**2. The origin of the environmental education movement**

The practices of sustainability education and legislation have traceable roots as ancient as the Western Han Dynasty (145–86 BCE) when regulations surrounding sustainable management of trees, swamps, and mountains were recorded [8]. Works attributed to Plato and Aristotle in the fifth century BCE show scholarly debate over foundational environmental issues, such as the impact of the introduction of invasive species (rats), the existence of ecological niches and keystone species, and the interdependence of species. "The environmental movement had no clear beginning. The movement did not begin in one country and then spread to another; it emerged in different places at different times, and usually for different reasons" ([9], p. 1). Following the advent of colonialism, the prevailing thought of colonial settlers was the relative abundance of natural resources, which gave them the right to use and kill without limit and regard for any notion of conservation. Key moments of environmentalism include South Africa, 1658: proclamations to curb reckless forest clearing and hunting practices; Australia,1803: warnings about deforestation leading to soil erosion; South Africa, 1846: environmental legislation, and several international efforts to protect and preserve nature began in the 1900s [9]. This period marked the beginning of international collaboration to curb ecological devastation with environmental efforts in Britain, New Zealand, and Australia. In 1909, the World's first international environmental agreement saw Britain, France, Germany, Belgian Congo, Italy, and Portugal sign the Convention for the Preservation of Animals [9]. During the eighteenth century, western philosophers of the industrial period,

#### *The Goals of Science Education Should Be Linked to the Central Tenets of Sustainable… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.114114*

such as Pinchot, Thoreau, and Muir, were credited with developing sustainability and conservation concepts mirroring those in ancient Confucian writings [8]. Such endeavors typically had little success [9]. The formation of the International Congress for the Protection of Nature in 1948 (now the IUCN) was interrupted by the outbreak of world war. It was unable to do much other than collect data on human impacts, save for some work in ornithological conservation. By 1943–1948, alarm was raised regarding the perils of self-indulgence, ignorance of natural laws, and the need to bring human demands upon nature into conformity with natural limitations [10]. In 1947, The International Office for Protection of Nature (now IUCN) hosted a conference with 70 delegates from 24 countries - the largest environmental conference yet, which was still ultimately fruitless.

The late 1940s and early 1950s saw the beginning of environmental consciousness in the US as issues of public health and environmental concerns increasingly captured the public's attention. For example, in 1952, a report by the President's International Materials Policy Commission (see Ref. [11]) urged the US to look to renewable energy resources (solar and wind power) and urged ecological prudence to protect natural resources into the twenty-first century (see, Ref. [10, 12]). Increased environmental literacy meant legislative efforts to curb air pollution also began to take shape [13]. A flurry of books offered urgency to environmental issues of the times (see, for example Ref. [10, 14–16]), yet approaching 75 years later youth of today must confront similar catastrophic issues. In the fall of 1953, courses on the science of ecology were starting to be offered in US colleges and universities. Advanced degrees in the emerging field were growing in number. The catalyst was a groundbreaking textbook, *Fundamentals of Ecology*, by Eugene Odum [17], who noted:

*The roots of the science of ecology are old; they go deeply into the substrate of modern science and support a large and important superstructure of applied sciences. Partly because of its wide scope, few attempts have been made to present ecology as a whole and to place it in a logical perspective in relation to other divisions of biology and to other fields of learning ([17], p. v).*

The origin of environmental science, and subsequently environmental education, can be traced to the 1960s. At this time, a growing awareness of the need for interdisciplinary studies analyzing environmental issues and concerns was taking shape. Simultaneously, primarily in Western developed nations, the passage of environmental laws and protections fed an increasing public awareness of such issues. These laws focused on a wide range of issues encompassing air and water quality, waste management and cleanup, natural resource management, and protection of biodiversity [7]. Today, environmental laws are part of the fabric of most nations, as well as the basis of international law and treaties. The environmental movement and environmental education (EE) arose as a result of increased public awareness. In the US, and many developed nations, Rachel Carson's [18] *Silent Spring* inspired the public's interest and engagement with environmental issues.
