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Psychological theory and research can make key contributions to sustainability scholarship and practice, as is demonstrated here in the field of higher education pedagogy. College students undergo profound changes in epistemological assumptions and in identity during their undergraduate years. Data on the Measure of Intellectual Development for students participating in learner-centred pedagogies at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, showed a trend toward more complex thinking by these students (N = 153). Qualitative data on student identity development associated with transdisciplinary, project-based campus sustainability courses were collected at Canada's University of Prince Edward Island and at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Findings revealed the identity of "learner" blending with that of "change agent"; a greater sense of identity in relation to the campus community and the different perspectives of its stakeholders, the sustainability movement; and a sense of empowerment backed up by practical skills. Sustainability poses new challenges for intellectual-moral development and identity development. Psychological theory gives insights into how pedagogies should be designed to challenge students just beyond their level of intellectual, moral, and identity development, in order to expose them to intellectual-moral growth and identity alternatives conducive to the complexities of sustainability advocacy and practice. (Contains 2 figures, 4 tables, and 6 notes.)

Is it feasible and appropriate to develop a sustainability metrics which captures cosmological-spiritual dimensions of un/sustainability? Departing from the supposition that the crisis of unsustainability is a crisis of worldview and misguided cosmology which needs redirection on a cultural and global scale, this essay introduces the notion of a diagnostic instrument with which metaphysical aspects of un/sustainability may be assessed. Using the ecological footprint as a template, the essay proposes the "spiritual handshake" as a complementary analysis tool to ascertain the im/balance of personal self-interest versus goodwill and service to the common good. The paper outlines the conceptual foundations and metaphorical content of the spiritual handshake, suggests a set of assessment indicators, and applies the tool to a case study: that of the Terminator Gene. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

The question posed by the "Canadian Journal of Environmental Education" volume 11, "where is the place for religion in environmental education?" is rephrased in this essay to become, "where is the place for a religious view of the order of nature in environmental education?" Relying on the writings of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a proponent of the perennial philosophy and an eminent scholar of Islam and comparative religion, I use this paper to explore the notion of a religious order of nature and, in extension, sacred cosmology as an alternative worldview on the pathway toward sustainability. I maintain that environmental education, in particular, and environmental studies, more generally, bear responsibility to re-introduce, on a cultural level and global scale, lost dimensions of a religious-spiritual knowledge of nature. This includes reclaiming environmental ethics embedded in timeless metaphysical, epistemological, and ontological understandings of the cosmos, and validating non-scientific ways of knowing. To ensure true and lasting progress toward sustainability, it seems vital to address the global crisis of unsustainability more seriously as a crisis of worldview, and to strengthen a consequent transformation of perception. Providing alternative world-views which hold promise for sustainability, with environmental education charting the path toward a paradigm shift, is particularly critical in the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which so far is mostly silent on the deepest dimensions of unsustainability. (Contains 4 figures and 1 note.)

Sustainability in higher education is dominated by practical "greening the campus" programs and initiatives. This paper examines sustainable university research and development projects as part of the "greening the campus" spectrum, yet distinct in their specific holistic and scientific orientation. Sustainable university projects seek institutional transformation in strategic and systematic ways; they perceive universities as open, dynamic systems capable of learning and change. Within this system, the two interlocking subsystems of academia and operations provide many leverage points for sustainable development; when utilized together, synergies for sustainability in higher education emerge which may quicken whole-systems transformation. Sustainable university research and development not only describes and monitors such opportunities and processes of institutional transformation, it also directs institutional development toward a more sustainable university. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Purpose: The purpose is to ascertain the state of sustainability in higher education (SHE) in Atlantic Canada (sustainability education/curriculum; research and scholarship; operations; faculty/staff development and rewards; community outreach and service; student opportunities; and institutional mission, structure and planning). Design/methodology/approach: All Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) member institutions in Atlantic Canada were sampled in 2005/2006 to examine sustainability performance. Data were collected using the sustainability assessment questionnaire (SAQ) and were triangulated with document, webpage, and additional survey research. Findings: The majority of higher education institutions in Atlantic Canada are engaged in sustainable development work, most notably in the area of curriculum. Sustainability research and scholarship is spread amongst faculty and students; many institutions have inter- or multi-disciplinary research structures to address sustainability questions across campus and in collaboration with community partners. Much unrealized potential remains within physical operations, faculty/staff development and rewards, and student opportunities. No single university emerges as the Atlantic Canadian SHE leader; Acadia University (Wolfville, Nova Scotia), St Francis Xavier University (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) and Mt Allison University (Sackville, New Brunswick) excel in a regional peers comparison. Research limitations/implications: The Atlantic Canada study commences a series of five regional SHE assessments in Canada. Practical implications: The study strengthens ongoing efforts for creative institutional solutions to reduce the ecological footprint of higher education institutions. It contributes to SHE knowledge transfer and capacity-building. Originality/value: The study is the first regional SHE performance assessment in Canada. It serves as a pilot study and strategic planning tool. (Contains 9 tables, 2 figures, and 2 notes.)

