THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE FORMATION OF ECOLOGICAL CULTURE OF STUDENTS

The ecological crisis, which so suddenly attacked the human habitat, made significant adjustments in the relationship between nature and man. It forced to reconsider all the significant developments of human civilization, and made actual the social and environmental problems at all levels: regional, national, and global [1,2,3]. In this regard, the problems of ecology, as a result of human's consumer attitude towards the entire natural system, are today among the most discussed topics in research papers, in the media space, and in scientific discourse. And there is a reason for that. The thoughtless, unlimited satisfaction of the growing needs of population has led to an irreversible change in the properties of landscapes, the depletion and loss of minerals, the disappearance of many species of animals and plants. At the moment, unsolved problems in the field of ecology reflect the reality of the twenty-first century. The resolution of the environmental issues depends not only from the level of development of production, science and technology, but on the ecological culture of population, on understanding the sources, the essence and the ways out of the current crisis situation, on everyone's participation in preserving natural resources, minimizing waste products. Based on the research of the state of students' environmental consciousness, the role of environmental education is considered in the article as a factor in the formation of culture, moral standards with regard to nature, and overcoming the environmental crisis. The data obtained allowed to substantiate the conclusions about the need for fundamental changes in educational programs, toughening of legislative provisions in the field of environmental management, as a mechanism of counteraction to the extinction and death of civilization.