Environmental science is the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. Environmental science focuses on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human activities and their impact on biodiversity and sustainability. As an interdisciplinary field, environmental science also applies knowledge from 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 for describing the effects within the plant and animal kingdoms.
Environmental science came alive as a substantive and active field of scientific investigation in 1960s and 1970s. This was driven by the need for a large multi-disciplined team to analyze complex environmental problems, the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific environmental protocols of investigation, and 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 interdisciplinary nature of environmental science, teams of professionals commonly work together to conduct environmental research or to produce Environmental Impact Statements. Other professional organizations engender work in environmental science making communication among diverse sciences.
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 often concerns 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.