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CHAPTER THREE
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CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR educational experiences in their daily lives than ever before. Formal learning is only the beginning. Today, we can gain information and knowledge through the media, our workplaces, and community activities. Nonformal education offers hands-on experiences as well as more traditional modes of learning. As indicated by the Commission on Global Governance, the need for these nonformal educational experiences is urgent:
"The collective power of people to shape the future is greater
now than ever before, and the need to exercise it is more compelling.
Mobilizing that power to make life in the twenty-first century more
democratic, more secure, and more sustainable is the foremost challenge of
this generation."
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Systematic approaches are needed to help educational consumers sort through and tie together the information resulting from everyday experiences. An Agenda for Action attempts to articulate opportunities to craft nonformal educational experiences that enhance the ability of citizens to be better consumers, producers, policymakers, and stewards of the environment for their communities.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION 2
Nonformal Education
Expand public access to opportunities to learn about sustainability issues as they relate to the private, work, and community lives of individuals.
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INITIATIVE 4.1
Foster increased public awareness of sustainability through a public awareness program. |
A concerted public awareness effort will assist the American public in gaining a firm grasp of the concept of sustainability and the practices that promote it. The program should employ specific examples of everyday actions that are sustainable, descriptive, potential cumulative benefits associated with sustainable behavior, and the positive impacts of changed U.S. policies and practices on the world as a whole.
If these efforts are successful, individuals will understand that these changes are worthwhile and have the potential to raise the quality of their lives. Easily understood information should be shared on a regular basis. This information should include relevant measures to gauge societal progress towards sustainability.
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INITIATIVE 4.2
Support a system of regularly updated, comprehensible national benchmarks of progress toward the goals of sustainability. |
Throughout the United States, decisions are made that affect the long-term health and viability of communities. These decisions are responses to growth and development issues and the use and protection of natural resources. Individual citizens often sense a gap between their own day-to-day choices and the impact on events at the broader community, national, or global scales.
With help from the media, a focused partnership aimed at informing the
public about indicators of sustainability can help bridge this gap. The
indicators can provide citizens with information that demonstrates
individual contributions to the overall picture. Such efforts are under
discussion, but no one best formula has been found to date. With further
discussion, however, a system of benchmarks will emerge that can play a
significant role in informing individuals.
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INITIATIVE 4.3
Entertainment media may consider designing a coordinated media campaign to raise youngsters' awareness of sustainability. |
The popularity of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a television program that is seen in 80 countries by 300 million children a day, suggests that entertainment media can play a role in raising the awareness of young children about a concept like sustainability. 19 Such an effort must engage a wide range of stakeholders and yield benefits for all -- most importantly, children.
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Rescue Mission: Planet Earth Sustainable Development Indicators Young people around the world are playing a role in monitoring progress toward sustainable development through the Sustainability Indicators Project, which is sponsored by the United Nations. Under this project, youth help measure progress toward building and maintaining healthy communities. The Sustainability Indicators Project is spearheaded by Rescue Mission: Planet Earth, an organization with affiliates throughout the world. School groups, individuals, community groups, and families are invited to participate in the project. The kinds of questions the program is trying to address include: "What is happening in your community?" "Are people becoming more prosperous while at the same time healing and conserving the environment?" Rescue Mission was begun in 1992 by Peace Child International. The initial project, a book titled Rescue Mission: Planet Earth, is a children's edition of Agenda 21 . The book, which is filled with case studies, pictures, poems, and photos, was written and illustrated by thousands of young people around the world. After publication of the book, Rescue Mission: Planet Earth
became
an independent organization. The United Nations asked Rescue Mission to
create a project that will give young people a role in identifying
sustainability indicators and monitoring the progress achieved since the 1992
Earth Summit in Rio.
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INITIATIVE 4.4
Support the continued outreach to American journalists on issues related to sustainability. |
Efforts have been launched to inform the journalism community in a
systematic way about issues of global environmental concern. Examples
include The Reporter's Environmental Handbook , published by the
New Jersey Institute of Technology and Reporting Climate Change ,
published by the National Safety Council. Such efforts have been limited,
however, and require additional resources and a broader base of information
on current, accurate findings.
