Environmental Education for Global Environmental Issues

Abstract

34 IER Flambeau Vol. 12 No. 2 June 2005 Environmental Education for Global Environmental Issues • Fekede Tuli Introduction We, human beings, always depend on the environment for survival. Without air, water and soil none of us could exist. However, with the improvement of the means of produ~tion, mens' exploitation of the environment grew and resulted in many problems. The environment in which we live has become a threat to the very survival of human being and other living things because of the human action. There is a growing awareness today about the importance of environment. The environment has started showing its various manifestations and adverse facets in the form of extremity of climatic condition as a result of the human action; i.e. too much heat or cold, drought, frequency of flood, erosion, desertification, unprecedented neurological, orthopedic, respiratory and cardiac disease. Moreover, holes in the ozone layer of the upper atmosphere and global warming have created fears that the future of ow planet is seriously at risk. From what they see and observe, many people begun to question the ability of the planet to support the growing population. Even they started to guess that only a very short period of time may remain before the world population exceeds the ability of this planet to sustain the human species. Dunlop and Jackson (1991 :2) state that today we are aware that the global environment is fragile and the pollution of air and water become major threats to our health. The build up of chemicals in wild life and in the foods we eat have reached the level we can no longer