Considering the challenges proposed for teachers, and the peculiarities of modern and industrial society, this article approaches the theme of environmental education in Brazil. Discussions about the environment problem seldom reach the teaching level, on the basic and intermediary levels, maintaining the gap between the university and the basic formation school, between the academic debate about the environment problematic and environmental education. The theme environment conservation is not only a didactical-pedagogical challenge, as it has been treated by many educators, but is related to a much more complex problem. This study has as objective to discuss the need to expand the discussion in such a way that it would allow the treatment of fundamental themes, generally discussed in politics, economy, sociology, as an awareness and comprehension of environment problematic strategy. The research was done from the analysis of environment problematic conditionings, and the study of the process of incorporation of the environment theme in courses of the social sciences group. As a result, the environment crisis is understood more as a symptom of the modernity crisis, which is manifested not only through the environment disadjustment, but also by the worsening of social, political and economical problems.
Environmental education; Modernity; Environment