How to sustain Sustainable Living(Make up blog)

The world is changing. Neoliberalism, a belief system that promotes unchecked spending and acquisition above all else, in other words unabated capitalism, has shaped a world that where status is measured in how much one consumes, how many electronic toys one has, and has placed us in a race to see who can burn through fuel the fastest. Considering that almost every country now has cars, plastics, and general industrial technologies, and that those countries that who do not have them rush, cutting corners on safety and ecology, this has become a major problem. Due to carbon based emissions, it has been predicted that the global temperature will increase between 34.5 degrees F and 42.4 degrees F by the end of this century. Scientists have stated that any temperature rise above 35.6 degrees F will have dire consequences for the planet, speeding the melting of the polar caps, which would cause massive flooding, meaning the complete destruction of several ecosystems.
Of course, as teachers, it is our responsibility to teach students about these developments, and to teach them ways in which to prevent them. In his article, simply entitled SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Ros Wade goes to great lengths to suggest curricula and activities that will keep these issues in children’s minds and empower them to do something about them, that will effect positive shifts in local and global societies. Some of his theories seem to call on Banks work on teaching globalisim in the classroom. Some of the cornerstones of Wade’s plan to teach sustainability to our students include the needs and rights of future generations, a concern for social justice, and the idea of interdependence. Wade goes on to also include how to identify and rectify habits that lead to waste, and to instill a general importance towards conservation within students.
In theory these are all wonderful ideas. However looking at general Social Studies curriculum, the question I have is, how will it within our perspective programs? In a program already filled to bursting with teaching about citizenship, national and global history, and social justice, where does sustainability fit in? Can it fit in? I’m not sure, and to be honest with you, since ecology issues do have a certain gravitas, wouldn’t that area of the curriculum be better served if it was given its own class? I feel that it would be, since it is such a large and pressing matter. Sustainable living should be part of new science core, that perhaps can have social studies overlaps.