scholarly journals Education influences knowledge about environmental issues in Washington, DC, USA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Richardson ◽  
Ashley D. Milton ◽  
Elgloria Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High School ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Natural Community ◽  
Advanced Education ◽  
Trade School ◽  
Climate Change Economics

ABSTRACTWe predicted that demographic differences in Washington, DC’s population would influence people’s knowledge and perceptions about the interconnectedness of natural resources, climate change, economics, and socio-cultural well-being, so we conducted surveys over three years to test that prediction. We collected demographic data from 455 participants and asked them 26 questions/statements related to natural resources, climate change, economics, and health. We selected education as the focal demographic category and participants were categorized based on their level of educational attainment: 1) completion of high school or less (hereafter “high school”); 2) some trade school or university education beyond high school up to and including completion of a trade school, two-, or four-year degree (hereafter “post-high school”); and 3) completion of a Master’s, professional, or doctoral degree (hereafter “advanced education”). Answers to 14 of the 26 survey questions were dissimilar across educational groups. People with advanced education reported the highest connection with the natural community and were more likely to report that their personal welfare depended on the natural community. Participants in the high school group were more likely to believe that humans do not have much influence on natural resources and placed more trust in technology and human achievements to control nature and ensure that earth will not become unlivable. Compared to those with education beyond high school, those with a high school education were more likely to express an interest in local environmental concerns over global, jobs over natural resources, and effects of degraded local natural resources on income, health, and the environment instead of on cultural/social practices, neighborhood aesthetics, and recreation. The results suggest ways in which educational information and engagement in environmental issues should be targeted for stakeholders of different educational background in order to increase knowledge and build effective partnerships that find solutions for environmental problems.

scholarly journals People with Different Educational Attainment in Washington, DC, USA have Differential Knowledge and Perceptions about Environmental Issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Richardson ◽  
Ashley D. Milton ◽  
Elgloria Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High School ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
University Education ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Advanced Education ◽  
Trade School ◽  
Climate Change Economics

We predicted that people’s knowledge and perceptions about the interconnectedness of natural resources, climate change, economics, and socio-cultural well-being would differ among demographic groups in Washington, DC, USA, so we conducted surveys to test that prediction. We collected demographic data from 455 participants and asked them 26 questions/statements related to natural resources, climate change, economics, and health. We selected education as the focal demographic category and participants were categorized based on their level of educational attainment: (1) completion of high school or less (hereafter “high school”); (2) some trade school or university education beyond high school up to and including completion of a trade school, two-, or four-year degree (hereafter “post-high school”); and (3) completion of a Master’s, professional, or doctoral degree (hereafter “advanced education”). Participants with advanced education reported the highest connection with nature and were more likely to report that their personal welfare depended on the natural community. Participants with the least education were more likely to believe that humans do not have much influence on natural resources and placed more trust in technology and human achievements to control nature and ensure that earth will not become unlivable. Participants with the least education were also more likely to express an interest in local environmental concerns over global, jobs over natural resources, and effects of degraded local natural resources on income, health, and the environment instead of on cultural/social practices, neighborhood aesthetics, and recreation.

Environmental Peacebuilding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ide
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
The Impact

