Environmental science

Environmental science is an academic field that brings together many different areas of learning, like biology, chemistry, and physics, to study and solve problems about our world. It looks at how everything in nature works together and helps us understand big issues that affect the air, water, and land.

Environement - Tropical environment

This field grew a lot in the 1960s and 1970s when people started to realize how serious some environmental problems were. Books like Silent Spring by Rachel Carson helped people see how important it was to take care of our planet. Big events, like an oil spill in Santa Barbara and a river in Cleveland, Ohio catching fire, showed everyone that we needed new ways to protect our environment.

Today, environmental science helps us make better decisions to keep our world healthy and safe for all living things. It uses many different kinds of science to find answers and create rules that protect nature and people.

Terminology

People often use the words "environmental science" and "ecology" as if they mean the same thing. But ecology is really just one part of environmental science. Ecology looks at how living things, like plants and animals, interact with each other and with their surroundings. Environmental science is broader—it also looks at things like chemicals and how they affect health, which ecologists usually don’t study.

Environmental science shares a lot with fields like fisheries, forestry, and wildlife. Environmental studies looks more at how people think about and make decisions regarding the environment, using ideas from social sciences. Environmental engineering is about using technology and designs to make the environment healthier and better for everyone.

History

Ancient civilizations

People have always cared about the environment, especially when it affected their farming and natural resources. Around 6000 BCE, some ancient towns collapsed because their forests were cut down. This led to laws against cutting trees in places like Mesopotamia around 2700 BCE. Later, around 2500 BCE, people in the Indus River Valley watched their rivers to keep water clean for health. In Central America, cities declined around 1500 BCE due to soil losing its nutrients from too much farming. The Minoan civilization on Crete also declined around 1450 BCE because forests were lost and resources ran out. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder wrote about these early environmental concerns in his book Naturalis Historia.

Even though wars and diseases were big problems, the environment was important for ancient societies to survive and stay strong.

Rachel Carson published her groundbreaking monograph, Silent Spring, in 1962, bringing the study of environmental science to the forefront of society.

Beginnings of environmental science

18th century

In 1735, Carolus Linnaeus introduced a way to name all living things, which helped people understand how they interact with their environment.

19th century

In the 1820s, scientists studied gases in the air and how they trapped heat from the Sun. They discovered that Earth went through an Ice Age and that warming was linked to gases like carbon dioxide.

20th century

Environmental science grew a lot in the 1900s with more research and global teamwork.

In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, which helped people understand the need to protect the environment. Major events like the Cuyahoga River catching fire in 1969 and oil spills pushed the United States to make laws like the Clean Water Act. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, and the Environmental Protection Agency was created.

A team of British researchers found a hole in the ozone layer forming over Antarctica, the discovery of which would later influence the Montreal Protocol in 1987.

In the 1970s and 1980s, disasters like the Love Canal pollution and the Chernobyl nuclear accident raised awareness about environmental dangers. The world also started agreements to protect the ozone layer by banning certain chemicals.

21st century

Since 2000, environmental science has focused on climate change and finding ways to reduce harm. Countries like the United Kingdom passed laws to cut down on carbon dioxide. International agreements like the Paris Agreement aim to limit temperature rises.

Disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and wildfires have shown the need for better resource management. Technology has improved, with tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) helping track pollution and manage water. Clean energy sources like wind and solar power are growing, and computers help collect and share data worldwide.

The Paris Agreement (formerly the Kyoto Protocol) is adopted in 2016. Nearly every country in the United Nations has signed the treaty, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Components

Atmospheric sciences

Blue Marble composite images generated by NASA in 2001 (left) and 2002 (right)

Main article: Atmospheric sciences

Atmospheric sciences study the Earth's air, or atmosphere, and how it connects with other parts of the planet. This includes looking at weather, how gases like those that trap heat behave, and how pollution moves through the air. Scientists use computers to model how the atmosphere moves and how different chemicals react in it. They also study how plants and animals affect gases like carbon dioxide.

Ecology

The Earth's atmosphere

Main article: Ecology

Ecology is the study of how living things, including humans, interact with their environment. Ecologists look at how plants, animals, and other organisms relate to each other and to things like air and water. They might study how a group of animals is affected by changes in their surroundings, such as pollution. Ecology often brings together many areas of science to understand how different parts of nature work together.

Environmental chemistry

Main article: Environmental chemistry

Biodiversity of a coral reef. Corals adapt and modify their environment by forming calcium carbonate skeletons. This provides growing conditions for future generations and forms a habitat for many other species.

Environmental chemistry looks at how chemicals change and move in the world around us. This includes studying pollution in soil and water, and how chemicals break down or spread. For example, scientists might study how a spill from a tank affects the soil and the animals that live there. They use computer models to understand how chemicals move through the ground and how they might harm plants and animals.

Geosciences

Main article: Geosciences

Geosciences study the Earth itself, including rocks, soil, and processes like volcanoes. This area also covers water on Earth, such as rivers and oceans. Scientists in this field might look at how soil erodes, how sediments move in rivers, and how changes in water clarity affect plants and animals in the water. They use many different kinds of science to understand these processes.

Open-pit coal mining at Garzweiler, Germany

Regulations driving the studies

Environmental science examines the effects of humans on nature, such as the Glen Canyon Dam in the United States.

In the United States, the National Environmental Policy Act from 1969 requires the government to study how its actions, like building roads or managing land, affect the environment. Many states have similar rules to protect nature locally. This means lots of research happens before any big projects start.

You can learn more by looking at reports called Environmental Impact Statements made under this law. Examples include plans for cleaning wastewater in the San Diego/Tijuana area, growing the San Francisco International Airport, building transportation in Houston, improving transit in Boston, and constructing Interstate 66 near Arlington, Virginia.

In England and Wales, the Environment Agency protects and improves the environment. It was created in 1996 and works with the government to make sure rules are followed.