The document discusses the role of science in pursuing sustainable development and the values of teaching science. Regarding sustainable development, it states that science should provide information to help formulate environmental and development policies and enhance understanding of issues. It also discusses how science can help in areas like energy use, closing substance cycles, environmentally friendly transportation, green chemistry, biotechnology, and sustainability. Regarding values of teaching science, it outlines intellectual, social, practical, disciplinary, recreational, moral, and aesthetic values gained from learning science.

1. Science for Sustainable
Development & Values
of Teaching Science
Dr Sajeena S.

2. Science for Sustainable
Development
• World Commission on Environment and
Development defines sustainable
development as “development that meets
the needs of present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”
• Sustainable development seeks to reconcile
environmental protection and development;
it means nothing more than using resources
no faster than they can regenerate
themselves, and releasing pollutants to no
greater extent than natural resources can
assimilate them.

3. One role of the sciences should be to provide information to
better enable formulation and selection of environment and
developmental policies in the decision-making process. In order
to fulfil this requirement, it will be essential to enhance
scientific understanding, improve long-term scientific
assessments, strengthen scientific capacities in all countries and
ensure that the sciences are responsive to emerging needs.
Meeting scientific research needs in the
environment/development field is only the first step in the
support that the sciences can provide for the sustainable
development process.
The knowledge acquired may then be used to provide scientific
assessments (audits) of the current status and for a range of
possible future conditions.
Although many of the long-term environmental changes that
are likely to affect people and the biosphere are global in scale,
key changes can often be made at the individual and local
levels.

4. Science must play an important role in the pursuit of sustainable development, especially in the following
categories:
Energy use: The key technologies of sustainable development include new energy and propulsion
technologies that will help to reduce emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Simply to stabilize
atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations at twice their preindustrial levels, we will have to reduce current
global greenhouse emissions by over 50%.

5. Closure of
substance
cycles:
• Modern microsystems and control technologies are
also providing new opportunities to design
environmentally friendly production processes.
• While filter and wastewater-treatment technologies
have considerably enhanced air and water quality
in recent years, they are never more than the
second-best solution, and have been surpassed by
integrated environmental technology, that is,
technology that optimizes the use of materials and
energy.
• This involves material-efficient, energy-efficient
production processes as well as the manufacture of
environmentally compatible products, especially
those that generate little waste.

6. • Environmentally compatible
mobility: Environmentally compatible traffic
concepts are a particularly important category
for innovation.
• Natural-gas engines, electric cars, hydrogen
engines, and fuel-cell engines can all play a
role in eliminating motor-vehicle emissions.
• Information and communication technologies
can eliminate the need for physical transports
in some areas, and computerized logistics in
goods transports can reduce total transport
distances.

7. Green
Chemistry
• Green chemistry represents the
pillars that hold up our
sustainable future. It designs
environment friendly and
sustainable chemicals and
process. Today the plastics are
replaced by green plastics which
may be cellulose based and
starch based.

8. • Biotechnology: Biotechnology is expected to bring
important advances in medical diagnosis and therapy, in
solving food problems, in energy saving, in
environmentally compatible industrial and agricultural
production, and in specially targeted environmental
protection projects.
• Genetically altered microorganisms can break down a wide
range of pollutants by being used, for example, in bio-
filters and wastewater-treatment facilities, and in the clean-
up of polluted sites.
• Genetically modified organisms can also alleviate
environmental burdens by reducing the need for pesticides,
fertilizers, and medications.

9. • Sustainability, as a strategic aim, involves optimizing the
interactions between nature, society, and the economy, in
accordance with ecological criteria. Political leaders and
scientists alike face the challenge of recognizing
interrelationships and interactions between ecological,
economic, and social factors and taking account of these
factors when seeking solution strategies. To meet this
challenge, decision-makers require interdisciplinary
approaches and strategies that cut across political lines.
Environmental discussions must become more objective, and
this includes, especially, debates about the risks of new
technologies, which are often ideologically charged.

10. Sustainable development can succeed only if all
areas of the political sector, of society, and of
science accept the concept and work together to
implement it.
A common basic understanding of environmental
ethics is needed to ensure that protection of the
natural foundation of life becomes a major
consideration in all political and individual action.
A dialogue among representatives of all sectors of
society is needed if appropriate environmental
policies are to be devised and implemented.

11. Values of Teaching Science
• Science has changed the pattern of life of human
beings. Science has changed the society as a whole.
People who have a positive attitude towards science
and who can understand the needs and problems of the
society and who can solve the problems in a systematic
way are greatly looked upon. This accelerates the
importance of science in society and day to day life of
human beings, science is considered as the most
important and compulsory subject in the school
curriculum. For this we have to look into different
values of science.

