Society of Environmental Understanding & Sustainability-NFP "SEUS"
SEUS Internet Newsletter
Society of Environmental Understanding & Sustainability-NFP "SEUS"
A Message from Your President
MISSION STATEMENT: "SEUS" is a neutral,
non-advocacy entity whose goal is to bring together leaders/perspectives from
government, the corporate world, and education in a non-confrontational manner
in order to learn together from each other and from those that have special
insights into environmental issues of today. "SEUS" will involve itself in those
issues where it feels it can leverage its resources to produce a positive impact
upon the environment. The first area of environmental concern is that of global
water availability for children, water's use and recycling. "SEUS" will not
limit itself exclusively to this topic but in order to make an impact, a
prioritization is necessary given our view of the immediacy of the need for
improvement of the environment.
To quote Senator Gaylord Nelson, author of the Environmental
Education Act: "...education is the only way to influence values, attitudes and
basic assumptions in a democratic society. Behavior in the long run, can best be
changed through process of education..." Our view is that "SEUS" can leverage
its resources by supporting such education on three levels 1) support of
teachers in in-service & pre-service via the funding of summer institutes,
conferences, symposiums in agreement with "SEUS's" Mission Statement, 2) helping
individuals to develop good ecological habits by "SEUS" offering instruction and
information on its website and, 3) supporting select volunteer organizations
that meet "SEUS's" criteria for environmental education projects.
One unique tactic of "SEUS" will be to foster environmental
education through the sponsoring of seminars, conferences and symposiums
involving pre-service and in-service teachers/educators that are involved in the
ecological curricula. This tactic will allow "SEUS" to substantially leverage
its resources through teachers spending their time with multiple groups of
students. A win, win, win for all involved.
Another tactic of "SEUS" will be the use of a website to
provide current information on its activities and also to provide actionable
suggestions on how individuals can positively impact the environment, especially
as concerns water, in their daily lives and routines. This tactic is also
intended to leverage "SEUS's" resources by empowering individuals to do things
daily that contribute to the betterment of the environment. SEUS will attempt to
find unique but practical suggestions so that individuals at all levels can be
and feel involved. Unique ideas from around the world will be considered for
presentation. The approach will be pragmatic changes in daily habits that can be
easily implemented. SEUS will not attempt to duplicate the myriad sources of
information on the environment and or ecology that abound on the internet.
Another tactic will be to support the efforts and projects of
volunteers with well established organizations, such as the Peace Corps
Volunteers in the underdeveloped world. Given the background of SEUS's President
in the Peace Corps, it is a fact that small amounts of resources put into the
hands of such intensely dedicated volunteers in the underdeveloped world can
have a huge positive multiplier effect on our environment. A properly
constructed well, a filtering system, a new pump, fixing rudimentary leaking
pipes and so on can have a huge relative impact on the waste system and
environment for children not to mention the positive impact on children living
in those circumstances.
The Society of Environmental Understanding and Sustainablility Hompeage