Growing Environmental Problems
The sixth edition of the Global Environment Outlook, launched during the Fourth United Nations Environment Assembly, focuses on the theme "Health of the Planet, Health of People", systematically examining the severely damaged global ecosystem and calling on countries to abandon unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and to actively engage in international cooperation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally agreed environmental goals.
The report points out that the planet is in a critical state of environmental pollution, with increasing risks to human health, and that if urgent measures are not taken immediately, pollutants will affect human fertility and neurodevelopment and cause millions of premature deaths in Asia, the Middle East and Africa by 2050.
The report, produced over five years by 250 scientists from more than 70 countries, says that the world is not on track to meet sustainable development goals by 2030 or 2050, that contamination of freshwater systems will make anti-microbial drug resistance a major cause of death, and that endocrine disruptors in pollutants will affect human fertility and children's neurodevelopment.
But the report also stresses that the international community already has the knowledge, technology and funding necessary to change outdated production patterns to more sustainable development pathways, provided it can enlist the support of the public, business and political leaders.
The report calls for an immediate response to the 8 million tonnes of plastic waste that is discharged into the oceans each year. Although the issue has received increasing attention in recent years, there is still no global agreement among countries on ways to tackle it.
Environmental education for students
The environmental issues that need to be addressed are the result of a combination of factors and are deeply connected to the way we live our daily lives, so it is expected that each of us will try to live a life that has less impact on the environment and take steps to consider the environment and environmental issues from a holistic perspective.
We need to take steps to address environmental issues in a holistic manner. Environmental education is an issue that requires cross-cutting and comprehensive efforts at every school level and in every subject area, so that environmental issues are broad and multi-faceted. Traditionally, environmental education in schools has been addressed through the educational activities of the whole school, not by setting up special subjects, but by linking them together in each subject, ethics, special activities, etc. But unfortunately, many schools do not pay much attention to the environmental education aspect.
In environmental education, the aim is for pupils to be aware of environmental issues and to be as active as possible in protecting the environment and creating a better environment. It is also important that pupils understand the responsibility and role of humans for the environment as members of the global environment and develop a proactive attitude towards the environment. It is important to develop the ability to participate in the creation of a better environment. To this end, it is important to develop an attitude of interest and willingness to participate in environmental issues and phenomena.