Interest in the environmental dimensions of peacebuilding has emerged from the early 2000s onward due to two developments. First, with an increasing number of peacebuilding interventions by the international community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), addressing environmental issues in post-conflict contexts has become a major concern. This is especially so as water and land are crucial for (re-)building livelihoods while modern wars produce considerable environmental damage. Second, an increasing number of scholars and policymakers are expressing concerns about the security implications of global environmental change, with the impact of climate change on violent conflict being a particularly salient topic. A focus on environmental cooperation and its potential peace-enhancing effects provides a complementary analytical perspective that can counter determinist and securitizing environmental conflict narratives. Environmental peacebuilding can be broadly defined as efforts to build more peaceful relations through conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery processes that integrate the management of environmental issues. In this context, peace refers to negative peace (the absence of physical violence) as well as positive peace (the absence of structural violence and the inconceivability of physical violence). Environmental peacebuilding can take place at the macro level (e.g., between states) as well as on the meso level and the micro level (e.g., between or within local communities). Environmental peacebuilding includes four sets of practices (which are not mutually exclusive): First, with resources like water or land becoming increasingly scarce in some regions and oil or mining projects often being heavily contested, preventing conflicts over natural resources is increasingly important. Second, in post-conflict contexts, natural resources must be managed well, for instance to reduce land-related grievances or prevent conflict financing through resource revenues. Third, climate change mitigation, adaptation to environmental change, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) can reduce grievances and promote community coherence. Finally, joint and severe environmental problems can act as entry points for cooperation across political divides, hence supporting processes of trust building and deepening interdependence (the respective set of practices is often termed environmental peacemaking). These practices can also fail, however, implying that they have no impact on environmental problems or peace processes. In the worst case, environmental peacebuilding practices can even facilitate new forms of exclusion, conflict, and environmental degradation. Over the past two decades, interest in environmental peacebuilding has grown remarkably, not at least due to the intensification of environmental problems and recent trends toward a less peaceful world. As a result of these developments, the literature on environmental peacebuilding has grown dramatically.

scholarly journals Knowledge and Perceptions of Environmental Issues by African Americans/Blacks in Washington, DC, USA: Giving Voice to the Voiceless

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9495
Author(s):  
Elgloria Harrison ◽  
Ashley D. Milton ◽  
Matthew L. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Movement ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Knowledge ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Personal Welfare

Our study elucidated knowledge and perceptions of natural resources and climate change by African Americans/Blacks in Washington, DC since they are a traditionally marginalized population and to see if we could dispel the perception that they have low knowledge and interest in environmental issues. Secondarily, we wanted to determine if knowledge and perceptions vary across age groups. We conducted a survey of 491 Blacks in the District and asked 26 questions/statements related to natural resources, climate change, economics, and health. Participants were categorized into four age groups 18–25, 26–40, 41–65, and 66 and older for analysis. We found that the level of environmental knowledge across the age groups was relatively high and largely similar. Our results suggest that Blacks care about the environment, see the environment as beneficial to their health, and are knowledgeable about natural resources. However, younger Blacks (18–25) were the least likely to think of the natural world as a community to which they belong, report feelings of connection to it, and recognize that it impacts their personal welfare. In conclusion, we find that Blacks in the District possess environmental awareness and use local environmental language, depicting the uniqueness of their community. The mainstream environmental movement may fail to recognize this local language, leading to exclusion of vulnerable populations based on a faulty premise that these populations lack knowledge or interest in environmental issues.

scholarly journals Coherence in Cross-Sectoral Policies is Imperative for Sustainable Management of Ecosystems

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4S) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Schedule Vii

Sustainable management of ecosystems is a priority concern for biodiversity conservation and climate change resilience. India has enacted various policies and statutes governing natural resources that form an integral part of ecosystem governance. The federal structure of India's governance confers the power on vertical (three layers of government) and horizontal (various ministries, departments of government) sectors, to legislate on a variety of environmental issues. Under the Constitution of India, subjects related to the protection of the environment, conservation of biological diversity are governed by the Union List; while subjects of water and land are governed by the State List. Subjects concerning forest and wildlife are governed by the Concurrent List of Schedule VII. Implementation of statutes, governing different environmental subjects, is done by various ministries and departments including local self-governments established by 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976. Activities defined in the policies are implemented through schemes, plans, programmes or projects. As the ecosystem management is a major sector of biodiversity management, the schemes are divided into core and congruent sectors and related sectoral plans. Nexus approach is used to understand the importance of interlinks in the resource governance of India. This research work is ascertaining that conventional fragmented and isolated approach for governance of natural resources is detrimental to the sustainable management of ecosystems. On the background of climate change and increasing international cooperation for sustainable development, attaining coherence in the cross-sectoral policies governing ecosystem management is imperative.