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INITIATIVE 4.5
Establish incentive programs, such as national awards, to recognize successful partnerships within the business community that support educational efforts on sustainability. |
The private sector, especially the business community, has been responsible for some of the most innovative programs in the environmental and sustainable development arena. Nevertheless, school personnel struggle to establish successful partnerships to tap the expertise of the business and industry community. At the same time, businesses are searching to identify the best educational approaches.
Incentives are needed to encourage and sustain partnerships and successes
that are working. Recognition for those who are investing resources and
creative energy in the formation and implementation of educational
programs can encourage others if they believe that their work will be publicly
acknowledged.
If the public is to become more involved in local sustainability issues,
support
mechanisms are needed to translate research information, transfer new
technologies, introduce educational strategies, develop public policy, and
organize at the community level to chart sustainable courses of action. A
successful extension network would empower individuals in communities to
shape their own futures through an appropriate mix of education, technical
assistance, and fiscal support. Extension networks give individuals the tools
to control their own futures, while providing data and information,
educational expertise, and needed financial assistance.
In addition to the Cooperative Extension System (USDA) based on the Smith-
Lever Act,20 other federal
agencies have developed extension services, such as Sea Grant (NOAA),
Space Grant (NASA), and the Manufacturing Extension Service (Commerce).
These extension units need a mechanism whereby they can continue to use
their own networks, invest their own funds, partner with other agencies, and
make contributions to communities around a common set of goals.
Action 5: Sustainable Development Extension Network
Establish an extension network to enhance the capacity of individuals,
workforces, and communities to live sustainably. Finding
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INITIATIVE 5.1
Establish a national Sustainable Development Extension Network (SUDENET) to foster access to information, technical expertise, and collaborative strategies that result in action taken by local communities. |
A new mechanism is needed that includes but is not exclusively controlled by any one existing extension entity. A redefined Sustainable Development Extension Network could employ services offered by diverse educational units such as community colleges, public schools, and private sector educational entities, as well as nongovernmental organizations focusing on similar issues and priorities. At the same time, the new network can build upon the current infrastructure that exists in every county in the United States through the Cooperative Extension System, Sea Grant, and Space Grant programs.
The existing extension system could contribute to the new Sustainable Development Extension Network by providing technical assistance that brings together researchers who are developing new technologies and those who adopt those new technologies; promoting sustainable development practices by providing information on sustainable alternatives and benefits; facilitating community visioning and planning processes; and providing access to current data and information available through electronic gateways.
A national Sustainable Development Extension Network could help provide bridges among areas of expertise in government agencies, universities, and colleges. To address the concerns of consumers, producers, communities, and individuals, a new collaborative strategy could be deployed among organizations that would provide assistance. A Sustainable Development Extension Network also would help ensure that local needs drive national policy; national policy and programs are coordinated; and research, education, and extension roles for government and private sector agencies are clarified. Success ultimately will be assessed by the actions taken by local communities.
A Sustainable Development Extension Network should be coordinated with other initiatives described in An Agenda for Action .
More specifically, the network could:
The proposed action plans, management structure, funding mechanism, and evaluation indicators for the Sustainable Development Extension Network are based on shared decision-making and leadership, coordinated actions, individual and collective organizational accountability for funds and program outcomes, and management for results. Although the goal might be reached more quickly through unilateral investment in a single organizational entity, the national goal of sustainable development requires a more comprehensive strategy.
Representatives from the participating agencies as well as state consortia should direct a process to determine how a Sustainable Development Extension Network can best be managed, staffed, and financed. The process should be coordinated with the national policy recommendations from the President's Council on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Communities Implementation Team of the National Environmental Technology Strategy. This process should result in the development of accountability indicators, collection of data, analysis of results, and formulation of recommendations and conclusions concerning a Sustainable Development Extension Network.
