Nurturing Environmental Leaders Among Science and Engineering Researchers—Tohoku University Approach

Abstract

This chapter sets the scene for the book by explaining the background reasons why Japan decided to support a range of environmental leader programs. Current trends in growth of both population and economy are placing demands on the Earth’s ability to supply resources or absorb the wastes. This is widely recognized but the current socio-economic system is currently not adapting and exhibits system failures in prioritizing growth over sustainability. Japan’s environmental leader programs are designed to nurture human resources who can help lead society towards a transition to a more sustainable socio-economic system. Tohoku University’s environmental leader program is described in this chapter and the background to the course materials on which this book is based introduced.