Enviroment theory reflection in the framework of educational enviromental projects.

The daily life has led us to ignore what is natural and what is not. Commonly we see the trees, roads, cars, fauna and buildings as something in which we were born, a natural environment for our development. However, we do not know that there are a lot of inconveniences that are affecting every corner of the planet and is due to our way of proceeding. These environmental problems are due to traditional systems of production and comfort. (Meza-Aguilar, 1992).

When talking about environmental education, it is intended to provide students with the necessary elements to perform a critical analysis of the conditions of their environment, allowing them to identify the main environmental problems and seek their participation in the solution to them. It is a way of educating with contents that question society and its dominant values. (Meza-Aguilar, 1992)

The general premise is that nature is there to nourish our body and spirit but the reality is that it is not a result of human activity or desire, but its habitat, its niche and its source of nourishment. Humanity has culture as a niche, which is unique. In general, the ecological niches tend to be concrete, easily located within the dynamics of ecosystems, but the human gets out of this and begins to work his surroundings, identity and society in the abstract of his mind and it is from there that the people change the environment so that it acquires the intended form. This from the point of view that is seen, is an impact for the order of the ecosystems, and therefore a change in the population dynamics.

Another way to appreciate the human impact on the environment, according to Teresa Wuest (from the Autonomous University of Mexico), is to see it as a problem that incorporates social, economic, political and cultural issues, which is why the The reflection to be carried out is historical as well as ethical. The reflection that forget any of these dimensions will necessarily reduce the problem with the consequences that this has.

Vicente Sánchez (UNESCO) says that there are multiple features of mismatch in the articulation of society-nature in the current model, which can be summarized in three basic manifestations:

  1. Symptoms derived from the accumulation of waste, conditioning the various times of contamination.
  2. Symptoms derived from the use and exploitation of natural resources, which cause degradation, exhaustion, waste and waste of resources.
  3. Symptoms derived from the modification of natural spaces by the implantation of anthropic systems, generating typical social problems (transport, water, noise, overcrowding, etc.) as global (climate change).

In all these cases the capacity for self-regulation and renewal is exceeded, since the basic aspect of operation of the ecosystem to be used is not considered. It is of little use for individuals to become aware of the damage they cause to the environment with their daily activity as consumers of certain products, when their supply is the only one on the market.

What leads us to some of the objectives of environmental education is to seek to prevent the production of new and / or more serious environmental problems, but rather to generate new options for use, consumption and service, as well as to ensure that people understand the complexity of nature and the balance that must exist with the environment created by man, which is the result of his biology, culture, knowledge, and values. (Meza-Aguilar, 1992).

REFERENCES

  • Meza-Aguilar, L. 1992. Educación ambiental. ¿Para qué? Nueva Sociedad N° 122, Noviembre-Diciembre. Pg.176-185.
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