V. Integration of Education for Sustainable Development to Statistics

         “The human assault on the terrestrial environment shows no signs of abating and some signs of spilling over into non-terrestrial environments. … Many are appalled by this destruction … because of what it implies for themselves, their children, their friends, other creatures, the biomass [global nature], and the planet we inhabit. This response is in many instances an ethical response. People judge that what is occurring is not merely irritating, inconvenient, disappointing, or unfortunate, but immoral, bad, wrong or evil.”Elliot, 2001. Normative ethics. In: (editor, D. Jamieson) A Companion to Environmental Philosophy.

         Over the past few years, “Sustainable Development” (SD) has emerged as the latest development catchphrase. A wide range of nongovernmental as well as governmental organizations have embraced it as the new paradigm of development. A review of the literature that has sprung up around the concept of SD indicates, however, a lack of consistency in its interpretation. More important, while the all-encompassing nature of the concept gives it political strength, its current formulation by the mainstream of SD thinking contains significant weaknesses. These include an incomplete perception of the problems of poverty and environmental degradation, and confusion about the role of economic growth and about the concepts of sustainability and participation. How these weaknesses can lead to inadequacies and contradictions in policy making is demonstrated in the context of international trade, agriculture, and forestry. It is suggested that if SD is to have a fundamental impact, politically expedient fuzziness will have to be given up in favor of intellectual clarity and rigor.

Sustainable development is a major theme on the scientific and political agenda. Sustainable development is unanimously accepted as a guiding principle but each policy implication thereof (e.g. a carbon tax) is heavily disputed, because of differences in interpretation of the concept of sustainable development. Different perspectives on sustainable development are related to different theories on nature and the human relationship with nature as well as to different ethical views on the relationship between "us" and men living elsewhere on the world or living in future times.

We, students, of this course now felt aware of what will happen to our world if we will not be cognizant of the future of our mother Earth. 


 Statistics plays an important role in caring for our surroundings including the vegetation around us. It is a tool in calculating the effects of man-made equipments and scenery. It will tell whether modernization is bane or boon. This will also predict our future and the age our world will have through the hands of perversion, aberrations, and indignation created by man. 

  As an Elementary teacher, I am letting my young students with their  naturally curious mind to be aware of what they can do and what they can prevent to help save Mother Nature. It was last year when I let them watch about the movie An Inconvenient Truth. This movie is from the director Davis Guggenheim. It is a passionate and inspirational look at former Vice President Al Gore's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. In this intimate portrait of Gore and his "travelling global warming show," Gore comes across as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and intent on alerting citizens to this "planetary emergency" before it's too late.

        Interspersed with the bracing facts and future predictions is the story of Gore's personal journey: from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming; to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective; to the man who almost became President but instead returned to the most important cause of his life. With an emphasis on hope, An Inconvenient Truth ultimately shows my students that global warming is no longer a political issue but rather, the biggest moral challenge facing our civilization today.

Through the use of multi-media, I am enabling my students to perceive the reality and check it against the world's past. Although their minds are very young on this issue but, they too must have this care to make them receptive to societal and environmental changes, to safeguard Mother Nature without procrastination.