The sustainable development means different things to different people is a consequence of too high expectations of the latter in our world of conflicting/competing values,interests and finite unevenly distributed resources.Yet,although science and technology may be useful in establishing what can be done,neither of them can tell us what should be done.Given (a) the environmental imperatives; and (b) the limited economical feasibility of many of even the most innovative/advanced technologies,the switch from the currently dominant corrective paradigm to the emerging preventive practice in production,development and consumption,is unavoidable.This requires a revolutionized change in the guiding philosophy,rationale and models of our think- ing,behavior and action.Therefore,the development of our students' high一order cognitive skills ( HOCS)一system thinking,critical thinking,question一asking,decision一making and problem一solving一concerning the science/technology/environment/society (STES) interfaces should become the top priority goal of contemporary and future sound chemical education.The crucial issue within the educational setting is the translation of this goal into implemental effective transdisciplinary HOCS一oriented curricula,courses,teacher training programs,and teaching,learning,and assessment strategies.Our multidimensional research一based systematic approach to the development of such courses,a mandatory national curriculum("Science,"Technology and Environment in Modern Society" (TEMS))，and to HOGS一oriented chemistry teaching,learning and assessment,will be described,and the main problems and issues involved critically discussed.This will set the stage for the deliberadons to follow within the guiding theme一Environmental Chemistry in the modern sociotechnological context:an imperative in chemical education