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Education, Training, and Outreach

Global climate change is increasingly an essential part of the context in which social, economic, and technological development takes place. Yet most U.S. citizens are unaware of this phenomenon and its impacts. Societal decision making needs to be based on an informed understanding of the factors driving global climate change, how these changes may manifest themselves, and how society can most effectively adapt to or limit future changes.

A variety of U.S. government agencies and their cross-cutting research programs are responsible for education, training, and outreach activities that inform the public and decision makers about global warming and its causes, the potential impacts on them as individuals and on society as a whole, the public role in identifying and developing solutions from an array of existing alternatives, and how to use new information in specific circumstances.

Society has a significant stake in the education and development of talented researchers who can question, analyze, and report results of investigations that enhance understanding of the natural and human dimensions of global climate change. For scientists to achieve their full potential, their interests and skills must be developed early in life. Long-term action planning and statewide strategies can foster innovative approaches to affect education at every level, integrating global change issues into statewide core curricula, professional and association meetings at regional and national levels, and programs conducted in museums, science centers, and community groups.

Several pieces of U.S. legislation have noted the need for increased formal and informal environmental education. Some of these laws are specific to global climate change education, while others are more general in scope. Some examples include the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the National Climate Program Act, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the Environmental and Education Act of 1990.

Mission to Planet Earth

This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program is intended to substantially improve understanding of the natural processes that govern the global environment and to assess the effects of human activities on these processes. It is expected to yield improved weather forecasts, tools for managing agriculture and forests, information for fishers and coastal planners, and, ultimately, an ability to predict how climate will change. While the program's ostensible goal is scientific understanding, its ultimate product is education in its broadest form.

One of the goals NASA created for Mission to Planet Earth is to foster the development of an informed and environmentally aware public. NASA will measure the program's success in terms of its contributions to the advancement of formal education and professional development, which provide structured opportunities for communicating the program's content to a large community.

NASA expects the program's educational resources to achieve the following objectives:

To meet these objectives, Mission to Planet Earth has formulated education programs in several areas that focus on teacher preparation, curriculum support, systemic change, and student support.

Project Earthlink

Project Earthlink is an effort led chiefly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), NASA, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The efforts of the thirteen federal agencies involved have been complemented by the Academy for Educational Development, nonprofit organizations, White House interagency committees and organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and private industry. Following are some examples of Project Earthlink activities that have improved the public's knowledge about global change issues.

Training

In May 1994, Project Earthlink coordinated a video conference broadcast for teachers featuring scientists discussing global climate change issues. Underwritten by the Department of Education, the broadcast was received by eighty schools and various ozone depletion-oriented downlink sites across the country. More than sixteen hundred teachers were involved in the briefing and continue to network on these issues.

Education

In 1995, Project Earthlink provided scholarships for a new category of projects on global change in the International Science and Engineering Fair. This initiative reached over fifteen million students in grades 9-12 in every school district in the United States and in countries worldwide, heightening student interest in global change issues as a potential research field. This successful category was continued in 1996.

Outreach

In April 1995, Project Earthlink coordinated the American Indian Earth Day program "A Gathering for the Earth." Indigenous people across the United States shared their diverse knowledge and beliefs regarding environmental stewardship. The live broadcast celebration reached a wide-ranging audience of students, educational TV networks, communities, libraries, museums, and federal government agencies. The program was organized around what the Native Elders referred to as the Four Directions--Air, Water, Land and Living Beings--with segments of roundtable discussions with Elders and examples of environmentally sustainable practices. This effort exemplifies the U.S. commitment to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit Agenda 21's component for involving indigenous people in global change discussions.

The Global Change Research Act of 1990

The Global Change Research Act of 1990 established the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This interagency collaboration among fifteen federal agencies has a multi-pronged approach to educating a diverse set of information users.

For example, the USDA Global Change Program Office publishes a monthly newsletter on current activities in the global change arena. Besides distributing print versions to a broad audience, USDA provides on-line access to the newsletter through the Internet.

To train the next generation of scientists, the U.S. Global Change Research Program supports undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral participation in ongoing scientific research activities. To meet the needs of formal educators, the program provides resources for statewide action planning, teacher enhancement, curriculum support, and select student support programs.

