Introduction to Environmental Sciences

What is ‘Environment’?

Term ‘Environment’ has been derived from the French word ‘Environner,’ which means to surround or to encircle. Also, French word ‘Environn’ means ‘surroundings’.

The environment of something or someone is everything, living or non-living, surrounding it.

In general, the sum total of all the materials, beings, forces, and conditions that affect an individual’s life forms their environment.

This environment affects how the organism grows and stays safe or faces dangers.

This includes everything around us, like air, water, and land, and all the living things that interact with each other in one way or another.

All these materials, conditions and forces in the environment interact with one another forming the environment complex. All the biological and physical complexes means Earth sees a ‘Life-support-system’.

So, one’s environment is basically all things, living or non-living, surrounding it or encircling it. Air, water, land and biodiversity form the major aspects of our environment. Human life on this planet depends on these components of nature.

However, human interventions in nature’s complex has caused some detrimental changes leading to the issues of global warming, environmental pollutions, ozone depletion, climate change, to name a few major ones.

These global scale issues have led to the subject matter of ‘Environmental Science’ as it become increasingly important to design, plan, strategize and work together at local, national, and global levels to protect natural environment and conserve and preserve Earth’s natural resources.

What is ‘Environmental Science’?

Environmental science is all about how people, animals, and plants interact with their surroundings, like the air, water, and land.

And how air, water, land, and everything else interact with the living things; humans, animals and plants, in general.

It’s the subject that studies how everything in nature works together.

Encyclopedia Britannica defines Environmental Science as;

Environmental science, interdisciplinary academic field that draws on ecology, geology, meteorology, biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics to study environmental problems and human impacts on the environment.

Environmental science is a mix of many subjects; ecology, biology, geography, and chemistry, to name a few. The interdisciplinary nature of Environmental Science helps us understand how everything in nature is connected.

Environmental science teaches us how diverse but important parts of nature, like air, water, soil, plants, animals, and micro-organisms, interact with each other. And how they affect the Nature.

Scientists want to learn how the environment works naturally, how human affect it, and what we can be done to deal with those effects. Their primary focus is studying nature and how human population influences the natural mechanisms of the planet Earth.

According to Jill Nugent (science instructor at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)), a simple definition of Environmental Science would be;

“Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that integrates scientific methods and disciplines to understand and address real world environmental challenges.”

More ‘Environmental Sciences’ Definitions:

“The whole outer physical and biological system in which man and other organisms live.”

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

“The branch of science concerned with the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the environment and their effect on organisms.”

Dictionary.com

“Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the interactions between humans and the environment. These interactions encompass the physical, biological, and social sciences. It aims to understand the natural systems of the Earth, the impacts of human activities on these systems, and the development of sustainable solutions to environmental problems.”

University of Colorado Denver

Environmental Science vs Environmental Studies

Environmental science and environmental studies are two related but different fields.

In general, Environmental Studies look at how people and society affect the environment, environmental science focuses more on understanding and exploring nature itself. 

image of a woman playing chess in a library and image containing words environmental science vs environmental studies

Environmental studies focus on how humans interact with the environment, including social and political aspects. For example, an environmental studies researcher might study how countries work together on climate change agreements.

On the other hand, environmental science looks at understanding environmental issues using scientific methods. An environmental scientist might use models to study climate change and find ways to reduce its impact.

For example, Ecology is a part of environmental science and focuses on how living things like animals and plants live in their environment.

Environmental Science – A Multidisciplinary Field

Environmental Science is by its nature a multidisciplinary field.

Environmental science combines information from many disciplines such as biology, geography, chemistry, geology, physics, economics, sociology, demography, cultural anthropology, resource management, agriculture, engineering, law, politics, and ethics.

There are two major although opposing worldviews about Environmental Science.

Planetary Management Worldview

Some people believe that humans are the most special creatures on Earth. They think that it’s important for humans to take care of the planet mainly for their own good.

They trust that science and technology can give us everything we need, and that our economy can keep growing without any limits. They say that our success depends on how well we understand, control, and take care of the Earth’s resources.

Environmental Wisdom Worldview

This idea says that humans are a part of nature, and nature isn’t just here for us to use however we want. We should use the Earth’s resources wisely because they’re limited.

It’s important to use technology and grow in ways that help the environment. Our success comes from understanding how the Earth takes care of itself and using those lessons to guide how we live and make decisions.

Exploring Different Views on Environmental Science

Environmental science is studying how everything in nature – the air, water, plants, animals, and how they all work together.

It also looks at how living being influence the environment and how Nature affects living things.

From a holistic view, environmental science can be defined as, “A science that deals with every issue that affects an organism.”

It can also be defined as, “A multidisciplinary approach that brings about an appreciation of our natural world and human impacts on its integrity.” 

From the perspective of sustainability, it is, “an applied science that seeks practical answers to making human civilizations sustainable on earth’s finite resources.”

Why The Need For Environmental Science?

University of Plymouth Video Explaining ‘Why Study Environmental Science?’

The world we live in is all connected through things like water, air, and food. This connection is called the environment or “Mother Nature.” It’s really important to treat nature well because it keeps us alive.

Two important books, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and the Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich, helped kickstart modern awareness about how humans use chemicals and impact the environment.

Environmental scientists study what causes environmental issues and suggest solutions that governments, universities, and companies can use.

The Importance of Environmental Science

World has gone through a lot of natural changes. But right now, our world is changing really fast. It’s mainly because of humans.

Some changes might be good, but a lot of them are hurting our planet.

Environmental science helps us understand the major changes, natural or human-caused, and how they affect Earth.