The formation, structure, management, leadership, and implementation of a Sustainable Development Extension Network could be based on the following principles:
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Farmers and Rural Landowners Take Positive Steps In 1991, a group of federal agencies initiated a unique voluntary approach to pollution prevention in rural areas. The Farm Assessment System and Home Assessment System (Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst) has a simple goal: with technical assistance from the agencies, landowners increase their knowledge of health- and non-health-related risks from pollution, look critically at their property, and then take voluntary actions to reduce the risks. To date, more than 22,000 individual assessments have been conducted by farmers, rural homeowners, and ranchers. Actions they have taken to reduce risks on their property range from improving indoor air quality to reducing lead levels in drinking water and improving petroleum storage and pesticides handling. Participants have invested more than $15 million to reduce environmental risks. The success of the program lies in its flexible framework and the local support it generates. Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst program materials have been adapted for multicultural use and integration into school curricula. The program is a cooperative effort initiated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A number of interagency and private sector partnerships are supporting the programs throughout the United States and Canada.
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At the international level, Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) charged communities with formulating action plans to move toward a sustainable future.21 This process calls for the broadest possible public participation, with representatives from diverse areas coming together to define sustainability on the local level and support plans and projects that will implement their communities' visions.
As a follow-up to Agenda 21 in the United States, the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) was organized to recommend an action strategy to move the nation toward a sustainable future. One of the Council's eight task forces was the Sustainable Communities Task Force. Likewise, a Sustainable Communities Implementation Team emerged from the National Environmental Technology Strategy developed by the National Science and Technology Council. These community visioning and assessment efforts at the national level have helped to reinforce the numerous community groups throughout the country that are achieving local successes by taking new directions and action at the local level.
Support for community visioning and assessment can be coordinated with
other initiatives proposed in An Agenda for Action. Interactions with
the proposed Sustainable Development Extension Network, essential
learnings efforts in formal education, lifelong learning programs, and the
national information clearinghouse should be fostered. Just as Goals 2000
relies extensively on community support for educational excellence,
community-based educational institutions play a central role in shaping the
future of communities. Recognition of the importance of education in the
overall design and implementation of a community vision is a key element
of this initiative.
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INITIATIVE 6.1
Create a national program in partnership with organizations that may include the National Council of Mayors, the National Governors' Association, and the National Association of Counties, that will provide educational resources and leadership training in support of community visioning and assessment. |
National support of visioning processes can include facilitating the exchange of ideas by providing appropriate and timely information about successful models for replication; training of leaders for visioning processes; expansion of local, regional, national, and international visioning networks; and engagement of communities across the nation in integrated, holistic approaches to long-term planning for sustainable communities. A national program such as this could include the following four components:
(1) Identifying and compiling examples of visioning processes that have been successful in communities in the United States and other nations;
(2) Designing and developing a workbook and other resource materials for dissemination to interested communities to serve as a guidebook for action and planning at the community level;
(3) Establishing a Leadership Institute for Sustainable Communities to train leaders in facilitating cooperative planning by diverse stakeholders; and
(4) Establishing a council through the proposed Sustainable Development Extension Network to coordinate efforts at the state and federal levels in support of community visioning activities.
A number of communities are in various stages of defining their future and are employing a variety of visioning approaches. A national clearinghouse could facilitate the sharing of successful strategies from communities of various sizes that are wrestling with challenges in diverse environmental and economic contexts. These successes can serve as models for communities with similar characteristics. The tasks to accomplish this include:
1. Identifying and compiling examples of visioning processes that have been successful in communities in the United States and other nations.
2. Designing and developing a workbook and other resource materials for
dissemination to interested communities to serve as a guidebook for action
and planning at the community level.
A structured workbook and other information can aid stakeholders in planning, dialogue, and information gathering at the local level. Indicators of progress or benchmarks described in the workbook could include:
3. Establishing a Leadership Institute for Sustainable Communities to
train
leaders in facilitating cooperative planning by diverse stakeholders.
Key to the success of community visioning and planning are skillful leadership and advocacy by a few central figures.
Finding
The current workforce must have the opportunity to develop the skills
needed to work sustainably, and future workers need to be adequately
prepared in this area prior to entering the workforce. Training for
sustainability will require initiatives at the state and community levels.
