Amity University Jharkhand Subject: Environmental Science (103) module-i Multidisciplinary Nature Of Environmental Studies By: Dr. Sweta Sinha

Environment science “The systematic & scientific study of our environment and our role in it. This branch include the knowledge of Pure science & to some extent Social Sciences”. Our existence depends on the environment we have. Even then, our developments are going against nature and environment. Therefore the importance, scope study of environment and the need for public awareness is of great importance.

environment The word environment is derived from the french word 'environ' meaning surroundings. Hence, everything surrounding us is called "ENVIRONMENT". Definition:- “Sum total of all Biotic and Abiotic factors that surround and potentially influence an organism is called Environment” Some other Definitions of Environment:- “ All the external factors influencing the life and activity of people, plant and animals” “ All the things (i.e. Object & Circumstances) surrounding us is known as Environment”

Components of Environment Environment can be divided into following Components:

Components of Environment Biotic Components: It include all the living organisms. e.g. Plants, Animals, Birds, Human Beings etc. Abiotic Components: All the non-living things are included in this category. E.g. Climatic conditions, Weather, Soil Minerals Air etc.

Major segments of Environment

Importance of Atmosphere: The atmosphere implies the protective blanket of gases, surrounding the earth: It sustains life on the earth. It saves it from the hostile environment of outer space. It absorbs most of the cosmic rays from outer space and a major portion of the electromagnetic radiation from the sun. It transmits only here ultraviolet, visible, near infrared radiation (300 to 2500 nm) and radio waves. (0.14 to 40 m) while filtering out tissue- damaging ultraviolate waves below about 300 nm.

Hydrosphere The Hydrosphere comprises all types of water resources oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, streams, reservoir, polar icecaps, glaciers, and ground water. Nature 97% of the earth’s water supply is in the oceans, About 2% of the water resources is locked in the polar icecaps and glaciers. Only about 1% is available as fresh surface water and ground water.

LITHOSPHERE Lithosphere is the outer mantle of the solid earth. It consists of minerals occurring in the earth’s crusts and the soil e.g. minerals, rocks, organic matter, air and water. Impotence of lithosphere are as follows: Soil, the basis for agriculture to provide us with food. Micronutrients in soil, essential for plant growth. Microscopic flora, small soil fauna and fungi in soil, important living organisms of the lithosphere, which break down plant litter as well as animal wastes to provide nutrients for plants. A large number of minerals on which our industries are based.

BIOSPHERE The region of earth where life can exist is biosphere. Biosphere indicates the sphere of living organisms and their interactions with environment, viz atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

Multidisciplinary nature of environment It incorporates information and ideas from various disciplines, also referred as interdisciplinary field. It relates with Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Social Science, Humanities, Geography and multiple disciplines.

CHEMISTRY PHYSICS BIOLOGY SOCIAL SCIENCE Multidisciplinary nature of environment: ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE CHEMISTRY (Component of environment, Pollution issues, Ozone depletion etc.) PHYSICS (Energy, Light, etc) BIOLOGY (All livings, Producers, Consumers, Decomposers) GEOLOGY (Minerals, Mining) SOCIAL SCIENCE (Geography, Economics, Political Sci.,) HUMANITIES (Philosophy, Ethics etc.)

Importance Of Environmental Studies: Environmental studies provide information about the conditions of environment. It provides knowledge about the ecosystems. It provides necessary information about biodiversity. Environmental studies helps to find and solve the global and national or local environmental problems that include: National/Local Environmental problems: Air pollution due to industries and automobiles, urbanization, industrial and medical solid waste, deforestation, desertification, flood, soil erosion etc. Global Environmental problems: Overexploitation of natural resources, green house effect, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, etc.

NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS Stress on natural resources and quality of life due to development activities and rapid urbanization Deterioration of air and water quality, high noise level, increasing vehicular emissions. Environmental pollution cannot prevented by laws alone. Public participation is equally important with regard to environmental protection. It sensitizes the society about environmental issues and challenges interested individuals to develop skills and expertise thereby providing appropriate solutions. Both formal and informal education on the environment will give the interested individual the knowledge, values, skills and tools needed to face the environmental challenges on a local and global level.

Objectives of Environmental Education Awareness: To help individuals and social groups to acquire basic awareness of and sensitivity towards the environment & its related problem. Knowledge: To help individuals and social groups to acquire basic understanding of the environment, its associated problems and their responsible role towards the betterment of the environment. Attitude: To help individuals and social groups to acquire social values, strong feeling of concern for the environment and the motivation for actively participating in its protection and improvement.

Skills: To help individuals and social groups to acquire the skills for solving environmental problems. Evaluation ability: To help individuals and social groups to evaluate environmental measures and education program in terms of ecological, political, economical, social, aesthetic and education factors. Participation: To help individuals and social groups to develop a sense of responsibility and urgency regarding environmental problems to ensure appropriate action to solve those problems.

Scope Of The Environmental Studies: The scope of the environmental studies are summarized as: To study the interrelationship between biotic and abiotic components. To carry out the impact analysis and environmental audit in order to minimize the environmental problems. To Reduce the pollution. To Managing the unpredictable disaster. To create awareness to the public.