One critical shift in natural balance is the ever growing human population.

Throughout history, there were fewer than a 100 million people, but now there are almost 8 billion!

Because there are more people on Earth, we’re using up more of the things nature provides us with, like sunlight, wind, soil, and trees. Some of these things can be replaced over time, but others will eventually be used up, like minerals and crude oil.

Because there are more people now, we’re using up Earth’s natural energy resources faster than before.

Things, like trees, can grow back, but if we use them too fast, they can’t grow back quick enough.

Fossil fuels take up millions of years to form under the Earth’s surface.

Think of natural resources like the things we get from the environment, and imagine ecosystem services as the helpful processes that make those things possible.

Ecosystem services are like nature’s way of giving us what we need to live. Clean our water and air, recycle nutrients, control the climate, help plants grow by pollinating them, and deal with waste.

Like natural resources, these services are on limited supply. It’s how the nature has been all the time.

However, with the population boom, the use-up rate of these resources and services has drastically increased. In result, future generations will be left with little of these resources and services if the current use-up rate continue to grow at the alarming rate.

Also, in the past, nature had the time to restock, but with the modernization in the form of industrial and technological advancement, pollution and population have both grown.

Learning about environmental science is important because it teaches us about the importance of recycling and reusing, protecting Earth and its ecosystems, and making sure there’s enough natural resources for the future generations.

The science also helps us think critically, work to address and solve problems, and understand how things work in nature so that we can better prepare for the man-induced consequences.

Environmental scientist care about the environment and work to make it better. Their tasks include collecting data, analyzing it, and sharing their findings through media and journals.

They also manage projects, go out to gather data in the field, and train others.

There are different fields of environmental science concerned with varied aspects.

Atmospheric sciences looks at the Earth’s air and how it affects global warming. Another part, ecology, studies how living things interact with their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Environmental chemistry is about how chemicals change the environment, like when water or soil gets polluted.

Dr. Milton Muldrow discusses the evolution of ‘Environmental Science’

Dimension of Scientific Development

Scientific inventions and discoveries make life easier and economic growth faster, like use of fertilizers and pesticides help crops grow better.

However, at times, their are negative implications for the environment and living beings.

We use up a lot of nature’s resources, like plants and minerals, much faster than they can naturally replenish.

For example, cutting down too many trees is a big problem because they take a long time to grow back.

Environmental Science and research focuses on how to balance new modern advancements for the benefits of nature at large.

Dimension of Population Explosion

Back in 1 A.D., there were only 100 million people in the world, which is a lot less than one-third of the current population of the United States.

By 1960, the world population grew to 3 billion, and then it doubled in just 40 years. Now, there are over 7 billion people in the world, and it’s expected to reach around 10 billion by 2050 if things keep going the same way.

With so many more people, we’re using up natural resources faster than ever before. More people means more pollution and waste production as well.

Sustainable Development Dimension

Sustainable development is about finding ways for people to grow and improve their lives without hurting the environment or using up all of Earth’s resources. It’s like making sure we have enough for today and tomorrow, keeping a balance so that future generations can have what they need too.

Sustainable development means making progress today without hurting the ability of future generations to do the same.

People have known about this idea for a while, and it’s all about keeping things in harmony – our environment, society, and economy. But sometimes it’s hard to agree on exactly what sustainable development means because it’s still a new idea and people have different opinions about it.

Ultimately, it’s about finding a balance between making life better for people and keeping nature healthy.

In the 1980s, the UN Environment-focused discussions throw out the word “sustainable development,” which means finding a balance between taking care of the environment and making sure we can still develop and grow.

This idea was a key talking point in a report called the “World Conservation Strategy” in 1980. Another important report in 1987, called the “Brundtland Report,” put this idea on the world’s agenda.

Then in 1991, ‘Caring for the Earth’ report detailed the need for collective action from world leaders.

There are some key goals of ‘Sustainable Development’ approach:

  • environmental justice for all
  • protecting nature, ecosystems and biodiversity
  • using natural resources wisely
  • and gaining economic growth

Everyone deserves to live in a clean and safe environment, without pollution or poverty.

‘Environmental Science’ – Approaches to Study

Environmental science is based on three different approaches.

Development Approach

This way of thinking is all about using the environment to help make our communities grow and get more modern.

The Development Approach locks humans in charge of nature, and the Earth and its resources.

Preservation Approach

This way of thinking is all about taking care of nature without using it just for ourselves. People who follow this approach want to save nature for different reasons. Some really care about all living things and think every creature should have the right to live, no matter what it costs us socially or economically.

Others just think nature is pretty and want to keep it around for fun activities like picnics, camping, and fishing, or just to enjoy some peace and quiet. Some people also think nature is important for science, and we can learn a lot from it.

Conservation Approach

This approach tries to find a middle ground between going all out with development and saving the environment. The idea is that we need to be careful about growing too fast and using up resources because it’s not good for the planet in the long run.

The aim is for people to have a good life, but also make sure we take care of the Earth and all the living things on it.

Let’s break down different approaches to environment:

  • Using nature for money (Economic)
  • Taking care of nature for balance (Ecological)
  • Making nature look good to eyes (Aesthetic)
  • Using nature for new ideas (Creative)
  • Doing what’s right for everyone (Moral)
  • Having fun and enjoyment in nature (Recreational)
  • Making logical choices for nature (Rational)
  • Preserving traditions and beliefs (Cultural)

Environmental science helps us understand:

  • How nature works?
  • How the environment affects nature?
  • How we impact the environment?
  • Ways to solve environmental issues?
  • How to live in a way that doesn’t harm the environment?”

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