Education and Training

Global climate change education and training aims to promote understanding of the Earth system and how it is changing to ensure that societal decision making regarding climate issues is based on a thorough body of knowledge. Global change is integrated into formal education and training in many ways: teaching global issues with a focus on critical national and world problems, cutting-edge scientific research and methods with an interdisciplinary scope based on the newest technologies, and incorporation into courses for business and industry.

Global climate change education holds great potential for engaging significantly increased numbers of students in the study of science, mathematics, and geography. In global change education, the emphasis of the individual U.S. government agencies has historically been aimed broadly at the university undergraduate and graduate levels. Current programs, while continuing the focus on higher-level education, are working more comprehensively to make available educational resources at levels from kindergarten onward, not only to inspire students to undertake scientific careers but also to stimulate noncareer scientific literacy.

One way to encourage and empower students to participate in problem solving and to become comfortable with science is to engage them in authentic scientific investigation. Active participation in the ongoing investigation of Earth and the environment in a global context is applicable at differing levels of sophistication for children in elementary school through postdoctoral graduate research programs.

Efforts have also been undertaken to train the educators--especially those teaching classes from kindergarten through high school--to enable them to articulate global change-related issues and to train them in incorporating these issues into their lesson plans. Educators in both formal and informal programs identify training as critical to increasing the probability that high-quality educational materials will actually be used and global climate change concepts will be integrated into multiple disciplines at all levels of education.

Graduate and postdoctoral fellowships continue to be the major recipients of educational funding from federal agencies, contributing to the global change research and knowledge base and creating a cadre of scientists who cooperate with educators to communicate scientific information to diverse audiences. The preponderance of the U.S. climate change education focus is in this area, including a diverse array of research projects, some of which are discussed in chapter 6 of this report.

Following is a sampling of some of the current U.S. education and training-oriented programming efforts.

GLOBE

Administered by NOAA, NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) brings together students, educators, and scientists throughout the world to monitor the global environment. The program is designed to increase environmental awareness of individuals throughout the world, contribute to our scientific understanding of the Earth, and improve student achievement in science and mathematics.

GLOBE's worldwide network is comprised of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, representing over 3,000 schools in forty-eight countries. These students make scientific observations at or near their schools in the areas of atmosphere, hydrology, land cover/biology, and soils, and report their findings to the network.

The environmental science community is involved in the design and implementation of GLOBE to ensure that GLOBE students' environmental measurements make a significant contribution to the global environmental data base. International scientists participate in selecting GLOBE scientific measurements, developing measurement procedures, and ensuring overall quality control of data. The data acquired and the resulting global environmental images are shared among participants.

Junior Solar Sprint

This Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored educational program teaches sixth-, seventh-, and eight-grade students theoretical and hands-on engineering skills. It encourages students to use math and science principles and their imaginations in a fun learning experience that stimulates enthusiasm for science.

The program culminates in the construction of a solar-powered vehicle model designed to complete a 20-meter (22-yard), wire-guided sprint race. Working in teams, the students are provided with kits that include a motor and a photovoltaic panel. The chassis, wheels, and transmission are made from materials of the students' choosing.

Begun in 1990 as a pilot program, by 1996 Junior Solar Sprint had expanded to eighty-three host sites in twenty-six states, involving 100,000 students and 15,000 teachers.

Global Change Teacher Packet

The Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey has produced 20,000 copies of the Global Change Teacher Packet, with a poster and set of classroom activities. These multimedia materials include modules on the greenhouse effect, geologic time and environmental changes, and the carbon cycle. The teaching packet was subsequently reformatted for Internet distribution. A new multimedia CD-ROM, "GeoMedia2," was also created, incorporating global change topics.

SEED at ORISE

The Science/Engineering Education Division (SEED) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) develops and administers collaborative research appointments, graduate and postgraduate fellowships, scholarships, and other programs that capitalize on the resources of federal facilities across the nation and the national academic community. The aim is to enhance the quality of scientific and technical education and literacy, thereby increasing the number of graduates in science and engineering fields, particularly those related to energy and the environment.

