International Journal of Environmental Protection April. 2013, Vol. 3 Iss. 4, PP. 1-9 - 1 - The Significance of Environmental Sustainability in Adult Environmental Education István Lükő 1 , Tímea Kollarics 2 1 University of Pécs, Faculty of Adult Education and Human Resources, Pécs, Hungary 2 University of West Hungary, Faculty of Paedagogical, Sopron, Hungary 1 sajokaza@chello.hu; 2 kollaricst@gmail.com, Abstract-In this paper, we would like to present the connection between sustainable development and adult education, which has been explored less in Hungary. In the framework of theoretical relations, we are going to touch upon technical development and its consequences, as well as the principles of sustainable development. The notion of ecological footprint has played an important role in environmental education and in the development of awareness. We examined the connection of sustainability from the conceptual- theoretical aspect, and we conducted empirical research in three field venues basically with two kinds of methods. We would also like to present the results of that in this lecture. We examined the adults visiting the educational paths with questionnaires. We interviewed the professionals of the nature school and the educational paths. Keywords- Adult Education; Ecological Footprint; Educational Path; Environmental Awareness; Sustainable Development I. INTRODUCTION A. The Justification of the Topic, the Significance of Sustainability and Adult Environmental Education It is noticeable almost worldwide that sustainability education is restricted mostly to schoolchildren. The professional, pedagogical and methodological solutions are elaborated the furthest here. The reason is probably that, in most societies, the future generation is regarded as the main source of hope for changes. [18] However, the communities of children and adults live together in a society and they have to meet the needs of the future and to implement the sustainability of the society. Consequently, adults’ attitude to environment and their environmental education need to be dealt with as well. Adults’ knowledge about sustainability must be explored so that they can change their outlook and actions. This paper deals with the connection between environmental sustainability and adult education on the basis of conceptual-theoretical issues and a specific empirical study. This topic is especially important in Hungary, as adults’ organised or spontaneous environmental learning has not become general. [19] Research results prove that their knowledge concerning sustainability was enhanced after the visits to the educational paths. [10] B. Technical Development and Its Consequences Mankind has always strived to reduce the use of muscle force through the means of technology and to increase productivity mainly through mechanisation and automation. If the development of technology was modelled, it would result in exponential curves of the changes in the modes and means of production, as well as in productivity regarding the past 200 years, where the changes in muscle force and intellectual work are the most spectacular. The picture will be finer, if the changes that took place in the last few decades are analysed in the main trends of technical development. In Lükő István’s view, this development is discernible in three areas, namely [1]: 1. The use of energy. The massive use, or, spreading of electricity – including nuclear power – has produced radical changes in industry, agriculture, traffic, household and also in people’s immediate residential environment and way of life. 2. Control engineering. These days, control engineering, or, automatics is inseparable from the human race. The difference between modern control engineering and earlier constructions or mechanisms is not the purpose but rather the flexibility of the available tools. 3. Informatics. This is the third technical trend, the development of which has always been present throughout the history of the human race. The gradual development of the tools created the possibility for the emergence and development of civilisation. Compared with the past centuries, the informatics of our age differs mainly regarding the speed and flexibility of the tools. It is rather apparent that technology, technics and informatics are in a close and organic connection with one another. If one wanted to describe the essence of technology in a brief ‘formula’, it could be the following: Technology = Raw material + Energy + Technics (Tools) + Knowledge + Information Thus, the processing of the raw material requires not only energy and tools (machines, instruments, devices, etc.) but also