Edited proceedings from the Conference for Talent Development for Environmental Careers (Washington, DC, August 1979), focusing on pre-professional, environmental career experience programs for gifted elementary/secondary school students, are presented in this nine-section book. Each section includes a brief overview of the papers relating to the specific topic. The first section addresses the environmental crisis in education. Section 2 informs of efforts to create models of what environmental education should be and develop sets of materials helping to actualize ideal environmental education. Section 3 focuses on environmental career exploration and includes lists of resource materials. Section 4 discusses opportunities for minorities/women and programs for minority students. Activities of the Council of Environmental Quality and Environmental Protection Agency are described in section 5. Funding possibilities for environmental talent development are presented in section 6. Two papers and a panel presentation addressing gifted students are presented in section 7. Model field program activities are described in section 8 (including Stewardship Program--Nature Conservancy; Executive High School Internships; Audubon Naturalist Society Program; Noise Pollution Measurement; Youth Conservation Corps; Madeira School Co-Curriculum Program; Chesapeake Bay Foundation Program; and Smithsonian Institute's Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies). The last section discusses the failure of education in responding to environmental issues. (Author/JN)