ABSTRACT
Futurology (defined as the science of predicting future trends) has had a mixed history in recent years. Some have dismissed futurology as science fiction. Elsewhere futurology, though having an important place in planning processes, has failed to anticipate significant trends. The failure of some futurology should not, however, detract from a very real utility. Failure itself can be systematically explained – by over-reliance on quantitative indicators, by inadequate attention to complexity, by the illusory reliance on simplistic normative models. In this paper we try to show what the role of futurology might be in a specific area: environmental education. Our objective is not only to point to different scenarios, but also to indicate what actions are called for.
