Environmental Education in the face of consumer society and the need for sustainability

Abstract

The worldwide demographic growth that has been occurring mainly since the 20th century, industrialization, urbanization, production and mass consumption have put the concept of sustainable development in check. An analysis in the literature that addresses this theme shows that this concept was forged from the perspective of capitalism, which always demands to raise production, consumption and profit, always in the name of development, but this often implies exploiting resources planet's natural resources in addition to its replacement capacity, in addition to causing environmental impacts that negatively affect the lives of many people. There is a need for changes in production and consumption, and Environmental Education is an essential tool in this process of building truly sustainable societies.