Fashioning a Future for Energy and Environmental Education

Abstract

This issue of Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment con-
cludes a three part series of articles that have focused on energy and
environmental education and training. This three-part series addressed
the roles of academe, the public sector, and the private sector, respec-
tively, in developing a well-educated cadre of energy and environmental
professionals.
The first article, in the Fall 1996 issue, was written by an academic,
who argued for integrating traditionally technical energy and environ-
mental curricula with social, economic and political learning objectives.
Through an integrated curricula, energy and environmental profession-
als could become more effective decision makers since they would be
better prepared to address the non-technical realities that pervade the
energy and environmental field.
The second article (Winter 96-97), written by government person-
nel, considered the important role of federal, state and local governments
in promoting education programs that cut across all age groups and skill
levels. Government has recognized that in a free market economy it is
ultimately the consumption decisions of the populace that dictate our
energy and environmental conditions. Since energy resources and envi-
ronmental quality are 'public goods: the impacts from private consump-
tion decisions affect us all. Therefore, we cannot overstate the role of
government in developing a well-educated consumer responsive to pub-
lic needs and social goals.
Lastly, the third set of articles (found in this issue) discusses the
role of private trade organizations, technical associations, and companies
in fostering the continued education and training of energy and environ-
mental professionals