Workforce development is also an important concern for federal
policymaking since fewer than 25 percent of our nation's population obtains a
four-year university degree.22
Solutions will require new
federal policies similar to those of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.23 Work-based learning,
coupled with related academic training, can provide America's young people
with the knowledge and skills they need to make an effective transition from
school to a first job in a high-skill, high-wage career track.
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Partnership Prepares Youth for Tomorrow's World
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This need for flexibility and a highly skilled workforce presents a genuine
opportunity for educators. If employers are willing to pay more for highly
skilled workers, then the quality of education and training should be raised.
If
linked effectively to careers, the proportion of good jobs can be increased.
The
challenge is to sustain economic vitality and the quality of life that is
sometimes taken for granted.
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"In the new global economy, the only resource that is really rooted in a nation-the ultimate source of all its wealth-is its people. To compete and win, our workforce must be well educated, well trained, and highly skilled."
Robert B. Reich |
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INITIATIVE 7.1
Disseminate effective school-to-work models that emphasize issues of sustainability while encouraging dialogue with the business sector to address sustainability through hiring and recruitment practices. |
Because the national school-to-work initiative is built upon business partnerships, it is important for these programs to integrate components of industry-based skill standards. In addition, although many programs are in operation, those that promote sustainability have not been identified.
As efforts like these are launched, the business community could provide
job opportunities and internships for students who are studying the principles
of sustainable development. Attention given to hiring and recruitment
practices would help complete the cycle and secure an appropriately trained
workforce.
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INITIATIVE 7.2
Strengthen the partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Association of Community Colleges to support education for sustainability. |
The development of partnerships with institutions of higher education that
have the capacity to deliver training to large numbers of workers is of
paramount importance. A partnership funded by the U.S. Department of
Labor is attempting to implement a comprehensive workforce training
initiative that is based in community colleges. The partnership is designed to
enhance the effectiveness of the community college system in responding to
the retraining needs of dislocated workers as well as incumbent workers
seeking to upgrade their skills or obtain skills certification. The
information resulting from this project is disseminated via the Training
Technology Resource Center, operated by the U.S. Department of Labor.
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INITIATIVE 7.3
Use the U.S. Department of Labor's Training Technology Resource Center as the dissemination vehicle for workforce development information on programs, research, and organizations in the area of education for sustainability. |
The center is an on-line information resource created by the U.S.
Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration to gather and
disseminate information related to current workforce development programs
and practices. This initiative would engage the department's regional offices
in the identification and collection of programs, practices, and policies at
the local level. Involvement of the regional offices is an important component
of the Center's reinvention activities.
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Training and Employment for Disadvantaged Youth in Maine
About Job Corps Job Corps is a national training and employment program administered by the Department of Labor, which serves economically disadvantaged young people between the ages of 16 and 24, primarily high school dropouts. Unique to Job Corps and key to its success is its residential program, offering students comprehensive services 24 hours a day. Job Corps operates through a partnership among government, labor, and the private sector. |
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INITIATIVE 7.4
Examine the feasibility within the Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*NET) of collecting and disseminating information on emerging occupations in energy efficiency and waste reduction. |
The Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network is an
automated replacement for the department's print-based "Dictionary of
Occupational Titles." O*NET provides a timely, easy-to-use computer
database that supports national efforts to revitalize the American workforce.
The database is an operational prototype for collecting, analyzing,
organizing,
publishing, and disseminating scientifically verified information on worker
skills and job requirements. O*NET will help millions of employers, workers,
educators, and students make informed decisions about education, training,
and careers. It also could foster sustainability by highlighting occupations
related to energy efficiency and waste reduction. As commonly defined, lifelong learning is "adult education for individuals
who no longer attend school on a regular, full-time basis." The term
lifelong learning encompasses adult education for vocational and
professional advancement, enjoyment and leisure, and remediation for
improving basic skills and knowledge needed to function as a member of a
family or community. Although the concept initially focused on community
colleges, the idea is spreading to public schools, institutions of higher
education, community agencies, proprietary schools, and computer software
developers.