The Global Change Education Resource Guide

Produced by NOAA, the Global Change Education Resource Guide is a multimedia set of materials with videotape, CD-ROM, full-color overhead transparencies/slides with scripts, IUCC/World Meteorological Organization fact sheets, articles for general audiences, classroom activities, and a resource bibliography. Topics include natural variability, the greenhouse effect, sea level rise, ozone depletion, ecosystem response, and decision making under scientific uncertainty.

An example of an interagency collaboration, EPA, DOE, NASA, USDA, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of State (DOS) printed 26,500 copies of the Resource Guide and distributed them directly to formal and informal educators nationwide. These copies were duplicated for further distribution at education workshops on global change held throughout the country.

Global Change Education Program

The DOE Global Change Education Program has three coordinated components aimed at providing both research and educational support to postdoctoral scientists, to graduate students, and to faculty and undergraduates at minority colleges and universities. One-third of postdoctoral fellows serve their appointments at NASA, NOAA, NSF, and USDA laboratories.

Once every two years, the program sponsors a workshop to provide a forum for current fellows to begin the interdisciplinary networking that is necessary for integrating and assessing their results and addressing global change policy issues. Graduate fellows must spend at least six weeks at DOE or other Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources laboratories to acquaint themselves with ongoing multidisciplinary research programs in global change. Annual reporting of research occurs at national meetings organized for recipients. Summaries of research results are published in a compendium.

The Sea Grant Program

NOAA developed and supported complementary teacher training programs for in-service education in the form of a four-year national train-the-trainers effort for informal educators through the Sea Grant College Program. Over 15,000 educators have benefited from this program and its ancillary activities, such as workshops for teachers and students, newsletters, presentations at professional meetings, articles in professional journals, and community outreach.

DoD promoted education of minority teachers and teachers of minority students through Operation Pathfinder. The program's focus is the potential impacts of global climate change on marine ecosystems. The program is conducted jointly throughout the NOAA Sea Grant Education Program in the coastal and Great Lakes regions of the United States.

NSF supports teacher training in global change through grants for national and regional programs. For example, a four-year Gulf-South Atlantic global change teacher education project was conducted through the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant consortium.

Project NOVA

Pre-service education has been identified as an approach to train emerging teachers earning degrees in education from colleges and universities. NASA's Project NOVA is an example of providing support to university teams (from Education and Science Departments) to develop courses and/or course modules for students seeking teacher certification. Currently, a NASA proposal solicitation for Pre-Service Teacher Enhancement seeks to conduct workshops for students of education that will provide exposure to Earth system science and training/access to available curriculum support materials.

Public Outreach

Outreach is a crucial component of global change education, and is the area that can reach the largest number of individuals. The U.S. government is directly involved in a variety of public outreach efforts, and is indirectly involved through state and local outreach programs.

Outreach activities include programs in museums, science centers, nature centers, youth programs, adult continuing education, and displays in shopping malls and other public places. Programming in this area ranges from lectures to multimedia presentations.

Multimedia communication resources provide a valuable mechanism for communicating the complex, interdisciplinary nature of global change research. Federal agencies have historically contributed resources and materials on global change and will continue to do so.

State and local governments are targeted for global change outreach because they have regulatory authority over many direct and indirect sources of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, local governments define land use, zoning, transportation, and procurement policy; operate landfills; monitor air quality; pass and enforce building codes; and regulate parking. Outreach programs can assist state and local governments in analyzing their options and determining the environmental and economic impacts of mitigation policies on their region.

EPA and DOE have taken leading roles in coordinating public-private partnerships through a wide variety of programs generated by the U.S. Climate Change Action Plan, which was signed by President Clinton in 1993. In addition, the United States has established a White House Climate Change Task Force to coordinate and expand activities among agencies aimed at informing the public and interested parties about climate change, especially the Administration's policy and international negotiating positions.

Finally, Internet sites are rapidly being identified as a cost-effective way for U.S. government agencies and others to conduct outreach efforts and to facilitate the dissemination of information on global climate change and other subjects to the widest possible range of interested parties both in the United States and worldwide. Many U.S. government agencies already have Internet sites on the World Wide Web, and it is becoming more common for global change segments to be featured on agency-sponsored or -supported sites. A vast array of information and scientific data is available from U.S. government agencies, programs supported by U.S. government funding, nongovernmental organizations, and an enormous number of other interested parties. Some of these programs are described in this section.

