Environment is the source of life that provide food, clothing, shelter
and other life supporting substances like water, air, sunlight etc to
all living beings on earth. Due to the rapid growth in industrialization
and urbanization, the natural balance of the environment has been disturbed
and as a result, the process of growth and development has become unsustainable.
In order to protect and preserve our environment and its invaluable resources,
there exists a huge demand for environmental experts. These experts
involve themselves in finding different ways to maintain a livable environment.
Environmental science is the branch of science dealing with the study
of different components of environment, the factors influencing the changes
in the environment and the interdependence of living things within their
environment. These include the study of climatic change; conservation
of energy; biodiversity; ground water and soil contamination; technologies
developed to treat air pollution, sound pollution etc. This interdisciplinary
academic field combines physical and biological science context including
physics, chemistry, biology, soil science, geology and geography. Wholly,
environmental studies incorporate more of the social sciences for understanding
human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment.
Environmental science is becoming an interesting and one of the most
sought after careers because of the increase in awareness about the clean
environment. A formal training program in the field of environmental science
is needed for those who are interested to build up a career in this field.
One can work in this field as environmental scientists, environment educationist,
environmental engineers, environmental biologists, environmental modellers,
environmental journalists and environment-related technologists working
in laboratories that engage in soil and water testing, pollution detection
and control.
Environmental science professionals are involved in the study of changes
in the earth's atmosphere. They work on subjects like pollution control
and mitigation, understanding of earth processes, effects of global climate
change, evaluating alternative energy systems, natural resource management
etc. Their major objective is to find new ways to improve and conserve
the standard of living by examining the circumstances of the environment,
recognizing the impact of human actions on earthly and aquatic ecosystems,
and developing strategies for restoring ecosystems. Environmental scientists
utilize the knowledge of various science and engineering disciplines to
protect and preserve the environment. They conduct research studies in
order to develop different methods for decreasing and controlling the
sources of environmental pollution.
Though environmental science is a broad field of study, no specific separation
is needed because its branches overlap with each other. However to make
things easier, environmental science has been divided as :
Environmental Chemistry - dealing with the chemical changes in water,
air and soil;
Ecology - the study of interactions of various species of living
organism with one another and with the physical and chemical environment;
Geosciences - also known as earth science, it deals with the study
of demographical part of the environment including oceans, biosphere,
mountain, solid earth etc.;
Atmospheric Science - the study of the gaseous layer that covers
the earth like a blanket;
Environmental Assessment - deals with the ways and methods to improve
and enhance the environment; and
Environmental Microbiology - related with the study of composition
and physiology of microbes (bacteria) and their communities in the environment.
