Environmental studies

The scope of studying environmental aspects is extremely wide and covers several crucial aspects of almost all disciplines.
The survival of any organism requires a steady supply of food and other materials and removal of waste products from its environment. The degradation of the environment is becoming a serious problem for the existence of human beings and other life. Pollution of soil, water and air causes harm to living organisms as well as loss to valuable natural resources. Several important aspects are studied under the field called as Environmental Studies.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

by

Prof A. BALASUBRAMANIAN
CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES IN EARTH SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE
MYSORE-6


The Wonderful World of Nature

Earth is our home planet. It is the only planet in the solar system known to harbor
life. It is also called as a Blue planet. The World we live in, is in this wonderful
planet It has a wonderful world with continents, oceans, islands and icecaps. This
wonderful world is for those who have eyes to see the beauty and its great variety, its
dynamism, ups and downs, comprising all objects with colors and complexions. The
flowers that blooms in the morning with fragrance, the sun still shining, the beautiful
butterflies wandering all along, fireflies that we can see and the pleasant sounds that
we can hear from the singing birds- all to please the human life , forever. The grass
and plants dancing to the wind which moves across them, it ripples and whispers.
Then we can count those different shades of green all along the fields we move. The
songs of birds, roaring sounds of animals, enjoyable climate and weather, tasty fruits
of nature and the waterfalls, rivers, tidal inlets and lagoons- all to provide a pleasing
condition to the human life.

The Planet Earth

The Earth is made up of complex, interactive systems that are often unpredictable.
Air, water, land, and life—including humans—combine forces to create a constantly
changing world. Over two million different forms of life have been identified on
planet Earth to this day, but scientists believe that there are millions more that have yet
to be identified. The Planet Earth, like Mercury and Venus, features mountain ranges,
canyons, ridges, plains, and regions of volcanic activity. We all live in a wonderful
world of nature. Study of earth and its environment is a fascinating area of science.

Definition of Environment:

For several decades, the word environment was frequently used by almost all people
around us, on television, circulars and in newspapers. Everyone is speaking about the

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protection and preservation of the environment. Global environmental summits are
being held regularly to discuss the emerging environmental issues, in order to solve
them. The term "Environment" denotes the total set of circumstances surrounding life.
It is everything surrounding us. It can be living or nonliving things. Environment
includes physical, chemical and other natural forces. The term environment has been
derived from a French word “Environ” means to surround. It refers to both abiotic
(physical or non-living) and biotic (living) environment. All living things live in
their environment. They constantly interact with it and change in response to
conditions in their environment.

Environmental Science:

The subject Environmental Science deals with these circumstances or conditions.
Every life thrives on the land, water and air. The term environment always denotes
the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area. Environmental
science is an interdisciplinary academic field. It integrates various sciences to study
the structure and function of our life-supporting environment and to understand the
causes, effects, and solutions of different environmental problems. Apart from the
study of biological and physical characters of the environment, it also includes the
social and cultural factors and impact of humans on the environment. The aims of
studying Environmental Science are to know more about the sustainable way of
living, to understand the behavior of organisms under natural conditions, to educate
people about environmental problem & issues, to use natural resources more
effectively without harming the environment and to teach the human beings the
importance of our environment and how to conserve it.

Elements of Environment:

Environment is constituted by the interacting systems of physical, biological and
cultural elements. These elements are inter-related in various ways, individually as
well as collectively. These elements may be explained as under:
(1) Physical elements : Physical elements are as space, landforms, water bodies,
climate soils, rocks and minerals. They determine the variable character of the human
habitat, its opportunities as well as limitations.
(2) Biological elements: Biological elements such as plants, animals,
microorganisms and humans constitute the biosphere.
(3) Cultural elements: Cultural elements such as economic, social and political
elements are essentially manmade features, which make cultural milieu.

Various Types of Environment

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According to Kurt Lewin, environment is of three types which influence the
personality of an individual as under:
(a) Physical Environment,
(b) Social and Cultural Environment, and
(c) Psychological Environment.

1. The Physical environment refers to geographical climate and weather or physical
conditions wherein and individual lives. The human races are greatly influenced by
the climate. The human working efficiency also depends on the climatic conditions.
The physique of an individual also depends on the climate conditions as the individual
tries to adjust in the physical environment.

2. The Social Environment includes an individual’s social, economic and political
condition wherein he lives. The moral, cultural and emotional forces influence the life
and nature of individual behaviour.

3. The Psychological Environment: Every individual has his/her own psychological
environment, in which he/she lives. Kurt Lewin has used the term ‘life space’ for
explaining the psychological environment. The Psychological environment enables us
to understand the personality of an individual. If a person is unable to overcome the
barriers, he /she may either get frustrated or compelled to change the goal towards a
new psychological environment.

