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Environmental science

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Environment

           Environmental science
   Environmental technology
     * Air pollution control
     * Air pollution dispersion modeling
     * Alternative energy
     * Biofuel
     * Composting
     * Ecoforestry
     * Energy conservation
     * Environmental design
     * Future energy development
     * Green building
     * Hydrogen technologies
     * Natural building
     * Recycling
     * Renewable energy
     * Renewable energy development
     * Remediation
     * Solid waste treatment
     * Sustainable architecture
     * Sustainable energy
     * Sustainable development
     * Waste water treatment
     * Water purification
     * Waste management

   Environmental science is the study of the interactions among the
   physical, chemical and biological components of the environment; with a
   focus on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human
   activities; and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability from
   local and global development. It is inherently an interdisciplinary
   field that draws upon not only its core scientific areas, but also
   applies knowledge from other non-scientific studies such as economics,
   law and social sciences. Physics is used to understand the flux of
   material and energy interaction and construct mathematical models of
   environmental phenomena. Chemistry is applied to understand the
   molecular interactions among natural systems. Biology is fundamental to
   describing the effects within the plant and animal kingdoms.

   While the concept of environmental science has existed for centuries,
   it came alive as a substantive, active field of scientific
   investigation in the 1960s and 1970s driven by (a) the need for a large
   multi-disciplined team to analyze complex environmental problems, (b)
   the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific
   environmental protocols of investigation and (c) the growing public
   awareness of a need for action in addressing environmental problems.

   Environmental science encompasses issues such as climate change,
   conservation, biodiversity, groundwater and soil contamination, use of
   natural resources, waste management, sustainable development, air
   pollution and noise pollution. Due to the inherent interdisciplinary
   nature of environmental science, teams of professionals commonly work
   together to conduct environmental research or to produce Environmental
   Impact Statements, as required by the U.S. National Environmental
   Policy Act (NEPA) or under state laws. There are professional
   organizations that engender work in environmental science and aid in
   communication among the diverse sciences.

Sub-categories

   Atmospheric sciences examines the new phenomenology of the Earth's
   gaseous outer layer with emphasis upon interrelation to other systems.
   Atmospheric sciences comprises meteorological studies, greenhouse gas
   phenomena, atmospheric dispersion modeling of airborne contaminants,
   sound propagation phenomena related to noise pollution, and even light
   pollution

   Taking the example of the global warming phenomena, physicists create
   computer models of atmospheric circulation and infra-red radiation
   transmission, chemists examine the inventory of atmospheric chemicals
   and their reactions, biologists analyze the plant and animal
   contributions to carbon dioxide fluxes, and specialists such as
   meteorologists and oceanographers add additional breadth in
   understanding the atmospheric dynamics.

   Ecology studies typically analyze the dynamics among an interrelated
   set of populations, or a population and some aspect of its environment.
   These studies could address endangered species, predator/prey
   interactions, habitat integrity, effects upon populations by
   environmental contaminants, or impact analysis of proposed land
   development upon species viability.

   An interdisciplinary analysis of an ecological system which is being
   impacted by one or more stressors might include several related
   environmental science fields. For example one might examine an
   estuarine setting where a proposed industrial development could impact
   certain species by water pollution and air pollution. For this study
   biologists would describe the flora and fauna, chemists would analyze
   the transport of water pollutants to the marsh, physicists would
   calculate air pollution emissions and geologists would assist in
   understanding the marsh soils and bay muds.

   Environmental chemistry is the study of chemical alterations in the
   environment. Principal areas of study include soil contamination and
   water pollution. The topics of analysis involve chemical degradation in
   the environment, multi-phase transport of chemicals (for example,
   evaporation of a solvent containing lake to yield solvent as an air
   pollutant), and chemical effects upon biota.

   As an example study, consider the case of a leaking solvent tank which
   has entered the soil upgradient of a habitat of an endangered species
   of amphibian. Physicists would develop a computer model to understand
   the extent of soil contamination and subsurface transport of solvent,
   chemists would analyze the molecular bonding of the solvent to the
   specific soil type and biologists would study the impacts upon soil
   arthropods, plants and ultimately pond dwelling copepods who are the
   food of the endangered amphibian.

   Geosciences includes environmental geology, environmental soil science,
   volcanic phenomena and evolution of the earth's crust. In some
   classification systems it can also embrace hydrology including
   oceanography.

   As an example study of soils erosion, calculations would be made of
   surface runoff by soil scientists. Hydrologists would assist in
   examining sediment transport in overland flow. Physicists would
   contribute by assessing the changes in light transmission in the
   receiving waters. Biologists would analyze subsequent impacts to
   aquatic flora and fauna from increases in water turbidity.

Regulations driving the studies

   In the U.S. the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 set
   forth requirements for analysis of major projects in terms of specific
   environmental criteria. Numerous state laws have echoed these mandates,
   applying the principles to local scale actions. The upshot has been an
   explosion of documentation and study of environmental consequences
   before the fact of development actions.

   One can examine the specifics of environmental science by reading
   examples of Environmental Impact Statements prepared under NEPA such
   as: Wastewater treatment expansion options discharging into the San
   Diego/ Tiajuana Estuary, Expansion of the San Francisco International
   Airport, Development of the Houston, Metro Transportation system,
   Expansion of the metropolitan Boston MBTA transit system, and
   Construction of Interstate 66 through Arlington, Virginia.

   In England and Wales the Environmental Agency[ ](EA), (EA) formed in
   1996 is the leading public body for protecting and improving the
   environment and enforces the regulations listed on the communities and
   local government site[ ] (formerly the office of the deputy prime
   minister) which help drive the study environmental science in the UK.
   The Agency was set up under the Environment Act 1995 as an independent
   body and works closely with UK Government to enforce the regulations.

Terminology

   One can distinguish between "environmental science" and "ecology",
   since the two fields embody different foci of investigation, although
   there is considerable overlap. Ecology and environmental science both
   focus on the interactions of populations of organisms with their
   environment (including parameters such as meteorology, environmental
   noise, water quality, air quality, and soil chemistry). A dissimilarity
   is that ecology is often concerned with issues of biodiversity and the
   distribution of organisms, while environmental science may address
   interactions of physical parameters that may not involve biological
   systems directly, but exert some influence on it. One can consider
   "ecology" as a basic sub-category to environmental science in analyzing
   biological systems, both on local and global scales.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_science"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
