School of Forestry and Environmental Studies & Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Environ Manage. 2011 May;47(5):716-26. doi: 10.1007/s00267-011-9635-2. Epub 2011 Feb 26.
Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity-defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved.
美国和加拿大高校的环境研究和环境科学专业旨在通过实证研究和分析判断来改善环境问题。在上一篇文章（第一部分）中，我们描述了环境计划运动（EPM）并讨论了阻碍其发展的因素。在这里，我们通过提出改进策略来完成分析。我们建议环境项目围绕三个原则重新组织。首先，将人类尊严的概念（定义为健康、可持续环境中的自由和社会正义）作为首要目标。这一明确的高层次目标体现了 EPM 的人文和环境目标，并为不同参与者的努力提供更一致的方向。其次，采用明确的、真正的跨学科分析框架，以便利用多种方法在背景下调查和解决环境和社会问题。第三，制定教育计划和应用经验，为学生提供成为有效专业人员和领导者所需的技术知识、观察能力、批判性思维技能和管理能力。围绕这三个原则进行组织，将在 EPM 中建立团结，同时利用涉及的许多学科和多样化的本地条件的优势。
