Just imagine...a school designed and constructed to produce as much energy on site as that which is consumed from the electric grid. The electricity and gas bills would be 10% or less of that of a typical building; there would be no water bills for site and landscaping irrigation. What was merely a conceptual thought as little as five years ago is…

Colleges and universities continue to face significant fiscal challenges in the current recession. A review of ongoing campus facilities planning projects, coupled with a review of more than 30 recent campus master planning requests for proposals and the relevant literature, indicates that colleges and universities are finding innovative ways to…

Climate change planning is fast becoming an important element in university policy and governance. As the causes and impacts of global climate change become more apparent, many universities are embracing climate planning roles as community leaders, educators and researchers, and operators of major activity centers. For example, 685 university…

In closing his 2008 Myer Lecture, the scientist and environmentalist Dr. Tim Flannery said that this century will be defined by the search for sustainability. How perilous therefore that nowadays there is so much overuse of the word "sustainability" that it has become a cliche. Today's tertiary students studying architecture and…

Many education institutions have embraced the growing push for sustainable design and have built environmentally friendly facilities that use resources more efficiently. But the plaudits that administrators receive for LEED certification and other recognition of their efforts may be meaningless if the green commitment ends when a building is…

Regarding education as "the social" rather than an intentional action between individuals, this paper discusses the fair way of its distribution. Fairness is presumed to be relevant to the distribution of resources for education not only among people belonging to the same generation in the same society, but also among people belonging to…

Increasing attention to climate change and the current global economic crisis has underscored the need for approaches to education that equip and empower people of all ages to deal with uncertain environmental, economic and political futures. A range of educational and research initiatives already exist which could support this aim, however,…

This article provides a review of how the values and principles of the Earth Charter initiative relate to two specific innovative movements of educational transformation, namely peace education and education for sustainable development (ESD). The interconnections and synergies between these movements and the Earth Charter are highlighted.…

This article examines the relationship between the Earth Charter and education for sustainable development (ESD), as part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The areas of shared interest between the two are assessed and the invaluable nature of the Earth Charter as a resource outlining global values and principles for a…

In this paper, the author shares his perspective on the future of lifelong learning by looking back to the vision of the pioneers of adult learning, and picking out four messages that are relevant as people face their own, distinct, challenges. The author stresses the need to seize the opportunity to reinvigorate the original vision of adult…

Generally speaking, environmental education teaching, research, and practice have been informed by the traditions of western, Euro-centric culture. In this context indigenous perspectives are often marginalized, maligned, and perceived to be unscientific and therefore inferior. This essay adds to the growing body of literature exploring aboriginal…

Although Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a matter of global importance, the requirements and needs of people differ according to their regional circumstances. (Not only) in Germany--in keeping with the increasingly international focus of "output" evaluations--one dominant educational debate has centred on effective ways of…

As writing across the curriculum (WAC) has matured and diversified as a concept and as an organizational structure in U.S. higher education, there has arisen a need for accurate, up-to-date information on the presence and characteristics of WAC and writing-in-the-disciplines (WID) programs. Following on the only previous nationwide survey of…

This article seeks to provide an outline of the basic ideas and approaches used by the Incredible Edible programme, a community enterprise that is based in the United Kingdom. To do this the author briefly (1) defines the context for the programme, (2) defines the concepts that inform the programme, (3) and illustrates some of the action of the…

There is an assumption underlying education for sustainable development that all we need do is learn the skills and knowledge to live sustainably. Yet, many already know the issues and know we "should" act, but we don't. This article argues that a key part of the problem is that we live according to myths and daydreams perpetuated by a…