The continually changing world in which we live requires that learners of all
ages educate themselves throughout their lives. This need is compounded by
the fact that fewer than 25 percent of the U.S. population obtains a four-year
college degree. Among two-year college students enrolled as students in
October 1990, 77 percent were not enrolled a year later.25 Given these statistics,
many individuals must obtain skills outside the classroom.
More people than ever before are looking to various forms of lifelong
learning opportunities to upgrade their skills and increase their job
stability. In the 1970s, more than 80 percent of all adults were involved in
self-directed learning each year, and the average adult spent 500 hours a year
in either formal or nonformal learning programs.26 More than 60 million adults
participated in some form of lifelong learning activities in the 1980s.27 Figures released by the
College Board in 1993 demonstrate that the proportion of adult students in
college enrollments has been increasing steadily over the past two decades:
from about 30 percent in 1970 to 40 percent in 1980 to close to 45 percent in
1990.28
The U.S. Department of Commerce has found that in most regions of the
world, the population aged 15 to 64 is expected to grow faster than the
school-age population.29 In
addition, by the year 2020 people who are 60-plus in North America, Europe,
and the former Soviet Union will constitute 24 percent of the population of
those regions as compared with individuals from birth to 4, who will
comprise 6 percent.30 These
demographic changes suggest that opportunities for lifelong learning will
become increasingly important.
Americans need to remain competitive in the workplace, both domestically
and internationally. Continuous learning helps bolster public awareness of
the changing global marketplace while encouraging individuals to be more
productive and successful citizens. Technology helps adult learners gain
greater control over when, where, and how they obtain new skills and
knowledge. Computers and telecommunication devices provide new access
to learning for remote populations, special populations such as the disabled,
and workers on-site and at home.
Learning about the concept of sustainability is an ongoing process. Learning
opportunities should include the essential learnings of sustainable
development and the practical approaches that contribute to sustainable
living.
Lifelong learning at the individual level is critical to reaching the National
Education Goal's fifth objective, which states that every adult American will
be literate by year 2000 and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary
to compete in a global economy.
31 To keep abreast of
changes in their fields and advances in technology, an increasing number of
adults are taking courses to advance their careers, upgrade their skills, and
enrich their lives. As a result, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported
that
employment of adult educators is expected to grow faster than the average for
other occupations as the demand for adult education programs continues to
rise.32
Many members of our nation's adult population lack the literacy and
mathematical skills needed for success in modern society. Basic education for
adults is an increasing concern because of low literacy levels among the adult
population. In 1990, nearly one billion adults worldwide aged 15 and over
were illiterate.33 The
National Adult Literacy Survey of 1992 revealed that approximately 48
percent of the adults in the United States scored at the two lowest levels of
literacy proficiency, i.e., indicating that they are almost illiterate.
34 Comprehensive adult
literacy programs that teach out-of-school adults basic literacy and
occupational skills are the most beneficial programs because they allow
individuals to obtain jobs and lead more successful and satisfying lives.
Encouraging lifelong learning about sustainability at the household level
depends partly on the extent to which adults are aware and pass on that
knowledge. If parents are lifelong learners, children also are likely to
become
lifelong learners. When adults take full advantage of the many resources
available in their community, they will strengthen the relationship between
home and school while enhancing their own work and personal lives.
At the community level, libraries are an important force in fostering literacy
skills and providing adult part-time education. Community colleges offer a
valuable resource as well. Community college programs that serve the needs
of the community and strengthen the education of local citizens should be
identified and promoted. The health care industry is educating its workforce about the environment
through activities of the National Association of Physicians for the
Environment (NAPE). Founded in 1992, NAPE encourages physicians,
nurses, pharmacists, and veterinarians to inform patients and animal owners
about the impacts of environmental pollutants on health so they understand
that pollution prevention is disease prevention. Members include the
American Medical Association and thirty other medical societies.
