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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Technical Report · October 2017

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13945.77929

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 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

by

Prof A. BALSUBRAMANIAN
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 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,

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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.

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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

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

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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.
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.

4
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.

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.
(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,

5
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.
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.

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 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.

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.

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