They need to see why certain types of energy, for example, are preferred by consumers, even though some people feel they are sinister or wasteful. They need to understand what we give up when we pursue one course of action over another. Yet that perspective is a far cry from the litany of goods and evils in the environment. Disposable diapers are bad, cloth diapers are good. Landfills are bad, recycling is good.
Automobiles are bad, bikes are good.
Using teak or mahogany wood is good, using rainforest woods is bad. As an example of the teaching tools used to get these messages across, consider National Geographic's Wonders of Learning Kit. While students may be adept at describing the evils of planet Trashoid, few can satisfactorily tell you exactly why something is classified as an environmental good or bad. Children are drilled, for example, to accept that recycling is the only correct way to deal with resources. By coercing their parents to sort paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass, and then to haul it all out to the curbside, the children are making their environmental mark on the world.