Scope and Importance:

Environment and the organisms are the two dynamic and complex components of
nature. Environment regulates the life of all the organisms including human beings.
Human beings interact with the environment more vigorously than any other living
beings. Environment is comprised of the interacting systems of physical, biological
and cultural elements which are interlinked both individually and collectively. To
understand all the different aspects of environment, one need to understand the basic
principles of subjects like geology, biology, chemistry, physics, geography, resource
management, economics and demography. The scope of studying environmental
aspects is extremely wide and covers several crucial aspects of almost all disciplines.
The survival of any organism requires a steady supply of food and other materials and
removal of waste products from its environment. The degradation of the environment
is becoming a serious problem for the existence of human beings and other life.
Pollution of soil, water and air causes harm to living organisms as well as loss to

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valuable natural resources. Several important aspects are studied under the field called
as Environmental Studies.

Environmental studies:

Environmental studies involves educating the people for preserving the quality of
environment. The scope of environmental studies include:
1. Developing an awareness and sensitivity to the total environment and its related
problems
2. Motivating people for active participation in environmental protection and
improvement
3. Developing skills for active identification and development of solutions to
environmental problems
4. Imbibe and inculcate the necessity for conservation of natural resources.
5. Evaluation of environmental programmes in terms of social, economic, ecological
and aesthetic factors.

Increasing population, Urbanization, climate change, severe drought and poverty have
generated pressure on the natural resources and lead to a degradation of the
environment.

Components of Environment:

Environment mainly consists of atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
But it can be roughly divided into two types such as (a) Micro environment and (b)
Macro environment.
a) Micro environment refers to the immediate local surrounding of the organism.
(b) Macro environment refers to all the physical and biotic conditions that surround
the organism externally.
Structure of Environment:

Environment is both physical and biological. It includes both living and non-living
components.
(i) Physical Environment
The Physical Environment is classified into three broad categories viz.
(i) Solid, (ii) Liquid (iii) Gas.
These represent the spheres: (i) the lithosphere (solid earth), (ii) the hydrosphere
(water component) and (iii) the atmosphere.

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As such, the three basic of physical environment may be categorized as, (i)
Lithospheric Environment , (ii) Hydrospheric Environment and (iii) Atmospheric
Environment.

The scientists have classified them into smaller units based on different spatial scales,
e.g.
(i) Mountain Environment
(ii) Glacier Environment
(iii) Plateau Environment
(iv) Coastal Environment
(v) Cave Environment.

(ii) Biological Environment

The biological of the environment consists of: (i) Plants (flora) and (ii) Animals
(fauna). Thus, the biotic environment further be divided into floral environment and
faunal environment. All the organisms work to form their social groups and
organizations at several levels.

Built Environment

The Built Environment subject area is now established as a recognised field of study
by the international academic community. The term ‘built environment’ refers to
aspects of our surroundings that are built by humans, that is, distinguished from the
natural environment. It includes not only buildings, but the human-made spaces
between buildings, such as parks, and the infrastructure that supports human activity
such as transportation networks, utilities networks, flood protection,
telecommunications and so on.

In social science, the term built environment is often used. It refers to the man-made
surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from
buildings to parks. It has been defined as "the humanitarian-made space in which
people live, work, and recreate on a day-to-day basis." The "built environment
encompasses places and spaces created or modified by people including buildings,
parks, and transportation systems." Currently, built environments are typically used to
describe the interdisciplinary field that addresses the design, construction,
management, and use of these man-made surroundings as an interrelated whole as
well as their relationship to human activities over time.

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Urban Environment

The term "urban environment" refers to the environment of a city. It is characterized
by many buildings in a limited amount of space, with a high per capita per square
mile. Most of the living spaces, working spaces, shopping areas, health and
educational facilities, services, etc. are grouped in close proximity to each other. It is
usually characterized by limited open areas (green spaces) in specifically planned
areas or places that have been abandoned because of the higher value of real estate in
urban areas. Many urban areas are plagued by lack of space for many activities and
establishments.

Environmental Education :

Environmental Education (EE) is a process of understanding the overall perspective
of knowledge and awareness of the environment. It sensitizes the society about
environmental issues and challenges to the interested individuals and to the younger
generations to develop skills and expertise, in order to provide appropriate solutions.
Shortage of natural resources, impacts of Global Climate change, loss of biodiversity,
declining fisheries, depletion of ozone layer, illegal trade of endangered species,
destruction of habitats, degradation of land, depleting ground water resources,
introduction of alien species, environmental pollution, solid waste disposal, storm
water and sewage disposal options, pose a serious threat to ecosystems in forest, rural,
urban and marine zones. Environmental education is directed at shaping
environmental awareness in a local and global context.

