JMU - What Do I Need to Know?
The university will be an environmentally literate community whose members think critically and act, individually and collectively, as model stewards of the natural world. – A JMU Defining Characteristic
What do I need to know?
Of the myriad definitions of sustainability, JMU has adopted the definition used by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education: sustainability encompasses human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations. (AASHE, 2009 http://www.aashe.org/about/about.php)
Human health and well-being are dependent upon our ecosystems. Our planet supports provisioning (e.g., food, water, wood), regulating (e.g., climate, flood control, water purification), and culture (e.g., spiritual, aesthetic, and recreation).
Our individual environmental actions do matter: national parks and forests are preserved, damage to the ozone layer is being mitigated through changes in our production and use of ozone depleting substances, and eagle populations have been restored.
JMU’s environmental stewardship effort specifically focuses on environmental literacy,
critical thinking, and environmentally responsible behavior change. We strive to be “eco-WISE": wary, investigative and scientific in our approach, and environmental stewards in our actions.
