ABSTRACT
The justifications given for interest in environmental education have traditionally been two. In American public education, people educate to produce an enlightened electorate. For their representative democracy to function, their citizenry must be aware of and must understand their environment. The management of natural resources requires environmental understanding and participation on the part of the voting public. A certain amount of conservation education has long been recognized as necessary to meet this demand for an informed electorate. The second major argument for environmental education has usually been the aesthetic. Appreciation of nature is recognized as the rightful pursuit of the American citizen. In every classroom some decisions can be made and some actions can be taken that will help restore environmental balance. For students, the most important outcome will be the beginning of an education in competence. They will have discovered some ways of behaving, individually, which when multiplied through a group have an appreciable effect on the real environment.
