Experts call on teachers to help build sustainable world 

?Every child is an entrepreneur,? education should start with harvesting the desire of every child to do things.

As of now, we consume 120 per cent of the Earth?s capacity. From 280 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide (world?s worst pollutant) in 1890, we reached 402 ppm. Our planet is already in the process of heating up, and 25 to 50 per cent of the world?s living species are in jeopardy, according to experts.

Such alarming environmental issues have been addressed by the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi (EAD) through its various projects, conferences and awareness campaigns. But on Monday, for the first time, EAD gathered in the capital some of the world?s top educators and environmentalists to share with the emirate?s teachers their expertise in a one day International Networking Forum on Educating for sustainability.

?Can schools be more than just places we go to learn? Can they be models of the world we want to build?? asked David Orr, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College, USA.Answers by an expert professor are as follows:

?We would be embarrassed if people came out of schools and not be able to read, but we are not embarrassed if people come out of schools as ecological illiterates, meaning they don?t know how the planet works ,? he pointed out. Environmental education as a tool to equip students to first understand the world as interconnected pattern and ultimately to equip them with analytical skills and knowledge necessary to build a sustainable, resilient and fair world.?We need a shift in our thinking,?

?If you have too much carbon dioxide, don?t think of cutting it down! Think of replacing it with spirulina, for example (type of algae). Here in Abu Dhabi you have too much spirulina. Why don?t you think of that?? Showing off an ordinary shoe, Professor Pauli revealed it is made of 60 per cent stones. Not just shoes, but especially paper can be made from stones and sand.

Here in the UAE you have lots of stones and sand, yet you import all our paper, while we could be the world?s biggest paper producer. Another of his successful projects, using coffee waste to grow mushrooms, was inspired by his three-year-old son.

Source:khaleej times