The Guiding Principles:

According to UNESCO, the guiding principles of environmental education should be
as follows:
(a) Environmental education should be compulsory, right from the primary up to the
post graduate stage.
(b) Environmental education should have an interdisciplinary approach by including
physical, chemical, biological as well as socio-cultural aspects of the environment. It
should build a bridge between biology and technology.
(c) Environmental education should take into account the historical perspective, the
current and the potential historical issues.
(d) Environmental education should emphasise the importance of sustainable
development i.e., economic development without degrading the environment.
(e) Environmental education should emphasise the necessity of seeking international
cooperation in environmental planning.

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(f) Environmental education should lay more stress on practical activities and first
hand experiences.

Environmental Education is a process to promote the awareness and understanding of
the environment, its relationship with man and his activities. It is also aimed at
developing responsible actions necessary for preservation, conservation and
improvement of the environment and its components.

Various combinations of words such as Environmental Education (E.E.),
Environmental study (E.S.) and Environmental Approach (E.A.) are being used in the
literature in the context of environment and education. The aspects of environmental
education should be interdisciplinary, drawing from biological, sociological,
anthropological, economic political and human resources. Environmental Education
includes conservation, outdoor and natural resource education as well as nature study
but it also includes everything that relates to man and his environment.

The sharing of resources is a global concern. The materials of the earth become
resources through human perception of potential uses. Earth resources are unevenly
distributed and unequally consumed. The consumption of resources may convert them
into irretrievable forms or into substances dangerously harmful to living organisms.
Recycling of industrial production and ecologically balanced agricultural production
are means of maintaining sustained yields from resources. All these aspects should be
taken into account, while dealing with the concepts of environmental education.

Environmental Awareness

Unlike traditional forms of education, Environmental Education is a holistic. It is a
lifelong learning process directed at creating responsible individuals who explore and
identify environmental issues, engage in problem solving, and take action effectively
to improve the environment. As a result, such individuals develop a deeper
awareness and understanding of environmental issues. This also helps to resolute
many environmental challenges. Environmental awareness is to understand the
fragility of our environment and the importance of its protection. Environmental
Awareness covers the following aspects:
1. The complex inter-relationship between man and his total human impact on
environment.
2. Achievement of knowledge, abilities and skills related to solving environmental
problems.

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3. A personal commitment and acceptance of responsibility for population, nature,
nutrition and health, Ecological balance, pollution, foresting, landuse Environmental
conservation and willingness to cooperate with others to meet the ends.
4. A concern for the quality of life with all its variety of expressions.
5. Sensitivity towards environmental problems and willingness to get involved in the
national and international policies to solve the same.

Environmental awareness means that the environmental perspective is taken into
consideration in decision making and the selection of products and services. There are
some news ways too, to raise environmental awareness, like green blog, social
media, green club and eco forum. Environmental awareness is important for several
reasons. It fosters a sense of connection to the natural world, promotes sustainable
development and encourages conservation of irreplaceable natural resources and
vulnerable plant and animal species.

Environmental awareness essentially serves as an educational tool. It helps the people
around the world to understand the economic, aesthetic and biological importance of
preserving resources and reducing or eliminating the harmful impacts of man-made
alterations. Environmental awareness or education helps people understand the
consequences of human activities on various lands and identifies remedial solutions.
The Media also plays a dominant role in creating massive Environmental Awareness.

Environmental Management

Environmental management are options used to oversee the man's impact on the
environment. It is done through several management techniques. Management
techniques include the development of new technologies, environmental policies, and
sustainability measures. To help resolve some of the environmental issues, policy
makers, scientists, and government planners are looking for the most efficient ways to
use our natural resources with the least negative impact possible.

A major part of environmental management is devoted to the creation of
environmental policies to ensure various human activities do not negatively impact
the environment. Environmental policies are rules and regulations created by the
government to set standards that cannot be exceeded. These standards include
maximum allowable pollutant levels in water, air, and soils, which are determined
through extensive scientific observations and research.

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Conclusion

Environmental studies is an interdisciplinary subject examining the interplay between
the social, legal, management, and scientific aspects of environmental issues. The term
" interdisciplinary" means that issues are examined from multiple perspectives.
Unlike environmental science, which focuses mainly on the scientific component of
these environmental issues, environmental studies investigates the scientific and the
humanitarian aspects. Students of environmental studies learn the causes, effects, and
possible solutions to address important environmental problems.