Enviromental Science

 

Environmental science:

Introduction:

In order to study the environment and find solutions to environmental issues, environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that combines physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geography, and atmospheric science). During the Age of Enlightenment, environmental science developed from the disciplines of natural history and medicine. Today, it offers an interdisciplinary, integrated, quantitative approach to the study of environmental systems.

 

Environmental 

More social sciences are incorporated into environmental studies in order to better understand human interactions, viewpoints, and environmental policy. Engineering for increasing environmental quality in all areas is the emphasis of environmental design.

 

Environmental scientists work to comprehend the physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes that occur on Earth and then use that understanding to comprehend how problems like alternative energy sources, pollution control and mitigation, resource management, and the effects of global warming and climate change affect and influence these processes and natural systems. Physical, chemical, and biological processes almost invariably interact with one another to create environmental challenges. Environmental scientists analyse environmental issues from a systems perspective.The capacity to relate spatial and temporal correlations and quantitative analysis are essential skills for environmental scientists.

 

The need for a multidisciplinary approach to analyse complex environmental problems, the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific environmental investigation protocols, and the growing public awareness of the need for action in addressing environmental problems were the driving forces behind the emergence of environmental science as a substantive, active field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s.The release of Rachel Carson's seminal environmental work Silent Spring and the public attention given to significant environmental problems, such as the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 and the Cuyahoga River "catching fire" in Cleveland, Ohio, both contributed to the emergence of this new field of study and raised awareness of environmental problems.

 

History:

Archives from all throughout the world provide extensive records of historical concern for environmental issues. What is today recognised as environmental science was primarily of interest to ancient civilizations insofar as it pertained to agriculture and natural resources. When ancient civilizations in Israel and Jordan fell owing to deforestation around 6000 BCE, scholars theorise that this is when early interest in the environment first started. As a result, Mesopotamia enacted the first laws restricting deforestation about 2700 BCE. A population living in the Indus River Valley monitored the local river system to improve sanitation 200 years later, about 2500 BCE.In order to take public health into consideration, this meant adjusting the water flow. Around 1500 BCE, numerous ancient Central American city-states in the Western Hemisphere fell victim to soil erosion brought on by intensive cultivation. The people from these civilizations that persisted paid more attention to how farming methods affected the stability of food production and the sustainability of the land. Furthermore, deforestation and the ensuing environmental degradation of natural resources contributed to the fall of the Minoan civilisation about 1450 BCE on the Greek island of Crete. Between 77 and 79 ACE, Pliny the Elder presented an outline of numerous relevant subsets of the discipline in his treatise Naturalis Historia, which inadvertently addressed the environmental issues of ancient civilizations.

 

While disease and warfare were the two main concerns of ancient society, environmental concerns were extremely important to the existence and dominance of various civilizations. An interest in researching the environment developed as more societies realised how crucial nature is to their long-term sustainability.

 

In 1735, Carolus Linnaeus introduced the idea of binomial nomenclature as a way to categorise all living things, influenced by earlier works of Aristotle. [6] One of the oldest compilations of knowledge on the subject is his book Systema Naturae, which offers a method for classifying various species partly based on how they interact with their surroundings.

 

In the 1820s, scientists began researching the characteristics of gases, especially those found in the atmosphere of the Earth and their interactions with solar heat. Later that century, research claimed that the Earth had gone through an Ice Age and that greenhouse gases, which are now known as greenhouse gases, had contributed to some of the Earth's warming (GHG). Due to the lack of significant industrialisation and the lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions at the time, the greenhouse effect was first observed even though climate science had not yet been acknowledged as a crucial area of study in environmental research.

 

The modern field of environmental science started to take shape in the early 1900s. Significant study, writing, and global collaboration in the area have distinguished the century.

 

Skeptics have criticised the early 20th century efforts to downplay the impacts of global warming.

 

Few scientists were looking into the risks associated with fossil fuels at the time . But following the discovery of a temperature of 1.3 degrees Celsius in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1940s, researchers redoubled their efforts to understand how the greenhouse effect trapped gaseous heat (although only carbon dioxide and water vapour were known to be greenhouse gases then).  Environmental scientists were able to research the effects of carbon extensively and improve the discipline thanks to nuclear development after the Second World War.

 

When Rachel Carson's groundbreaking work of environmental literature, Silent Spring, was released in 1962, environmental science was thrust to the forefront of society. Because of Carson's writing, more Americans are pursuing environmental protections including restrictions on dangerous chemicals like the insecticide DDT. Garrett Hardin released The Tragedy of the Commons in 1968 in reaction to the rapid destruction of the environment. Following two devastating disasters in 1969—the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire due to pollution in its waters and the Santa Barbara oil leak, which killed thousands of marine animals—environmental science once again became a household term.As a result, the United States approved a tonne of legislation, including the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Clean Water Act. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established the following year, in 1970, and the first Earth Day was observed all around the world. This established the role of environmental science in public policy. The United Nations established the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Stockholm, Sweden, during the course of the following two years to address environmental degradation on a global scale.

