Recognizing that we educate in a critical moment, when deterioration
of the environment is accelerating with global ramifications, the
Earth Ethics Institute (EEI) was established in1993 under the name
Environmental Ethics Institute. It was the brain child of 3 caring
and creative faculty, Mac Smith, Norma Watkins and Tim McGuirl.
Established to inform administration, faculty and students at Miami
Dade College of the relevance of understanding natural systems that
have evolved over billions of years as a pathway to understanding
sustainable environmental practices in all activities and
disciplines, EEI provides resources, workshops, programs and
projects for the College community. In addition, the Institute
collaborates with organizations in the larger community to educate
about environmentally sustainable living and business practices.
Increasingly we are becoming aware that decisions that are good for
the Earth and its abundant diversity are not only good for humans
and beneficial to economies, but are ultimately necessary for
survival as we know it. Our educational systems must begin to
reflect this knowledge. We must imaginatively develop and apply the
vision of a sustainable way of life locally, regionally, nationally,
and globally across disciplines.
Only through understanding the interdependence of the natural world
and the place of the human species within it, will future
generations be guaranteed the world’s natural systems as we know
them.
Solutions to tomorrow’s global issues will come from students
enrolled in today’s educational institutions. We live in a
finite world with an ever expanding population. We must educate
toward an understanding of the complex and beneficial
interrelationships of natural systems as well as a respect for
finite resources. EEI works to foster the understanding that all
disciplines should educate individuals with an informed
understanding of how their specific discipline can operate with
respect for and within the boundaries of our highly evolved natural
systems.
In
short, we are hoping to inspire individuals to think outside of the
box. Every generation faces challenges. Challenge and resistance
makes evolution take place. It encourages all of us to reach
unexpected achievements or overcome what often seems impossible. We
hope those we touch will respond to today and tomorrow’s challenges
with a sensitivity for the natural systems that have sustained their
ancestors for thousands, even billions of years.
Sincerely,
Colleen Ahern-Hettich