National Park Service's Olympic Exhibit

The Department of the Interior's National Park Service developed an exhibit about global sustainability issues to educate visitors to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. An accompanying six-minute video illustrated case studies using renewable technologies, sustainable design, and collaborative approaches.

Reporting on Climate Change: Understanding the Science

Produced and published by the nonprofit National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center (EHC), and supported by NOAA, Reporting on Climate Change: Understanding the Science is one of a series of reporter's guides designed to enhance public understanding of the significant environmental health risks and challenges facing modern society (NSC 1994).

This reporter's guide deals exclusively with elements related to global change and contains both subject-specific chapters that explain particular issues in detail, as well as more general chapters focused on strategies for successful science reporting, interaction with the scientific community, and understanding scientific reporting methods and nuances. It contains a glossary and list of sources of additional information (environmental, industry, governmental, international, etc.).

Since the guide's publication in 1994, more than 10,000 copies have been distributed to journalists. In March 1995, 1,000 copies of the guide were distributed to the working press at the Berlin Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention to facilitate the media's comprehension of the scientific and technical issues being discussed.

DOD Initiatives

President Clinton signed an Executive Order in February 1995, directing the declassification of imagery obtained by the first generation of photo-reconnaissance satellites. More than 800,000 satellite images collected between 1960 and 1972 are designated for declassification under this order. The public will be able to access these records through the National Archives facility at College Park, Maryland.

DOE Regional Roundtables

After the signing of the Climate Change Action Plan in the fall of 1993, in the spring of 1994 DOE held roundtable meetings with various segments of the energy industry to discuss implementation of DOE's planned energy partnership programs. Workshop participants were asked to advise DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy about how to improve the quality of the individual program implementation plans, as well as the overall package of initiatives. Attendees represented a diverse group of interests, including manufacturers, builders, utility executives, and engineers, and offered a variety of perspectives on the programs. These meetings were instrumental in shaping the final energy partnership programs, and many of the participants' suggestions were incorporated into the revisions.

IREC's PARK POWER

With the support of DOE, EPA, and others, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) created a program entitled PARK POWER: Using Solar Energy for Public Spaces. Initially, IREC distributed an EPA-funded procurement guidebook entitled Procurement Guide for Renewable Energy Systems: A Guidebook for State and Local Government Agencies, and held one-time workshops with state and municipal parks departments. This procurement guidebook is the foundation of IREC's "workshop in a box" series, which represents an effort to develop techniques and strategies to make state-based renewable-energy procurement activities more effective (IREC 1993).

The first efforts were targeted at state and municipal parks departments and were based on the successes with renewable-energy systems in U.S. national parks. Recent efforts have been tailored to meet the needs of individual parks department staffs in order to reach IREC's goal of routine purchases of renewable-energy systems by procurement officials.

EPA's State and Local Climate Change Program

This EPA program provides outreach assistance, including training workshops and reference manuals, preparing greenhouse gas emissions reports, developing comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction plans, testing innovative policies, disseminating results, providing education and outreach materials, and examining regional impacts of mitigation policies. The program is a catalyst that enables decision makers to understand and act on the risks associated with global warming.

Among the strategies identified in the state mitigation plans are: emission caps and trades, energy-efficient mortgages, revised building codes, incentives for purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles, afforestation, and partnership programs.

At the local level, the program is working in partnership with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to assist cities and counties through two ICLEI programs.

Ocean Planet

On Earth Day, April 22, 1995, the Ocean Planet exhibit opened at the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, D.C. Organized by the museum and the Smithsonian Institution's Environmental Awareness Program, the exhibit promotes the celebration, understanding, and conservation of the world's oceans, and includes a component on the impacts of climate change. During the year it appeared at the Museum of Natural History, Ocean Planet attracted nearly two million visitors. After April 1996 it was converted into a traveling exhibit, and will continue traveling nationwide until 1998.

A World Wide Web site was set up in May 1995, for individuals who cannot see the exhibition or who wish to have additional information. Visitors to the Internet site can "walk through" the exhibit, as well as view programs and materials for educators, and learn about exhibit-related events and other activities. It is anticipated that millions of people around the world will view the exhibition itself, the web site, articles, advertising inserts, and electronic media coverage during Ocean Planet's tour.

