Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern WorldThe most important discoveries of the 20th century exist not in the realm of science, medicine, or technology, but rather in the dawning awareness of the earth s limits and how those limits will affect human evolution. Humanity has reached a crossroad where various ecological catastrophes meet what some call sustainable development. While a great deal of attention has been given to what governments, corporations, utilities, international agencies, and private citizens can do to help in the transition to sustainability, little thought has been given to what schools, colleges, and universities can do. Ecological Literacy asks how the discovery of finiteness affects the content and substance of education. Given the limits of the earth, what should people know and how should they learn it? |
Contents
SUSTAINABILITY | 3 |
Two Meanings of Sustainability | 23 |
Sustainability | 41 |
Fragments of Strategy | 61 |
EDUCATION | 83 |
The Liberal Arts the Campus and | 97 |
A Prerequisite to the Great Books | 109 |
An Approach | 133 |
What is Education For? | 141 |
Is Environmental Education | 149 |
Having Failed to Manage Ourselves | 157 |
What Good is a Rigorous Research Agenda | 163 |
Epilogue | 181 |
Other editions - View all
Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World David W. Orr Limited preview - 1992 |
Common terms and phrases
Aldo Leopold Alfred North Whitehead become behavior believe biological bioregional biosphere campus competence costs create crisis of sustainability culture David Ray Griffin discipline E. F. Schumacher earth ecological ecological literacy economic growth ecosystems effects efficiency energy environment environmental ethical farm farmers forests Gaia Garrett Hardin global Gregory Bateson Harper and Row Herman Daly human Ibid increase institutions issues John knowledge land larger learning Lewis Mumford limits live logic Lovelock ment modern world moral natural systems natural world nomic North Point Press nuclear paradigm perspective planet planetary political population postmodern postmodern world problems proposed René Dubos require resource result revolution San Francisco scale self-interest Sierra Club Sierra Club Books social traps strategy sustainable agriculture sustainable society things tion University Press urban waste Wendell Berry wildlife words worldview York