Lorraine Lander, Genesee Valley Center, Canandaigua Unit, SUNY Empire State College writes:

“Awareness is a broad term that represents various ways that people’s thoughts, beliefs, actions and social interactions relate to sustainability. This topic is embedded in the understanding that we exist in multiple environments from the physical, which includes what we call nature, but also our communities and neighborhoods. Further it recognizes the importance of our sense of place, the quality of our housing, and even the internal environment of our bodies and how that influences our bodies and our health.”

“In addition, we exist in social environments that range in size from the vastness of our planet to the intimacy of our relationships with coworkers, family, and friends. Separating these various physical environments from our social existence and our thoughts and beliefs about them is difficult, if not impossible. The various subtopics in this perspective on sustainability consider the many ways that these physical, social and psychological factors connect to sustainability.”

“Consideration of these various academic fields of study can be useful as a foundation for both understanding sustainability, as well as fostering more sustainable behaviors.  Study in this area is often interdisciplinary and considers how people think, react and live in their environments, as well as how they live with others.”