ENERGY STAR®

The outreach components of ENERGY STAR® programs raise the level of public consciousness regarding climate change in concrete, easily understandable, and relevant everyday terms. Following are some highlights of ENERGY STAR programs. Chapter 4 of this communication presents other aspects of ENERGY STAR programs in greater detail.

Global Climate Change Internet Sites Sponsored or Supported by the U.S. Government

http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming--This EPA-sponsored site contains information about global warming; the latest developments in the field (conferences, research, and solutions); the projected impacts of global warming; international and U.S. government policies and programs; opportunities for individuals, states, localities, and businesses to reduce the impacts of global warming; and easy ways to obtain more information.

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/mtpe--The Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) site includes data concerning MTPE programs, projects, and priorities, as well as information about NASA Headquarters and Field Centers, which both participate in developing MPTE's sustainable education strategy and conduct MTPE educational programs.

http://www.usgcrp.gov--The U.S. Global Change Research Program site features information regarding USGCRP-sponsored and -related programs and web site links, as well as educational resources.

http://www.eren.doe.gov--Sponsored by DOE for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN), this site provides information on energy-efficiency events, initiatives, and activities; includes a listing of clean-energy web sites; and contains information targeted for students working on science projects regarding energy-efficiency and renewable-energy issues. It also answers energy-related questions submitted via e-mail.

http://www.state.gov/www/global/oes/envir.html--The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs sponsors this site, which contains foreign policy-related information regarding climate change, including speeches on relevant issues.

http://www.globe.gov--This web site provides information about the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment program and contains categories of interest to prospective visitors (students, scientists, parents, etc.) to the site. Each day, images from the GLOBE student data sets are posted on the site, allowing students and visitors to visualize the student environmental observations.

http://www/ji.org--This web site is designed to be an on-line resource for news and information about worldwide Joint Implementation activities. It includes official information from the United States Initiative on Joint Implementation, other government programs that support these activities, and information on private-sector projects to reduce or sequester greenhouse gas emissions.

http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov--The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center helps international researchers, policymakers, and educators evaluate complex environmental issues, including potential climate change, associated with elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other radioactively active trace gases. The Center is funded through a grant from DOE.

http://www.gcrio.org/csp/webpage.html--This web site contains information about the U.S. Country Studies Program, which is assisting fifty-five developing countries and countries with economies in transition in conducting climate change studies. The page includes program information and history, detailed information on each of the studies, workshop information, lists of contacts, and technical information resources.

http://www.weea.org/worldwide--The World Energy Efficiency Association maintains this site, with assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The site is a full-text technical library of approximately thirty documents relating to energy efficiency.

http://www.wri.org/climate--The World Resources Institute web site features educational materials on global environment and development issues. WRI disseminates those materials through networks and workshops, works internationally with educational organizations to adapt these materials for use abroad, and partners with U.S. educational organizations to promote and incorporate environmental education into mainstream U.S. education.

http://www.ciesin.org--The Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network site contains a variety of information, including interactive applications, metadata and data resources, information systems and resources, and programs, such as the Global Change Research Information Office.

http://www.crest.org--The Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology's site contains information on sustainable energy and development. It includes listings of related data bases, web sites, relevant documents, mailing lists, sustainable energy software, and environmental education and workshop information.

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html--The Smithsonian's Ocean Planet exhibit is presented on the Internet for people unable to attend the traveling exhibit or who may want additional information. Site visitors can take a virtual tour of the exhibit, use on-line educational materials, view information about special events, see listings of related publications, and select from other options.

Future Directions--The President's Council on Sustainable Development

Established in 1993, the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) is comprised of thirty-five leaders from industry, all levels of government, and diverse nongovernmental organizations. The Council's 1996 report Sustainable America: A New Consensus for Prosperity, Opportunity and a Healthy Environment for the Future articulated ten goals related to health and environment, economic prosperity, equity, conservation of nature, stewardship, sustainable communities, civic engagement, population, international responsibility, and education (EOP/CSD 1996b).

