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The concept of sustainability is a theme that is both old and new. It is old from the perspective of Native Americans whose "seven generations" thinking considers simultaneously ancestors and future generations (Wildcat, 2009). It is new in its emergence as a buzzword across society to describe practices that minimize environmental impacts, advance economic progress, and foster health and the wellbeing of all across generations (Edwards, 2005). While sustainability cannot be condensed easily into a precise, tidy definition, it can be meaningfully conceptualized in terms of three interconnected components or axes: environment, economics, and society (Rowe, 2014).
The environmental axis is generally the most accessible of the three. For instance, in geoscience, we are commonly concerned with questions and ideas related to the Earth's interacting spheres. The environmental axis expands this focus to consider the impacts of human actions on the biosphere as well as the long-term availability of earth resources and provisioning of ecosystem services such as clean air, water, food, and biodiversity. But sustainability is not just about preserving the environment; it is also about providing economic opportunities. What distinguishes sustainable economic development is a concern with ensuring that use of resources now does not limit or eliminate resource options in the future (Daly and Townsend, 1993). Finally, the society axis captures the need to consider a sustainable environment and development "for all" over the long term: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). The societal axis is often the most difficult to conceptualize (Vallance et al., 2011). Combined, these three axes frame the concept of sustainability in a problem space in which interdisciplinary thinking is not only beneficial, but a necessity.
The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education is to provide a venue in which geoscience education scholars and teachers could consider questions and ideas related to interdisciplinary teaching and sustainability. Among the Curriculum and Instruction papers in this special issue, the respective goals vary from presenting examples of whole courses related to sustainability (Walsh and Davis, White et al.) to discussion of specific pedagogies (Coleman et al.) or online modules (Pallant and Lee)....