Earth System Education - Are We There Yet?

Paul Anderson from Bozeman Science - Planetary Boundaries links Earth Science with Sustainability through Earth System Science.
Video 1 in the 'AP Environmental Science' series at Paul Andersen's Bozeman Science.

Link to Earth System Education review post. If you teach senior secondary Earth and Environmental Science or Geography and haven't heard of Planetary Boundaries and Earth System Science as an approach to sustainability then you may be in for a pleasant surprise. 

The surprise comes in finding that Planetary Boundaries are a simple yet comprehensive graphic way to represent the distinct parts of the complex challenge of global and regional sustainability.  Unsustainability is driven by the affluence of a powerful minority of the human population - that's us! So, it follows that what is also needed is a way to estimate the capacity, resilience, interactions and potential for equitable sharing and restoration of every 'part' of the Earth System.

And this is what the Planetary Boundaries approach allows! For more on Planetary Boundaries, consider doing this SDGAcademy EdX MOOC - an online free 30-hour course of short lectures and readings. Or have a read of how the Planetary Boundaries tie with ecological economics and sustainable development here in this paper for Oxfam by Kate Raworth (Doughnut Economics). Or watch here (4min). A longer version of Kate's talk here (Why it's time for 'Doughnut Economics' TEDxAthens)
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Even though the term 'Earth System' is mentioned in almost all science curricula, most Science teachers don't currently understand, nor explicitly teach, its most compelling features. 

These include tipping points, Earth System 'modes', 'ecological drivers', 'feedbacks', abrupt changes and 'surprises' and 'teleconnections'. This is despite the fact that these are all well-established features of the Earth System, discovered in the last 20-50 years. 

Could this knowledge gap be why so many people, while very concerned and caring, still don't appreciate the scientific basis for the urgency of global sustainability? 

Could it also be why students don't feel confident to discuss and explain how the Earth works, how it is all connected, and how it responds? Could it be that perhaps this is also even a clue to the alarmingly low numbers of students choosing to study senior secondary Earth Science? 

Even though Earth System Science as a field is now nearly 200 years old, the biggest new findings are still less than 15 years old ... and 15 years is a short time in education, right? No? So, let's all catch up with and share this amazing science! Read more about what Earth System Education is here. Join the Earth System and Planetary Boundaries Education Facebook Group here. Get in touch at aaeeact@gmail.com