THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDU CATION by Dr.

Jean Faullimmel PhD

Background At the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, world governments decided to tie economic growth and environmental protection, and agreed that present economic development must not undermine the development of future generations. The concept of Sustainable Development was born. In 1995, the Copenhagen Declaration on social development went even further. It stated that economic, environmental and social developments are integrated parts of sustainable development and are interdependent. Today the question we can ask ourselves is whether the world has understood the concept of Sustainable Development, and whether educational institutions have adapted their teaching programs to this new way of thinking. Air, water and land pollution has continued unabated in developing countries and in most cases environmental legislation is inadequate and not reinforced. The advent and advances of chemistry in the development of synthetic molecules has had many positive impacts on the world s population. It has increased our life expectancy by curing and easing our physical suffering, has made water and food safer for consumption, and has made our homes and transport vehicles more comfortable. These are just a few examples among many of how chemistry has improved our lives. Yet these advances have also environmental side effects such as pollution, its impact on human health, and the destruction of parts of the world s natural environment and biodiversity. Everyday we can read or hear about greenhouse gases, global warming, climate change, depletion of natural resources, landfills at over capacity, shrinking icecaps, ocean acidity and ocean rising. For a growing world society with a hunger for material goods, these are the issues at stake. Having worked in the chemical industry for many years as an environmental engineer with first hand experiences in environment and human protection and sustainable development, it is disappointing to see the lack of commitment to environmental education in emerging countries where it is most needed. The planet Earth is continuously polluted and damaged that some scientists say that we are entering a new phase of geological time they term Anthropocene, meaning the Age of Man. Ecologists predict that our geological footprint will be visible, for example, in radioactivity from atomic bombs, plastic pollution, carbon dioxide levels and human induced mass extinction. Education is the foundation of where things start when we want to make progress. Environmental research is carried out, but teaching on environmental issues that affects our planet is seriously lagging. Bodies like the United Nations and the European Union do not pay much attention to environmental education at the university level. They are mainly interested in big environmental projects that are very expensive and that touch

only a few. They have no funds for environmental education that would cost much less, but could bring about greater environmental awareness that is needed to make the necessary changes. Non-governmental Organizations don t deal with such education either. And debates on environmental issues discuss what we should do, but few mention that it should start with education. It looks like these institutions put the cart before the horse. How can a population subscribe to an environmental program it cannot understand? Shouldn t it be more appropriate to first plant the seed of environmental awareness through adequate teaching? Environment is a complex multidisciplinary subject, yet it concerns all level of society in which everybody has a role to play. The figure below shows the interrelated nature of environmental issues, that many disciplines have to come together to share knowledge and knowhow to save our planet:

Source: E. D. Enger, and B.F. Smith, Environmental Science 2006.

Pollution and health effects If developing countries would invest as much in environment as in economic development, there would be less waste and pollution and planet Earth would have time to recover from the damage done my human activities. If investing in green technology to reduce pollution can be costly, not doing anything about it is even costlier in the long term. Pollution prevention is cheaper than acting only when the pollution has already reached the environment. Diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery brought about by contaminated drinking water, have been the cause of massive death. And most toxic air contaminants come from man-made sources like fossil fuel combustion and industrial waste. Their 2

impact on human health is staggering. For example, more than 1/3 of the United States population suffers from chronic diseases such as asthma, heart and kidney diseases. Research has established that long-term exposure to fine particles in air coming from coal-fired power plants, factories and diesel trucks can greatly increase a person s risk of dying from lung cancer. In heavily polluted metropolitan areas in America, the population is 16% more at risk of dying from lung cancer than people in less polluted areas. For the first time epidemiological studies have made this connection. From 1980 to 1994, asthma has increased by 75% in the US, and the annual expenditure of treating chronic diseases is estimated at over $300 billion. Developing countries should learn from such facts and not repeat the same mistakes of developed countries. On a recent trip to China I witnessed the severe air pollution in big cities but also in the countryside. In the Province of Shandong farmers burn their fields after the wheat harvest prior to planting rice in the same field. There is a law that prohibits such action, but nobody respects it. After the widespread fires, heavy air pollution develops in surrounding small towns as illustrated below:

Sources: Jean Faullimmel, Shandong Province, China, June 2011.

Global environmental impact In the last 50 years about 80,000 chemicals have been developed and introduced on the market. The number of toxic substances present in the environment and the increasing pollution background is alarming. Daily people around the world are exposed to toxic substances, from industrial contaminant in air and drinking water, to pesticide residues in the food chain. In the United States alone, more than 3.5 million metric tonnes of toxic chemicals are released every year by industrial facilities, and around 600,000 tonnes of pesticides are used annually in agriculture, homes, gardens and public facilities.

The pollution cycle predicts that once contaminants reached the environment, other reaction processes take place in air and water medium. Landfill chemicals volatilize and/or reach groundwater, and atmospheric contaminants become new water and soil pollutants through rainfall. Pollution has no border. With the help of wind and rain, rivers and ocean currents, what was once a local contamination can become a global one. And eventually the polluter find in his plate contaminated seafood, fruits and vegetables. A recent study indicates the decline of the world oceans due to over-fishing, pollution, acidification, global warming and climate change, all acting together.

