Books & Music...

Communication is a true art form that can be as uncreative as crudely drawn stick figures or as masterful as a Van Gogh. When it comes to discussing the environment with others, the way we communicate is almost as important as what we communicate. Good communication on the environment helps spur the conversation along instead of watching it stall out.

After hearing a national park ranger discuss their approach to solving environmental challenges in their parks, it was clear that there are effective ways to engage groups or businesses that could be combative to going green. For example, when approached by the national park to discuss a way to make a more environmentally friendly vehicle, one snow mobile company bristled at the notion that anything but their two-stroke engine was the best piece of equipment. So, the national park changed the conversation by developing a competition for colleges and universities to develop such snow mobiles. After eight years of holding the competition, the national park has now successfully engaged the snow mobile company into moving in this direction.

In the book 147 Tips for Teaching Sustainability: Connecting the Environment, the Economy, and Society, readers are challenged to take controversial topics head on and change the conversation. Issues are not always black and white and sometimes require a deeper level of thought and discussion before making headway. Here are some of the book's thoughts on this issue:

Study Controversial Issues
The brain is like any other muscle; it needs regular, vigorous exercise. Sustainability demands new and innovative thinking. We can all practice these skills by starting with the data and forming our own conclusions.

Nel Noddings has written much about a culture of care, what is required of individuals and society to create more supportive communities: “If we value critical thinking, if we commit ourselves to encouraging it, then we must allow it to be exercised on critical matters—that is, on issues of keen interest to students…. If we really believe that knowledge and critical thinking contribute to living fuller public and private lives, then we must allow the study and discussion of such critical and controversial issues” (Noddings 2003, 148). When dealing with environmental, economic, and social issues, go beyond the obvious to deeper solutions to complex problems.