The organization has instituted a nationwide program to "green" more than
388,500 medical facilities: offices of physicians, dentists, and
veterinarians;
medical clinics; long-term health care facilities; laboratories; blood banks;
medical schools; pharmacies; and the offices of health organizations such as
the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association.
NAPE could be a model for a national coalition of health professionals for the
environment. Members could include organizations for nurses and health-
related professionals such as epidemiologists and toxicologists; health and
life
insurance groups; hospitals; medical media; pharmaceutical organizations;
biotechnology associations; and voluntary health organizations. Medical
schools have already formed the Consortium for Environmental Education
in Medicine, whose membership includes faculty members from Boston
University, Brown, Harvard, Massachusetts, Tufts and Rhode Island medical
schools.
A promising computer software program for lifelong learning about
sustainability is currently under development. "Vision into Action," is aimed
at helping individuals and families move from a broad-brush understanding
of global sustainability to a comprehension of its meaning in their own lives
and communities.
Users work through a personal, family, and community assessment and
visioning process. A number of success stories and models of sustainability
are documented that can be adapted by individuals for use in their own lives,
businesses, and organizations. They also can enter data to track their own
progress toward sustainability.
The developers welcome submission of examples from communities and
families. Once development is completed, the "Vision into Action" program
will be available from the Global Action and Information Network in Santa
Cruz, California.
Action 8: Lifelong Learning
Encourage lifelong learning about sustainability at the individual,
household, and community levels.
Finding
Physicians for the Environment
Educating Doctors and the Public
Other activities include establishing environmental audits in hospitals,
medical schools, and pharmaceutical companies to reduce energy
consumption and medical wastes; convening conferences on environmental
health issues, such as air and water pollution; emerging infectious diseases;
establishing a clearinghouse and Internet home page for health information
related to environmental issues; encouraging physicians to take a leadership
role in their communities to educate the public about health-related
environmental issues; helping the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
educate physicians and the public about the UV Index developed by the
National Weather Service; and involving physicians in global
environmental issues such as biodiversity, e.g., by surveying the 150 most
widely prescribed drugs to determine their derivation from the natural world.
Vision into Action
Software for Understanding Sustainability
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INITIATIVE 8.1
Develop community college courses and programs aimed at producing the skills and information needed for contributing to sustainable activities at work and during leisure activities. |
Courses should highlight retraining on practical skills and the changing role of technology. Continued efforts by nonprofit groups, civic organizations, and the business community are needed to ensure that needs responding to a vision of healthy, prosperous neighborhoods and communities are being identified and met.
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Reaching Out -- Promoting Community Sustainability The Center for Better Communities, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a relatively new nonprofit organization comprised of planners, architects, and concerned citizens who strive to create better, and more livable communities. The Center functions as a resource for information on new visions for designing communities. Founders of the organization say that one of their key roles is initiating and facilitating discussion of fresh alternatives to existing development patterns in order to address issues of diversity, equity, and a healthy, prosperous future. Workshops, conferences, training, and other services are used to raise awareness and inform the public, elected officials, educators, and other professionals. A seminar series entitled "Re-inventing the Environmental Agenda" serves as a community forum for discussing current environmental issues and highlights examples of how ordinary people, locally and globally, are taking the lead in achieving sustainability. The Center's over-riding goal is community capacity-building, i.e., nurturing the ability for people to problem solve responsibly as a community.
"I believe that sustainability is the organizing principle -- both context and framework -- for environmental literacyÉ. It merges education and application, so learning becomes a way of life for taking personal responsibility -- together -- for all decisions that affect the environment. The essential building blocks for sustainability are our daily lifestyle choices." |
A range of educational opportunities and venues must be tapped as tools for raising public awareness and knowledge of sustainability. More attention must be directed to these tools -- how they are developed and how they are used -- by the business and nonprofit sectors as well as those whose primary mission is education. Current research reveals that Americans are increasingly concerned about the needs of future generations.35 The challenge is to work to sustain quality of life and a healthy environment.