How to know that a chemical is toxic? Environment and chemical safety are interdependent. Throughout the world most chemical research is done in universities. Yet few researchers, even in the West, know little about the substances they are working with. The identity of a chemical molecule synthesized by man, whether harmful of not, is given in the material safety data sheet document. It describes how each chemical, depending on its toxicity, must be handled and what its environmental and health hazards are. This is basic knowledge for a scientist and engineer, and yet it is missing in the university teaching curriculums. This is where environmental education should start if we want to protect our ecosystem.

The importance of Environmental E ducation Why is there such a lack of environmental sensitivity? The reasons are numerous, yet a few can be mentioned: 1. Environmental lawmakers lack first hand experiences and only have a partial understanding of the issues. They know what is written on paper, talk a lot about the issues, but don t have a deep understanding of the reality on the ground. They lack environmental awareness. As a consequence, appropriate environmental legislation is lacking. It is not enough to close down chemical plants in the city and move them to the countryside to allow them to continue to pollute the environment as they did before. 2. There is a conflict between economic and environmental development. Investing in green technology can be proven costly, and the benefits can only be seen in the long run. The shareholders cannot expect a return on investment after three months, the time they usually use to do their financial evaluation when investing in economic development. Yet they don t take into account the impact of pollution on medical costs and the damage done to the environment. And they don t realize that in case of a chemical accident, the company will suffer from a bad public image. Loosing market shares as a consequence has also a cost. 3. The lack of adequate environmental education is link to the lack of first hand experience in the chemical industry by their lecturers or professors. That means they lack environmental awareness to promote teaching programs to confront the pollution reality. The consequence of this is that fu ture managers, scientists, engineers, lawmakers or political leaders leaving the university are unable to

confront major environmental issues their country is confronted with. The Bhopal accident in India in December 1984 where about 15,000 people subsequently died from toxic gases and polluted drinking water, is a prime example of environmental and safety ignorance of local authorities. Has this lesson been learned? 4. Due to economic globalization, greater priority is given to commerce, business and economic education because quick profits can be made. Human greed for more and more without any concern about the consequences of pollution, dominates development decisions. Few people understand that economy, environmental and social development are intimately linked.

Environmental education is the seed for any improvement we want to make in life, whether personal, local, regional, national or global. How can pollution improve the quality of our lives? Against the state of today s pollution background, how can environmental education help? Understanding the issues is a first priority. This can be achieved by integrating industrial issues in university teaching programs. These programs should be less theoretical and more practical. The better students understand the issues, the greater will be their awareness and contribution after they leave school. Without such awareness, it is difficult to set up a well balanced educational program. It must be data based, taking into account the existing environmental reality.

Collaboration and dialogue To improve environmental performance requires collaboration between industry, educational institutions, government and others institutions involved in environmental issues. These bodies need to communicate, work together to understand better the issues and the responsibility of each, share information, and learn to compromise. An expert never knows enough. Collaboration can yield amazing results, it is a powerful catalyst that can make a difference. Collaboration starts with a constructive and honest dialogue. Each organization must stops working in its own corner. Environmental engineers from industry should also teach in universities as they have an understanding of the issues they are confronted with and why. On the other hand, industry can ask for university partnership for research collaboration. Academia has to learn from industry and industry from academia. In the same way lawmakers or government officials must understand the industrial context and see what is feasible in the context of the company s financial situation. A financially weak company does not have the resources to invest in green technology, they need financial help from the government. If no help, either the company continues to pollute, or they have to shut down the factory, laying off hundreds of people. Such as situation is unacceptable, and this is why different parties must come together and dialogue, and not look at each other as an opposition or as enemies. No side knows enough. These bodies have to address common goals which enc ourages the development of better manufacturing processes to reduce waste and improve environmental efficiency. Industry can also help to define appropriate teaching

programs that can meet existing and future environmental challenges. Better environmental standards and legislation must also be addressed in collaboration with governmental agencies. Such collaboration is beneficial to all parties concerned and in the interests of developing countries. Universities of Technology environmental educational programs must have a realistic approach, less theoretical and more practical, and include visits to industrial plants, that will lead to environmental awareness. First hand experiences can teach more than textbooks.

Conclusion In the context of today s economic globalization and the increasing interdependence between countries to solve regional and global environmental issue, greater emphasis on environmental education has become a necessity. Worldwide there are three major sources of pollution: (1) industry generating air and water pollution, (2) road traffic leading to air pollution, and (3) agriculture being the source air, water and soil pollution and food contamination. Environmental education has an important role to play in minimizing these impacts on the environment and human health. It is an essential tool on how to improve environmental performance. The implementation of an adequate educational program encompasses awareness, acquiring new values and behavior, knowledge and skills that will lead to better environmental management. It concerns everybody, whether rich and poor. All levels of society can participate to make our planet a cleaner place. All have the same right to breath clean air, drink safe water and eat non-contaminated food.

References: 1. Jean Faullimmel, Rohm and Haas chemical industry, France 1989 -2002. 2. Jean Faullimmel, Industrial Consultant, and Visiting professor in France, China South Africa and the Philippines, 2002 -2011. 3. United Nations Environment Programme. 4. European Environment Agency. 5. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 6. Pollution linked to cancer, Washington Post, March 5, 2002. 7. Air Monitoring station, Cape Point, South Africa. 8. Toxic City, Sunday Express, India, July 25, 2004. 9. T. Lefevre et all. Techno-economic database for environmental Policy analysis in Asia. Air Pollution 2002.

JF/28/07/2011