I think the University of Utah should be the first to have an environmental requirement to graduate. Montague wants students to have a basic ecological perspective against which they can judge their actions, a lifetime tool to solve environmental problems. Montague believes an environmental course would also counterbalance the existing American Institutions requirement that students take a course in American history, economics or political science. There needs to be a change in our cultural story, Montague explains. Ultimately, it comes down to sharing so that other organisms can exist, he says.
Ecology is the science of relationships, yet people have disconnected themselves from the earth.
My experience is when you awaken students to these issues, they are concerned. They want to know what they can do. That's where service learning comes in. Service learning gives students a chance to channel that course into solving a local issue. Students address local problems that are related to the academic content of the course.