What are the environmental values

Educating children and adults in environmental values ​​has become practically an obligation in many countries. In Spain, for example, it has been regulated by law and has become a transversal axis of the curriculum.

But what are these values ​​and why are they so necessary? Although it cannot be considered a fully accredited area of ​​knowledge, we can affirm that its axes are strongly related to the concepts of respect for nature and the environment.

Environmental values

Environmental value could be defined as a process of learning values ​​to raise awareness of respect for the environment. In addition, awareness can be added to the protection of the natural environment.

Today, education in environmental or environmental values ​​focuses on the contribution of tools capable of emphasizing new ways of relating to the environment. In this way, social actors are relocated and human beings are made aware of the importance of respect and love for nature, both in the closest environments and on a global scale.

Another aspect that is taken care of in the study and learning of environmental value is the need to raise awareness. Human beings must accept that their participation in any event affects a global scale, so we should understand respect for the environment as respect for the world, for planet Earth as a whole.

It is important that human beings understand aspects such as maintenance and conservation. But, today, almost more important is the term protection. Given the level of deterioration that the planet is reaching according to experts, It is essential to launch common actionsfrom the simplest to the most complex, to protect the environment and the world as a whole.

Environmental values

Every human action is associated with what is called collateral contamination.. Hence, activities such as the culture of recycling, sensible and reasonable consumption or the circular economy are essential to make the most of the planet’s resources.

To involve all human actors in the need to protect the planet, environmental values ​​are born, reflected in the White Paper on Environmental Education. Let’s see what they are.

Environmental love

This feeling of affection helps us protect and preserve the place we live in. If we show love and respect for the environment, we can harmonize our life in nature, taking care of what is valuable for us and ours.

How to find that love for what surrounds us? It’s simple. Every form of life, every phenomenon that occurs on the planet, has something beautiful. From the water that falls from the sky when it rains to the smallest animal can surprise you, so investigate and let yourself go.

Environmental awareness

The knowledge that human beings have of their actions and of themselves helps him become aware of the respect he must have for everything around him. In this way, actions can be implemented that have a positive impact on the natural environment to improve the quality of life.

Being informed about the environmental impact of one’s own actions is very useful. Many organizations have done the numbers and explained them intuitively for the general public, so it’s easy for you.

Environmental Conservation

In this case we refer to the action of preserving something over time. This value helps protect and care for the good state of the environment, guaranteeing its survival for future generations.

Austerity is a perfect example for this. Our lives are full of physical objects that, many times, we do not need at all. Freeing yourself from that tendency to accumulate is as beneficial for your pocketbook as it is for the Earth.

Environmental sensitivity

Is the ability to let oneself be carried away by compassion. This feeling allows us to take special care of the environment, a fact that awakens our conservation instincts, for which we need a clean and healthy environment.

Empathy and sensitivity are natural psychological processes that are often nullified by the dizzying life in which they do not add up from the moment we are born. You are not weak for being scared by violence, nor weak for crying at destruction. Recreate your sensitivity and use it to improve things.

Environmental coexistence

We understand coexistence as the act or action of living together in harmony of a group of people together with their environment, including living beings. Without a doubt, something fundamental to learn to respect the natural space, along with the processes and dynamics that govern it.

We don’t just live with humans. There are so many of us that we have a direct effect on everything around us, from the tree in our yard to the ozone layer. Improving this coexistence is an act of conservation in itself.

Environmental respect

It is understood as the feeling that sets limits, indicating the lines of respect for nature that cannot be exceeded to avoid greater evils. That is, it involves understanding and considering the environment.

These limits are more than studied. There is a barrier between one’s own survival and the exploitation of the environment without any type of filter. A balance can be achieved, so it should be pursued.

Environmental responsibility

It is understood as the obligation to respond to acts, both one’s own and those of others. Thus, each one, as an individual and as part of a social environment, must assume and account for his or her actions before nature. This applies both before making decisions and actions and after: you either prevent your effect on the environment or compensate for it later.

Definitely, It is urgent to internalize environmental values, if only for pure selfish interest. Respecting, caring for and sustaining the natural ecosystems of this planet is everyone’s responsibility, both on an individual and social level. It is the future of life on Earth – and ours – that is at stake.

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