Purpose: To assess the Luneburg Sustainable University Project (the Project) in a non-European international context; to relate the project scholarly approach to selected scholarly and practice-oriented North American sustainability in higher education (SHE) methods; to analyze project innovations against North American initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: Benchmarking indicators were developed inductively in four SHE areas--governance/administration, curriculum/student opportunities, research/scholarship, and operations--via thematic content analysis of 15 descriptions of USA and Canadian universities active in SHE. Data were triangulated with data from the four Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Campus Sustainability Leaders 2006. Findings: The assessment against selected North American peers suggests that the project is unique in its scholarly approach to and scientific foundation of sustainability in higher education. The transdisciplinary transformative case study is not replicated at any of the comparison institutions; however, elements of the approach and scholarly framework can be found at all North American universities participating in this assessment. North American institutions tend to excel in operational innovations to keep abreast of international developments, University of Luneburg is encouraged to commit to a climate-neutral campus strategy and to implement a sustainability management system, amongst other initiatives. Practical implications: Knowledge transfer and capacity-building North American post-secondary institutions can learn from the theoretically-guided, applied research-based approach to SHE. Through intensified exchange partnerships with North American peers, the project and the University of Luneburg stand to profit from community-based research approaches and the practice-oriented work of USA and Canadian campus sustainability offices. Originality/value: The paper contributes an "outsider's perspective" to the project evaluation. Methodologically, the paper contributes to inductive SHE indicator development. (Contains 5 tables and 4 notes.)

Purpose: To introduce the campus sustainability assessment framework (CSAF) as a campus sustainability audit methodology; to share student campus sustainability audit research; to reflect on using the CSAF for pedagogy; to review the usefulness of the CSAF as an action research instrument; to encourage other faculty/sustainability educators to incorporate the CSAF into their curriculum; to present the Sierra Youth Coalition, Canada Sustainable Campuses project as a campaign worth emulating in other countries; to build the body of knowledge in using sustainability audits to integrate research, education, and campus operations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes the Sierra Youth Coalition Sustainable Campuses project, a national student campus sustainability campaign in Canada, and how its campaign tool, the CSAF, was implemented at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) to facilitate project-based sustainability education. The paper shares the author's rationale and experience of using the CSAF to conduct UPEI's first campus sustainability audit, and of offering the CSAF for course credit. Findings: The UPEI CSAF experience suggests the CSAF is a constructive tool for post-secondary sustainability education; that it is possible to assess the ten CSAF sections (water, materials, air, energy, land; health and wellbeing, community, knowledge, governance, economy and wealth) and the total of 169 indicators in less than one academic year; and that students value the hands-on learning, practical outcomes, and national recognition afforded by conducting a campus sustainability audit using the CSAF. Practical implications: The UPEI experience can encourage other universities and colleges, in particular post-secondary institutions in Canada, in synergizing sustainability research, education, and campus operations. Originality/value: The paper will help Canadian faculty to evaluate the CSAF as a pedagogical tool and as an audit instrument. Non-Canadian readers may glean insights for integrating student activism into higher education for sustainability. Researchers, educators, and university administrators keen to improve the sustainability performance of their institution can benefit by learning from UPEI's integrative approach. (Contains 1 figure and 2 notes.)

