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Z. Wen
Therefore, it is especially important to establish a multi-layered system for ecological civilization education with more extensive public participation in this era. Tasked
with cultivating high-level specialized talents for the society, higher learning institutions play a non-negligible role in economic and social development. As college
graduates shoulder an important task to realize economic and social sustainability,
their awareness and ideas of ecological civilization have a direct bearing on that
process.
1. Playing a pioneering role in ecological civilization education by accelerating
reform of teaching and research system
Teaching, publicity and research of the theories, methods and key areas of the development of ecological civilization is the requirement of this national campaign and
an important task of universities and research institutes. First, ecological civilization
should be reflected in disciplinary education, so that all economic and social sectors
will establish the awareness and grasp the basic skills thereof, thus boosting industrial
upgrade. Second, great efforts must be made to develop resource and environmentrelated disciplines and cultivate specialized talents, so as to advance the development
of ecological civilization in all sectors and promote emerging industries in the field of
energy conservation and environmental protection. Third, universities’ disciplinary
advantages should be used to popularize ecological knowledge to help foster new
values among the public, urge them to be more caring and appreciative of nature,
and establish standard ecological ethics and morality. In particular, an ecological
civilization education system with Chinese characteristics should be built as soon
as possible, covering courses, teaching materials and methods, and teachers, and
be continuously improved through teaching practices across the society. Tsinghua
University, for instance, has actively promoted education in ecological civilization
and sustainable development. It has developed the courses such as Environmental
Protection and Sustainable Development (opened in 1997, covering an array of
subjects including ecology, resources, environment, ethics, economy, management
and engineering technology. It was rated as an excellent course at Beijing municipal
level and state level in 2006) and Fifteen Lectures on Ecological Civilization (opened
in 2015).
In recent years, more high-quality academic papers on “ecological civilization
education” and “green university education” have been published and relevant explorations made. For instance, Huang Baiwei and others at Peking University discovered the sizable carbon footprint of canteens in the university using quantification
standards, and proposed to mark the users’ dining carbon footprint with ecological labels. In this way, the university reduced food waste and unnecessary food
demand, improved the food carbon emission mix, cut carbon emission across the
board, promoted green university education, and achieved the goal of building a
green eco-campus. Liang Lijun, Liu Chao and others at Tsinghua University studied
Z. Wen
Therefore, it is especially important to establish a multi-layered system for ecological civilization education with more extensive public participation in this era. Tasked
with cultivating high-level specialized talents for the society, higher learning institutions play a non-negligible role in economic and social development. As college
graduates shoulder an important task to realize economic and social sustainability,
their awareness and ideas of ecological civilization have a direct bearing on that
process.
1. Playing a pioneering role in ecological civilization education by accelerating
reform of teaching and research system
Teaching, publicity and research of the theories, methods and key areas of the development of ecological civilization is the requirement of this national campaign and
an important task of universities and research institutes. First, ecological civilization
should be reflected in disciplinary education, so that all economic and social sectors
will establish the awareness and grasp the basic skills thereof, thus boosting industrial
upgrade. Second, great efforts must be made to develop resource and environmentrelated disciplines and cultivate specialized talents, so as to advance the development
of ecological civilization in all sectors and promote emerging industries in the field of
energy conservation and environmental protection. Third, universities’ disciplinary
advantages should be used to popularize ecological knowledge to help foster new
values among the public, urge them to be more caring and appreciative of nature,
and establish standard ecological ethics and morality. In particular, an ecological
civilization education system with Chinese characteristics should be built as soon
as possible, covering courses, teaching materials and methods, and teachers, and
be continuously improved through teaching practices across the society. Tsinghua
University, for instance, has actively promoted education in ecological civilization
and sustainable development. It has developed the courses such as Environmental
Protection and Sustainable Development (opened in 1997, covering an array of
subjects including ecology, resources, environment, ethics, economy, management
and engineering technology. It was rated as an excellent course at Beijing municipal
level and state level in 2006) and Fifteen Lectures on Ecological Civilization (opened
in 2015).
In recent years, more high-quality academic papers on “ecological civilization
education” and “green university education” have been published and relevant explorations made. For instance, Huang Baiwei and others at Peking University discovered the sizable carbon footprint of canteens in the university using quantification
standards, and proposed to mark the users’ dining carbon footprint with ecological labels. In this way, the university reduced food waste and unnecessary food
demand, improved the food carbon emission mix, cut carbon emission across the
board, promoted green university education, and achieved the goal of building a
green eco-campus. Liang Lijun, Liu Chao and others at Tsinghua University studied