EARTH DAY: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
SUPPORTING ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL HEALTH AND VITALITY
RESOURCE TOOLKIT FOR AMERICAN SPACES
This Resource Toolkit is designed for programming at American Spaces to create a greater awareness of the issues and solutions in environmental sustainability.
HOST A FILM SCREENING
Film screenings provide opportunities for rich storytelling and engaging follow-up discussion for participants to relate the film to their own lives and experiences.
Movie kits and films are accessible through Kanopy, MPLC agreement, and some are freely available online. Learn more about how to host a film screening for American Spaces.
SUGGESTED FILMS
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Everything we need to survive and live healthy lives depends on our natural environment. Environmental sustainability is careful and responsible human interaction with natural resources to conserve and protect them and their ecosystems for present and future generations. This is achieved through attention to environmental health, social equity and economic vitality.
Environmental protection and sustainability are essential for a healthy and productive life. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035, putting the United States on an irreversible path to a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.
Major environmental issues that affect us all include pollution, overpopulation, waste disposal, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, overfishing, ozone layer depletion, nonrenewable energy, public health issues, and climate change.
This toolkit provides resources to conduct in-person and virtual programs around these issues with selected resources for environmental sustainability programming.
SELECTED RESOURCES
FILMS & DISCUSSION GUIDES
ARTICLES
- Activists: Native people are best caretakers of the Amazon area
- Japanese companies use technology to fight food waste
- Kenyan makes cooking fuel from plant waste
- Ozone: Good up high, bad nearby
TALKS
- Can we solve climate change?
- The business logic of sustainability
- A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow
LESSON PLANS
- Resiliency among the Salmon people in the Yukon Delta
- Using a workshop to raise awareness of the role of English in promoting sustainable development
- Walden, a game
ONLINE COURSES
RELATED TOOLKITS
DIPLOMACY SIMULATIONS
POSTERS & SIGNAGE
AMERICAN SPACES ESHOP
GENERAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is the definition of sustainability and conservation? How can people protect and conserve our natural resources while also ensuring all people’s basic needs are met?
- The three pillars of sustainability are economic, social, and environmental. How do all three work together to take care of the world for both present and future people?
- Think about the environment you live in. What are examples of environmental challenges that affect your life? How can they be improved or solved?
- We face many sustainability challenges that must be solved through international cooperation. What environmental challenge can your country help address?
- Who are the environmental conservation leaders in your community, country, or region?
- In what ways can you be an environmental conservation leader in your own community?
Crash Course: Ecology
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The views expressed in these links and resources do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. government.
Updated January 2024
