Citizenship and Pathways for a Green Economy: Remarks by Under Secretary Martha Kanter at the Sustainability Education Summit
Opening
In last year's address at the U.N. Summit on Climate Change, President Obama left no doubt: it is imperative that we act now to create a sustainable future.
He said: 'Our generation's response to [the challenge of climate change] will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it — boldly, swiftly, and together — we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe. '
As the President made clear, we must not let this happen, and we will not.
But we need to commit ourselves to a Call to Action to answer the following questions:
Who will prepare the scientists, technicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and global humanitarians that can convert urgency into opportunity, replace fossil fuel dependence with clean energy innovation, and rebuild our economy and society on a new and greener foundation? Who will educate citizens ready to master these new realities and ensure exemplary stewardship of our planet for now and for future generations?
The answer is right here in this room. America's educators, in fact, our nation's entire education system must rise to this challenge, and our higher education leaders and communities, in particular, must lead the way.
Secretary Duncan – who will speak with you tomorrow – often says that we must educate our way to a better economy. To expand on his remarks, we must educate our way to a green economy and a better environment!
To that end, the Department of Education's 'Green Team" is focused on policies and strategies to educate our citizenry and to support clearly articulated education pathways toward a sustainable future.
Developing Good Environmental Citizens – Individuals and Institutions
Committed environmental citizens – students, professors, teachers, parents and community leaders are our key change-agents.
Greening our Schools and Educating Engaged Environmental Citizens
As we know, in the K-12 system, millions of students spend their days in public school facilities that have suffered from years of neglect. Many of these facilities are dilapidated, and have environmental conditions – asbestos, mold, toxic caulk – that pose serious health risks to students and staff.
According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, approximately 14 million students attend schools that are in need of extensive remediation or replacement.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are helping to change this. With stimulus funding from the Education, Treasury, Energy, Interior and Agriculture Departments, States and local governments received billions of dollars in funds, bond authority and other stimulus strategies for