This article is based on the work of Louv (2005, 2008) and Lowell (2008) and their ideas are explored with regard to barriers to, as well as opportunities for, effective environmental education. State curriculum standards in the U.S. include substantial environmental education (EE) content. Despite this, overall education policy stymies educators' efforts in enacting effective classroom programs. While the education policies of every country should be reassessed in light of what scientists are telling us about the "global macroproblem," policy efforts alone will fail unless educators recognize that outdoor experience has to be a key component of a contextualized, place-based EE. Part of a rational response to environmental issues is to educate our children as to their relationship to, dependency upon, and responsibilities to their ecosystems. Addressed are the role of EE in the school curriculum and the value of addressing learners' connections to nature from a personal rather than intellectual viewpoint. (Contains 2 figures.)