 

Important catastrophes and social movements were major factors in the 1970s and 1980s interest in environmental science. After it was discovered that there were carcinogenic chemicals buried underground close to residential areas in Love Canal, New York, in 1978, hundreds of residents had to migrate. The Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Pennsylvania experienced a meltdown the next year, in 1979, which sparked worries about the safety of nuclear energy and the perils of radioactive waste. The formal Environmental Justice Movement was formed in 1982 by a Black neighbourhood in North Carolina in response to toxic waste and landfills that were frequently located close to their houses.

 

In Bhopal, India, a power plant accident two years later resulted in the discharge of deadly methyl isocyanate gas into the atmosphere, hurting tens of thousands of residents who lived nearby and having long-lasting repercussions.  A British team of scientists conducting research in Antarctica made the ground-breaking discovery of an ozone layer hole in 1985, which led to the adoption of international agreements that outlawed the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were previously present in almost all aerosols and refrigerants.  Notably, the 1986 meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power facility in Ukraine spilled radioactive material into the environment, sparking research on the effects of environmental catastrophes on a global scale.The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the Montreal Protocol, and over the following few years, the Brundtland Commission—previously known as the World Commission on Environment and Development—published a report titled Our Common Future as part of an international effort to combat climate change and environmental degradation. The Exxon Valdez firm was penalised in the late 1980s for the large-scale crude oil leak off the coast of Alaska and the subsequent cleanup, which required the assistance of environmental specialists. Armed conflict between Iraq and Kuwait in 1991 resulted in the burning of hundreds of oil wells, polluting the air slightly below the level that environmental scientists deemed to be life-threatening.

 

While climatology is one of the most well-known environmental science subfields, there are many others that have developed over time. Environmental scientists have concentrated on simulating the effects of climate change and promoting international cooperation to reduce possible harms since the 2000s. To share information and provide solutions globally, the Society for the Environment and the Institute of Air Quality Management were established in 2002.The Climate Change Act, which was later passed by the United Kingdom in 2008, attempts to lower carbon dioxide output to a predetermined threshold. The Kyoto Protocol was replaced by the Paris Agreement in 2016, which establishes specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and caps the increase in global temperature at 2 degrees Celsius. One of the largest worldwide initiatives to date to limit the effects of global warming is the accord.

 

Crude oil pollution and the consequences of warming temperatures are the main causes of environmental catastrophes in this time period. The Deepwater Horizon accident, the largest American oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that year that killed several BP employees and spewed significant amounts of crude oil into the ocean, was caused by BP. A large portion of the world has also been devastated by numerous wildfires and water shortages during this century, which has led to rules on the sustainable use of natural resources as judged by environmental experts.

 

There have been considerable technological developments in the twenty-first century. Environmental scientists now gather information about a variety of topics in the field using new technology. Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been a decrease in the amount of carbon and other pollutants released into the atmosphere thanks to engine research, improvements in fuel efficiency, and decreased vehicle emissions. Additionally, funding for research and development of clean energy (such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power) has grown dramatically in recent years, signalling the start of the move away from the usage of fossil fuels. Using satellites and the analysis of digital data, geographic information systems (GIS) are utilised to spot the causes of air or water pollution.

 

Precision agriculture and other cutting-edge farming methods are now possible thanks to technology, which also makes it possible to monitor water use and set market pricing for it. The bioremediation process, which treats wastewaters for later use, in the field of water quality benefits from established strains of both natural and artificial bacteria.  Compared to manual wastewater cleanup or treatment, this technology is more cost-effective and environmentally benign. The growth of computer technology has most significantly facilitated the collecting of massive amounts of data, sophisticated analysis, historical archives, public awareness of environmental challenges, and worldwide scientific communication. For instance, the capability of crowdsourcing on the Internet illustrates the process of aggregating knowledge from academics throughout the world to increase opportunities for scientific advancement. With crowdsourcing, information is made available to the general population for individual analysis, which can then be shared as new details are discovered.

 

Environmental 

Blockchain technology, another technical advancement, keeps an eye on and manages the world's fisheries. Environmental scientists can determine whether a particular species is being overharvested to the point of extinction by tracing the movement of fish via international markets. Furthermore, remote sensing enables the identification of environmental characteristics without the need for direct physical interaction. Digital images that are produced are then utilised to build ever-more-accurate models of environmental processes, climate change, and other things.

 

Through picture processing over the electromagnetic spectrum, advances in remote sensing technologies are particularly helpful in identifying nonpoint sources of pollution and assessing ecosystem health. The use of thermal imaging technology in wildlife management, which aids in conservation efforts, allows for the capture and deterrence of poachers and other illicit wildlife traffickers. The movement of animal populations has also been predicted using artificial intelligence, and natural areas have been protected.