia and New Zealand. Community participation in the decision-making process is essential and can be achieved by electoral representation to the authoritative bodies and through procedures that ensure informed public comment on planning proposals.     

Air pollution in California: Manufacturing vs. services

Relative to manufacturing, service activities are often considered by planners and officials to generate considerably less environmental pollution. This hypothesis is tested by means of an examination of the economic linkages of both manufacturing and service activities and of the resulting direct and indirect emissions of five air pollutants per dollar of output in the California statewide air basin and in four regional basins within the state. Overall acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis depends in part on the particular pollutant and air basin considered but, most importantly, on the judgement as to what activities are to be considered as service activities.This paper is based on research sponsored by the California Air Resources Board under Agreement A7-143-30.     

A human ecological assessment of air quality management: A convergence in economic and ecological thinking?

Traditional air pollution management practices are examined using the human ecological framework adopted by Boyden and others (1981) in their study of Hong Kong—the biohistorical or biosocial approach. The subsequent analysis of current air quality management practices assesses their effectiveness in protecting the overall health of both humans and the natural environment. The uncertainties inherent in air pollution management practices which emerge highlight the need to reduce emissions rather than rely on scientific knowledge to define clean air. The assessment also clearly defines roles for research in various areas such as atmospheric models, health effects, and environmental damage. The final recommendations emphasize the need for the introduction of such incentives to reduce emissions as economic instruments and warn against using health information to define clean air. Health and environmental damage information can, however, be used in risk assessment strategies together with atmospheric dispersion models.     

Urban estuarine systems under stress: Environmental issues facing Louisiana's Lake pontchartrain

Summary Lake Pontchartrain is part of a brackish coastal estuarine system which serves as an important economic and recreational resource for the New Orleans region. Seafood extraction, shell dredging and leisure time activities are the major uses occurring on Lake Pontchartrain. In the past several decades, man has severely altered this system through urbanization, industrial activity, levée construction and subsequent destruction of wetlands surrounding the lake. There is a growing awareness of the environmental crisis facing Lake Pontchartrain, advanced by recent fish kills, detection of toxic chemicals, curtailment of recreational opportunities and the report of dead zones in the lake. This study summarizes a series of international environmental management techniques and examines the utilization of a regional structure for water resources management in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.Dr. Fritz Wagner is Director and Professor of the School of Urban and Regional Studies at the University of New Orleans and David Hart was a Research Assistant in the same school, and is now employed in a local engineering and planning company.     

Attitudes Toward Wilderness Study Areas: A Survey of Six Southeastern Utah Counties

Southeastern Utah is a region of world-renowned red-rock sandstone formations, large tracts of federal public land, rural communities centered on agriculture and extractive industries, and is often at the epicenter of environmental protection efforts in the western United States. Environmental groups have proposed formal Wilderness designations for much of the regions public land—proposals that have been actively fought by rural community leaders who do not want large areas locked-up from traditional livelihood and recreational uses. The debate over wilderness designation in the region has been characterized in the media as one that is particularly contentious and polarizing. A survey of southeastern Utah residents was conducted in order to better understand this conflict. The survey focused on attitudes toward wilderness designation and management. We found that residents of southeastern Utah have negative attitudes towards the designation and management of Wilderness Study Areas. We propose that these attitudes should be carefully considered and engaged in future policy and management decisions. We suggest that negative opinions expressed by residents of southeastern Utah are not directed primarily at the concept of environmental protection but rather at the strong perception that these programs and initiatives have been carried out in a heavy-handed manner and dominated by outside influences that have overwhelmed local voices.