Gender and belief factors on attitude towards Social and Environmental Accounting (SEA)

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Salina Abdullah ◽  
Ern Chen Loo
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Business And Society ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Sustain Ability ◽  
The Relationship

Research on social and environmental accounting (SEA) has mainly concentrated on disclosure of SEA by corporate bodies, where investigations on ones attitude towards SEA are rarely discussed. SEA is a medium that develops relationships between business and society, community and nature. In addition, SEA involves a concept of sustain ability; where natural resources need to be sustained for the needs of future generations (Alhabshi et al., 2003). SEA also tries to recognise the role of accounting in sustainable development and the use of environmental resources. There are arguments that the young generations today are not fully aware of preserving these natural resources as well as handling social and environmental issues wisely. This perhaps link closely to their belief and cultural background. Hence, this paper examines the influence of gender and belief factors on the undergraduate students’ attitude towards SEA. Four dimensions of belief (fixed ability, quick learning, simple knowledge and certain knowledge) proposed by Schommer (2005) were adapted to analyse how belief factors have influence on their attitude towards SEA. An independent sample t-test was used to examine the relationship between gender and students’ attitude towards SEA. Spearmen’s correlation was employed to show the relationship between belief and attitude towards SEA. The results revealed that gender differences did not show influences on their attitude towards SEA. It was found that there is a significant relationship between belief and students’ attitude towards SEA. Students who believe on the importance of SEA tend to report positive attitude towards SEA. Perhaps findings of this study may provide some information on the SEA education and further be incorporated in the syllabus.

2018 Nobel Economics Prize: Integrating Climate Change Measures into Sustainable Economic Growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thuc An ◽  
Dau Kieu Ngoc Anh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Endogenous Growth ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Growth Theory ◽  
Endogenous Growth Theory ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Sustainable Economic Growth

The 2018 Nobel Economics Prize was awarded to two American economists - William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer - who designed methods for better assessing environmental issues and technological advances on growth. This year’s Laureates, Nordhaus was the first person to create an intergrated model to assess interactions between society and nature and Romer laid the foundation for what is now called endogenous growth theory. According to the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, these two macroeconomists’ research have helped “significantly broaden the scope of economic analysis by constructing models that explain how the market economy interacts with nature and knowledge” which integrates climate change measures into long-term sustainable economic growth. Keywords Nobel in economics, William D. Nordhaus, Paul M. Romer, climate change, endogenous growth theory, economic growth References [1] Y Vân (2018), “Lý lịch 'khủng' của hai nhà khoa học vừa giành giải Nobel Kinh tế 2018”, Vietnambiz, đăng tải ngày 08/10/2018, https://vietnambiz.vn/ly-lich-khung-cua-hai-nha-khoa-hoc-vua-gianh-giai-nobel-kinh-te-2018-95776.html[2] Jonas O. Bergman, Rich Miller (2018), “Nordhaus, Romer Win Nobel for Thinking on Climate, Innovation”, đăng tải ngày 8/10/2018, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-08/nordhaus-romer-win-2018-nobel-prize-in-economic-sciences [3] Antonin Pottier (2018), “Giải Nobel” William Nordhaus có thật sự nghiêm túc?”, Nguyễn Đôn Phước dịch, đăng tải ngày 11/10/2018, http://www.phantichkinhte123.com/2018/10/giai-nobel-william-nordhaus-co-that-su.html[4] Thăng Điệp (2018), “Giải Nobel kinh tế 2018 về tay hai người Mỹ”, đăng tải ngày 8/10/2018, http://vneconomy.vn/giai-nobel-kinh-te-2018-ve-tay-hai-nguoi-my-20181008185809239.htm[5] Lars P. Syll (2018), “Cuối cùng - Paul Romer cũng có được giải thưởng Nobel”, Huỳnh Thiện Quốc Việt dịch, đăng tải ngày 14/10/2018, http://www.phantichkinhte123.com/2018/10/cuoi-cung-paul-romer-cung-co-uoc-giai.html[6] Phương Võ (2018), “Nobel Kinh tế 2018: Chạm tới bài toán khó của thời đại”, đăng tải ngày 9/10/2018, https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/nobel-kinh-te-2018-cham-toi-bai-toan-kho-cua-thoi-dai-20181008221734228.htm[7] Đông Phong (2018), “Nobel Kinh tế cho giải pháp phát triển bền vững và phúc lợi người dân”, đăng tải ngày 8/10/2018, https://news.zing.vn/nobel-kinh-te-cho-giai-phap-phat-trien-ben-vung-va-phuc-loi-nguoi-dan-post882860.html[8] Thanh Trúc (2018), “Giải Nobel kinh tế 2018: Thay đổi tư duy về biến đổi khí hậu”, https://tusach.thuvienkhoahoc.com/wiki/Gi%E1%BA%A3i_Nobel_kinh_t%E1%BA%BF_2018:_Thay_%C4%91%E1%BB%95i_t%C6%B0_duy_v%E1%BB%81_bi%E1%BA%BFn_%C4%91%E1%BB%95i_kh%C3%AD_h%E1%BA%ADu[9] Cẩm Anh (2018), “Nobel kinh tế 2018: Lời giải cho tăng trưởng kinh tế bền vững”, đăng tải ngày 11/10/2018, http://enternews.vn/nobel-kinh-te-2018-loi-giai-cho-tang-truong-kinh-te-ben-vung-137600.html.