Many forms of adventure therapy, in particular wilderness therapy, rely on challenges in the outdoors to achieve objectives of client change. While nature is drawn on as a medium for therapy and healing, some adventure therapists give nature little if any mention when it comes to explaining therapeutic success. The dominant paradigm in psychology and psychotherapy provides insights as to why the contributions of nature in the curative relationship are, at times, marginalized. To more fully understand why and how adventure therapy works, the role of nature as a force in human development needs to be considered. It is proposed that ecotherapy and nature-guided therapy are viable alternative theoretical frameworks for adventure therapy. Ecotherapy and nature-guided therapy provide a critical perspective on adventure and wilderness therapy in that they recognize a social, cultural, and environmental/ecological context to human well-being and behavior. Furthermore, they explicitly acknowledge the potential healing power of natural environments and natural features. Adventure therapy and wilderness therapy may be revisioned in light of ecotherapy and nature-guided healing.

The anthropomorphic paradigm in psychology and psychotherapy has prevented nature from being considered a factor in the curative relationship in adventure therapy. The effectiveness of therapeutic interventions are credited instead to human factors such as program design and facilitation. A paradigm shift is needed in adventure therapy to accept and honor the healing powers of nature. (Contains 50 references.) (TD)

Reviews Kohlberg's and Gilligan's models of interpersonal moral development and identifies theoretical concepts relevant to understanding the development of environmental values. Outlines Gilligan's narrative approach, in which participants recount moral conflict and decision making. Examines this approach's advantages as an environmental education tool. Contains 13 references. (SV)

Abstract Adventure therapy aims to heal participants of mental and/or emotional imbalances, and/or of physical and/or behavioural distress. In efforts to effect individual change, the responsibility to heal ecological ills [...]

Environmental activism, defined as a range of difficult pro-environmental behaviors, is analyzed within the conceptual framework of Significance Quest Theory (SQT). In Study 1, 40 interviews were carried out on two groups of people in the European Union: Committed Actors for Nature (CANs, n = 25) versus Committed Actors for Society (CASs, n = 15). Results demonstrated that Significance Quest (SQ) motivates each group to be strongly committed to their chosen action and the main difference between them being in their ideology (pro-social vs. pro-environmental). In Study 2 (N = 131), the relationship between SQ and intention to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors was assessed. Results suggested that the higher the SQ, the higher the tendency to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors, but not average or easy ones. Moreover, the higher the pro-environmental ideology, the stronger the indirect effect of SQ on difficult behavior through willingness to sacrifice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change and its impacts have ethical dimensions, for instance carbon footprint equity concerns. World issues, including the state of the ecosphere and biodiver­sity, regularly see political leaders, NGOs, business representatives, religious/spiritual orga­nizations, academics, and others engage in international aviation-dependent meetings to address critical challenges facing humanity and the planet. Yet, climate scientists and advocates call for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to cap the increase in global temperatures to 2ºC. Aviation emissions resulting from international meetings raise questions that are not silenced by GHG emissions offsetting. The era of climate change and 'peak oil' poses ethical challenges for holding international in-person religious and academic events, especially when the events propound an environmentalist concern and when aviation use is assumed. This paper raises ques­tions regarding the ecological impacts of large international events and focuses the 'inconvenient truths' associated with international aviation in the era of global warming. The Parliament of the World's Religions, the largest multifaith gathering in the world, serves as a case study. The paper emphasizes the view that faith-based/faith-inspired organizations have a special responsibility for leadership in policy and praxis on the moral imperatives of sustainability, sustainable development and climate justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change and its impacts have ethical dimensions, for instance carbon footprint equity concerns. World issues, including the state of the ecosphere and biodiver­sity, regularly see political leaders, NGOs, business representatives, religious/spiritual orga­nizations, academics, and others engage in international aviation-dependent meetings to address critical challenges facing humanity and the planet. Yet, climate scientists and advocates call for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to cap the increase in global temperatures to 2ºC. Aviation emissions resulting from international meetings raise questions that are not silenced by GHG emissions offsetting. The era of climate change and 'peak oil' poses ethical challenges for holding international in-person religious and academic events, especially when the events propound an environmentalist concern and when aviation use is assumed. This paper raises ques­tions regarding the ecological impacts of large international events and focuses the 'inconvenient truths' associated with international aviation in the era of global warming. The Parliament of the World's Religions, the largest multifaith gathering in the world, serves as a case study. The paper emphasizes the view that faith-based/faith-inspired organizations have a special responsibility for leadership in policy and praxis on the moral imperatives of sustainability, sustainable development and climate justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Higher Education is the property of Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Environmental Education is the property of Canadian Journal of Environmental Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Environmental Education is the property of Canadian Journal of Environmental Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)