CHAPTER 3
Examples of Opportunities for Partnerships
The American Association of Community Colleges
One Dupont Circle, N.W. Suite 410
Washington, D.C. 20036
Contact: James McKenney
Phone: 202-728-0200
The American Association of Community Colleges serves the interests of the nation's two-year colleges; ensuring that the achievements, capacities, and interests of the colleges are recognized and understood among U.S. Congress, The White House, and federal agencies. It also collaborates with national higher education associations, trade associations, and other groups that represent the constituencies that are important to local colleges. The association's role encompasses advocacy, policy initiatives, research, educational services, and coordination.
Center for Better Communities
PO Box 1348
Honolulu, HI 96807
Contact: Ramona Mullahey or Alex Neuhold
Phone: 808-533-0777
Fax: 808-528-4217
The Center for Better Communities is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational resource organization, founded in 1995, whose mission is to foster research, thought, and action in support of quality environments and more livable communities.
The Consortium for Environmental Education in Medicine (CEEM)
17 Monsignor O'Brien Highway
Cambridge, MA 02141
Contact: Madaleine R. Ochinang
Phone: 617-227-8901
Fax: 617-227-0104
E-mail: CEEM@2nature.org
WWWeb: http://www.ceem.org/
The Consortium for Environmental Education in Medicine is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing human health by understanding its relation to the environment. CEEM is working on a systematic effort to bring environment and health perspectives into medical education.
Cornell Cooperative Extension
358 Roberts Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Contact: Benjamin Wood
Phone: 607-255-2231
Fax: 607-255-0788
E-mail: benjamin_wood@cce.cornell.edu
The Cornell Cooperative Extension System links research, knowledge, and
technology to the needs of individuals, families, businesses, and
communities throughout New York State. The systems purpose is to provide
economic, social, environmental, and agricultural education.
Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst
Voluntary Pollution Prevention Programs
B142 Steenbock Library
Madison, WI 53706
Contact: Gary W. Jackson
Phone: 608-262-0024
Fax: 608-265-2775
E-mail: farmasyst@macc.wisc.edu
homeasyst@macc.wisc.edu
WWWeb: http://www.wisc.edu/farmasyst/
Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst is a successful partnership between government and industry that meets the pollution challenges posed by farms and other rural resources. The program's formula of education, self-assessment, and action plans motivates rural landowners to voluntary action.
The Foundation for the Future of
Youth
11426 Rockville Pike, Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20852
Contact: David Pines
Phone: 301-468-9431
Fax: 301-468-9612
E-mail: davidp@prevline.health.org
WWWeb: http://www.shs.net/rescue/found.htm
The Foundation for the Future of Youth is an idea-generating and problem-solving organization working with young people to develop a vision for their future and the mechanisms for realizing that vision. The foundation offers innovative thinking, strategic resources, and visionary leadership for building healthy environments. The foundation coordinates U.S. activities for the global action project spawned from Rescue Mission: Planet Earth, a young persons version of Agenda 21 .
National Association of Physicians for
the Environment (NAPE)
6410 Rockledge Drive, Suite 412
Bethesda, MD 20817
Contact : Betty Farley
Phone: 301-571-9791
Fax: 301-530-8910
E-mail: nape@ix.netcom.com
WWWeb: http://www.intr.net/napenet
NAPE, a nonprofit organization, works with the national medical specialties and subspecialties, with national, state, and local medical societies, and local medical societies, and with individual physicians to deal with the impacts of environmental pollutants on the organs, systems, or disease processes best known to them. NAPE also informs patients and the public about the impact of pollutants and the necessary health steps that should be taken to reduce or eliminate those pollutants.
O*NET: The Occupational Information Network
Office of Policy and Research
Employment and Training Administration, N5637
U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, D.C. 20210
Phone: 202-219-7161 x130
O*NET is the automated replacement for the print-based Dictionary of Occupational Titles. It provides a timely, easy-to-use computer database that supports national efforts to revitalize the American workforce. O*NET is an operational prototype for collecting, analyzing, organizing, publishing, and disseminating scientifically verified, worker skill and job requirement information.