Protecting Natural Resources

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Conservation Of Natural Resources ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

This chapter focuses on the connection between the international legal framework governing the conservation of natural resources and human rights law. The objective is to examine the potential synergies between international environmental law and human rights when it comes to the protection of natural resources. To do so, it concentrates on three main areas of potential convergence. It first focuses on the pollution of natural resources and analyses how human rights law offers a potential platform to seek remedies for the victims of pollution. It next concentrates on the conservation of natural resources, particularly on the interconnection between protected areas, biodiversity, and human rights law. Finally, it examines the relationship between climate change and human rights law, focusing on the role that human rights law can play in the development of the current climate change adaptation and mitigation frameworks.

scholarly journals The environment and politics in science education: the case of teaching fracking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Dunlop ◽  
Lucy Atkinson ◽  
Maria Turkenburg-van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Young People ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
School Science ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
High School Science ◽  
Illustrative Case

AbstractHydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’), like other complex social and environmental issues, is a controversy about science which raises educational questions about how best to prepare young people to understand, respond to and, where necessary, act (or not) in response. It raises political questions. We present a state-of-the-art review of research literature on fracking and education using systematic strategies, with a view to finding out how it is framed in educational situations and how politics enters the science classroom. This serves as an illustrative case of how contested scientific and technological interventions with implications for the environment and society are treated in school science. The review is supplemented by interviews with 10 teachers of science and engineering working in schools or colleges near sites of operational exploratory fracking. We find that the research literature on teaching hydraulic fracturing is sparse, with only 25 studies relating to teaching and learning about fracking. Few studies (n = 7) relate to high school education. Where it features in science education, fracking is used as a context for interdisciplinarity and critical thinking, and lends itself to approaches using discussion, dialogue and modelling. Outcomes from fracking education range include knowledge gains and critical thinking. Teachers interviewed tended not to see a place for fracking in the curriculum or in the classroom and were averse to including politics in upper high school science education. Our analysis suggests depoliticization through absence of this specific complex environmental issue from the public (education) sphere, reinforced by the desire for ‘balance’ in high school science education and instrumental approaches to science education which prioritize assessed learning outcomes. Dealing with complex social and environmental issues such as hydraulic fracturing in the years of compulsory science schooling is necessary because scientific knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to prepare young people for the critical scientific literacy required to meet sustainable development goals. There is a need to assess and respond to the educational needs of local communities affected by industrial interventions such as fracking. These findings are likely to be relatable to other issues where there are local and global consequences of action or inaction and where the environment and health are pitted against economic and energy demands.

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