Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World

David W. Orr

Nov 1991 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

The 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?

Ratings and reviews

This seminal book is a foundation for sustainability education. Orr proposes a need for education that imparts an understanding of the interdependence between natural processes and human ways of living. In this book Orr stresses that ecological understanding must become a pedagogic priority across disciplines for sustainable ways of living to become possible.

About the author

David W. Orr is Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, and co-founder of the Meadowcreek Project, a non-profit environmental education organization. He is co-author of The Global Predicament, and co-editor of the SUNY Press series Environmental Public Policy.