Penobscot Job Corps Center
1375 Union Street
Bangor, ME 04401
Contact: Greg Dumonthier
Phone: 207-990-3000 x168
Fax: 207-942-9829
Job Corps is the nations largest residential education and training program for disadvantaged youth. The program provides occupational exploration, world of work and social skills training, and competency-based vocational and basic education. Participants in Penobscot Job Corps Center's Waste Water Treatment program study water quality and environmental issues from the perspective of waste water treatment.
President's Council on Sustainable
Development
730 Jackson Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20503
Contact: Angela Park
Phone: 202-408-5296
Fax: 202-408-6839
E-mail: pcsd@igc.apc.org
WWWeb: http://www.whitehouse.gov/PCSD
The PCSD was established by President Clinton in 1993 -- a unique mix of 25 individuals representing business, labor, environmental, civil rights, tribal, and local leaders along with members of the President's Cabinet. The PCSD's mission is to develop a "national sustainable development action strategy that will foster economic vitality while protecting our natural and cultural resources." The PCSD produced a report that outlines the first steps the nation needs to take in order to move toward a more sustainable future.
Rescue Mission
The White House
Buntingford, Herts SG9 9AH
United Kingdom
Phone: (+44) 176-327-4459
Fax : (+44) 176-327-4460
E-mail: 100640.3551@compuserve.com
Rescue Mission works throughout the world bringing innovative thinking, strategic resources, and leadership to our young people and youth workers to develop and realize a vision for their future.
School-to-Work Opportunities Act
The National School to Work Office
400 Virginia Avenue, S.W., Suite 210
Washington, D.C. 20024
Contact: J.D. Hoye
Phone: 202-401-6222
Fax: 202-401-6211
E-mail: stw_lc@ed.gov
WWWeb: http://www.stw.ed.gov
The purpose of this Act is to establish a national framework within which all states can create statewide school-to-work opportunities systems that are a part of comprehensive education reform; are integrated with the systems developed under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and the National Skill Standards Act of 1994; offer opportunities for all students to participate in a performance-based education and training program that will enable them to earn portable credentials: prepare the students for first jobs in high-skill, high-wage careers; and increase their opportunities for further education, including education in a four-year college or university.
Training Technology Resource
Center
Room N6507
U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, D.C. 20210
Contact: Brian Shea
Phone: 1-800-488-0901
WWWeb: http://www.ttrc.doleta.gov
The Training Technology Resource Center was created by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration to provide information on workforce development models, new initiatives, and emerging policies. Its mission is to serve as an electronic point of access to a wide range of workforce development information and to promote information sharing throughout the Employment and Training Community. The center accomplishes this by collecting and disseminating information on subjects like "one-stop career center systems," emerging training and learning technologies.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
Aerospace Building, Room #329C
Ag Box 2210
Washington, D.C. 20250-2210
Contact: Greg Crosby, National Program Leader
Phone: 202-401-6050
Fax: 202-401-1706
WWWeb: http://www.reeusda.gov
E-mail: gcrosby@reeusda.gov
Vision Into Action Program
Global Action and Information
Network
740 Front Street, Suite 355
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Contact: Bill Leland
Phone: 408-457-0130
Fax: 408-457-0133
E-mail: info@gain.org
WWWeb: http://www.gain.org/gain/
The Vision Into Action Program is an interactive program to encourage individuals to act in their personal lives and communities for sustainability. The program guides people in setting goals, selecting appropriate actions, and monitoring progress toward sustainability.
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The Penobscot Job Corps Center, located in Bangor, Maine, is the first center
in the country to offer a program in Waste Water Treatment. Students enter
an actual "shop" environment that includes a sludge pilot plant, laboratory
and maintenance shop. They are assigned a peer mentor for the first month,
and they receive an array of classroom-type teaching aids. Participants study
water quality and environmental issues. They learn how to determine load
requirements by interpreting meter and gauge readings, how to regulate the
flow of sewage by monitoring control panels and adjusting valves and gates,
and how to conduct the tests required at waste water plants. A variety of
completion levels are offered, along with opportunities for off-center
training
at three of Maine's waste water treatment plants. Students who successfully
complete the training can expect a competitive salary.