Education is a primary vehicle to help individuals and decision makers make informed choices that advance sustainable development. Recommendations for implementing the Council's education policy are presented in Education for Sustainability: An Agenda for Action, a two-year collaborative effort among hundreds of leaders across the nation representing government, business, nongovernmental organizations, and educational communities (EOP/CSD 1996a). The Agenda outlines potential projects, programs, and opportunities that will encourage education for sustainability as a critical part of a lifelong learning process.

PCSD established the Education for Sustainability Working Group (EWG) to support partnerships among the education and extension networks, government, and the private sector. The EWG will provide national and international leadership that supports collaborative partnerships between the public and private sectors, interagency cooperation, federal policies, and coordination and implementation of education for sustainability programs.

The EWG will report on the status and future of education for sustainability, provide technical assistance to education leaders, manage a federal interagency working group, promote linkages with PCSD task forces and working groups, and coordinate education outreach efforts. It will communicate a consistent message that supports education for sustainability and advances the Administration's commitment to a healthy environment, world-class education, and a prosperous economy. Following are some descriptions of EWG initiatives.

Business Forum for Sustainable Development

The business community has an expressed interest in our nation's educational system, since the students of today are the work force of tomorrow. Business brings a number of resources to the table, from financial support to technical skills to research.

Business can support education for sustainability through mentoring programs, internships, and school-to-work opportunities. It can bring professionals into classrooms as guest teachers and students into the business environment to observe how employees tackle real-world problems. A business forum can advance education for sustainability by bringing together diverse businesses to train employees, shift production processes, educate communities about sustainable business practices, and participate in curriculum development activities with professional societies and graduate schools.

National Sustainable Development Extension Network

A national Sustainable Development Extension Network will build on existing federal extension services, such as USDA's Cooperative Extension System, NOAA's Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, the Department of Commerce's Manufacturing Extension Partnership, NASA's Space Grant Program, and the Small Business Administration's Small Business Development Centers. By using existing infrastructure, coordinating national policy and programs, and responding to community needs related to sustainability, this national network will help meet the education, training, information, and technology transfer needs of communities, states, and regions in planning sustainable courses of action.

School Construction Initiative

The extensive renovation and new construction taking place across the country present an opportunity to promote energy efficiency and pollution reduction in the nation's schools.

The EWG will continue to work with EPA to investigate the possibilities for regulatory streamlining incentives for schools to provide superior environmental performance. The EWG and EPA will also explore the possibilities for granting tradable emission-reduction credits for community initiatives in land-use planning.

The EWG is also working with DOE to determine how its "conservation protocol"-- which sets a performance-based standard for energy efficiency in public buildings--might be used to leverage financing. This program also provides an opportunity for a comprehensive education program associated with this initiative. Based upon building design, pollution reduction, waste stream management, community decision making, and a multidisciplinary curriculum on sustainability, this initiative will provide a local, relevant focus on complex issues faced by individuals, organizations, and communities.

State Capacity Building

Building state capacity to integrate concepts of sustainability into existing formal and informal education programs and lifelong learning opportunities is essential to developing national literacy in education for sustainability. NASA, EPA, and USDA support a public-private education partnership that has created capacity among fifty state teams. This partnership continues to devise innovative ways to provide resources and expertise to states for capacity building, curriculum enhancement, public-private partnerships, and professional development. Federal agencies will work collaboratively with state teams organized through this initiative and through private-sector partners, such as the National Environmental Education Advancement Project.

International Program

As a follow-up to U.S. leadership during the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in April 1996, the EWG and the State Department will work with UNESCO to develop the Work Program the Commission requested at that time. The State Department is leading an effort to develop and maintain an Internet-based international data base of education for sustainability resources and programs.

The sheer size and diversity of the United States necessitates a variety of education, training, and outreach programs that support education for sustainability and are coordinated and supported at the federal level. However, to ensure their local relevance, these programs should be carried out at the state and local levels. A number of federal agencies with regional offices throughout the country (e.g., EPA, USDA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) could facilitate the dissemination of sustainability information.

Throughout 1997 various government agencies are hosting numerous climate change outreach events across the country, such as "town hall" formats, science-oriented regional workshops, and debates. These events are designed to enhance public comprehension of global change issues and to help citizens envision how climate change may affect their communities. ~~

Next: Chapter 8. International Activities