12. Intellectual Value
Study of science provides the opportunity of developing mental faculties of reasoning, critical thinking,
reflective thinking, imagination, memory, concentration, observation, analysis and systematic thinking.
Science teaches people to sharpen their intellect and make them more careful and systematic in their
reasoning. It provides a unique training in truth, including the spirit of enquiry, the capacity to know the
unknown and the strength to face hardships and failures.
The pursuit of science requires diligence and patience. A true scientist has a high regard for truth. It trains the
minds of the people, creates and develops increasing awareness about themselves, about fellow creatures and
the material universe we live in obviously it helps to understand, evaluate and solve numerical problems of life.
Thus, the individual begins to reason things he meets in daily life and discharge his duties in a better manner
and leads a happy, successful and satisfying life.

13. Social Value
Truth is what the scientific community says it is. Science is
nothing more than social psychological process, constrained
by scientific standards. It is up to the community to decide
what science is bad and what science is good.
The discoveries of science will affect the society and vice
versa. Science should be utilized for the development and
wellbeing of society. Science helps one to be a useful
member of society. We are living in a scientific age which is
characterised by mechanization.
Machines have changed the economic structure of the
society. Fast social change and fusion of science and
technology into one resulted due to the Industrial Revolution
which took place in the 18th century.

14. • Vast changes took place in the field of industry, medicine, agriculture, homes, clothing,
transportation and communication. With the advent of automobiles world has become
smaller and one can travel fast and transport goods and products. The development of
communication devices such as the mobile phones, social communicating devices etc have
over thrown the old ways of communication like telegraph, telephone, television, radio and
radar.
• There has been great impact of social change through science in the field of health,
agriculture, communication and technology, space research, education, nuclear science, and
environmental science.
• Negative impact of social change through science includes underuse of technology,
foeticide, cosmetic industry etc. thus students should be made aware of both these effects
and give training to imbibe the positive effects of social change through science.

15. Practical Value
or Utilitarian
Value
Science has revolutionized our ways of living. Right from the cradle
to the grave all our activities are controlled and fashioned by
science. We have devised labour saving gadgets and machines.
Olden ways of transport on horses and camels have given way to
cars, electric trains, aero planes etc. Agriculture has been greatly
improved by use of artificial manures and pesticides. Science has a
great medicinal value and has worked miracles in the field of
surgery and medicine. It has restored eyes to the blind, hearing to
the deaf and leg to the lame.
Practical work in science encourage accurate observation and
description to make phenomena more real, to arouse interest, to
promote a logical and reasoning method of thought, to practice
seeing problem and seeking new ways to solve them, to develop
an ability to cooperate for finding facts and arriving at new
principles.

16. Disciplinary Value • Learning of science trains one in scientific
method and develops scientific
punctuality etc. Learning of science
enables the students to develop scientific
attitude and shows the traits like open
mindedness, patience, accuracy etc.
• The mental power acquired by learning
science will enable one to discipline
oneself and thus help to be a useful
member of the society. Other mental
discipline characteristics of science is that
it develops clear and vigorous thinking,
coherent and logical deduction of exact
and accurate observation. These attributes
will be carried out in all his life activities.

17. Recreational Value
• Learning of science can cater to the recreational needs of individuals by offering a large number
of opportunities such as movies, television, computer, audio-video equipment's and musical
instruments. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement or pleasure and
are considered to be fun. It helps to relax, reduce stress, sharpen skills and build self esteem and
confidence. Education especially science education caters to this pertinent need of every
individual. Science education can do this by developing in pupils’ interest, tastes and
appreciation.
• The useful and gainful hobbies related to physical science like photography, construction of
scientific toys, manufacturing tooth paste, inks, varnishes etc are not only interesting but are
financially useful. Science stimulates and excites curiosity about phenomena and events in the
world around them.

18. Moral Value
• Science is pursuit of truth and person busy in pursuit of truth imbibes in himself the qualities of
morality. Every scientific conclusion defends upon tests and actual observation and not by cheat
and deceit. The idea "Truth is beauty” is always kept in view.
• Knowledge of science develops in us certain moral values like truth, beauty and goodness. They
are considered as absolute values. These are good qualities desirable in all human beings. These
qualities make one’s life worth living although there is erosion of moral values in present day due
to overstressed materialistic greed of human beings.
• Scientific truths are based on clear observations of physical reality and can be tested through
observations or experiments. Through science, the learner develops the habit of searching the truth.

19. Aesthetic Value