Environmental culture is the main component of ecological civilization The 21st century is an epoch of great changes in the world history. Humankind faces important elections in its development: one of these elections is the formation of ecological culture, which offers a new way of human being. The concept of "ecological culture" includes the spiritual world, forms of social consciousness and social structure, governing environmental values and goals. In a broad sense, it refers to a mode of existence of a man in harmony with nature. It has the following characteristics: respect for nature and environment, promote sustainable use of natural resources. It is a priority of development of an advanced culture. Environmental culture is a centralized conception of ecological civilization. The need for an ecological civilization arose on the basis of the global environmental crisis, formed in an industrial civilization. Spread of environmental science and environmental awareness as well as natural and environmental disasters caused by human activities, make us realize that the accelerated degradation of the biosphere of the Earth could not stop if people did not completely change:
a) attitude toward the conquest of nature; b) the mode of production, characterized by the development of nature at the expense of environmental damage; c) a lavish lifestyle; d) social order that causes harm to the environment, as well as the injustice in international relations.
Humanity, unable to adapt to the environment may completely disappear from the face of the planet. Therefore, many scientists suggest changing the industrial civilization into an ecological one.
In terms of the concept of "ecological civilization", the content of the concept of "ecological culture" is much more complex and wider. The ecological civilization is a new kind of civilization that depends on the ecologicalized mode of production. The concept of ecological civilization highlights the similarities and the minimum standards of the society during the cooperation of a man with nature. The ecological culture is a diverse mode of existence of people of different nationalities. When talking about the environmental culture, the hallmark of ethnic culture is emphasized, created in a specific environment. Due to the fact that the environment is the environment of people and non-human creatures, and the culture is the ways of the existence of different peoples, the ecological culture emerged, inevitably, with the advent of our ancient ancestors on the Earth. Even in the era of hunting and gathering before the human civilization appeared, the ecological culture of the peoples of various tribes had already existed.
Next agrarian civilization is enriched with the diverse ecological culture of people of different races and nationalities who have lived in not identical environment. Ecological culture can be defined as a combination of modes of existence according to which people of different tribes, races and nations adapt to the diversity of the Earth's environment. All that has been accumulated by the mankind in the fight for its survival and development in order to adapt to the environment is classified as "ecological culture".
Despite the fact that the ecological civilization, as a type of civilization of the future society, will be launched in a small number of countries, its implementation is completed only then, when the majority of states and nations in the world will become ecologicolized. In any society, the creation of ecological civilization is not only a matter of some elites; it affects every member of society, including leadership training, scientific professionals, stars of culture and sports, as well as ordinary people. Their lifestyle and attitude to their existence has a profound effect on the degraded eco-system and the environment of our planet. Elementary environmental learning is necessary for a person in order to actively promote the development of the ecological civilization. There is a need to emphasize the concept of "environmental education", with the help of which the quality of people in the field of environmental culture, necessary for the implementation of ecological civilization is being raised. The so-called environmental education is forming people's conscious attitude to the environment, aimed at protecting and rational use of natural resources. Without the basic environmental education, we can not promote the practice of creating the ecological civilization.
To accomplish the purpose of the environmental education, the efforts should be made in the field of ecological culture, required in the process of creation of the ecological civilization.
To improve the quality of the population in the area of the ecological culture, the introduction of the environmental education is one of the important measures. In addition, one must realize that the environmental education should be continuous and lifelong for each person. Its implementation requires an effort of many generations of all peoples. The environmental education can not be considered as a short-term mission. At the same time, the introduction of the environmental education concerns each of us and requires nationwide participation, including active participation of ordinary people and support of various sectors of our society!