Environmental Science

Environmental science

Environmental science

A multidisciplinary academic field that integrates physical, biological, and information sciences to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems.

Ecology

branch of biology that deals with the relationships of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

Renewable resource

A renewable resource is a natural resource which can replenish with the passage of time, either through biological reproduction or other naturally recurring processes. Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere.

Sustainability

In more general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. The organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes the four interconnected domains: ecology, economics, politics and culture.

Non-renewable resource

A resource of economic value that cannot be readily replaced by natural means on a level equal to its consumption.

Most fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal are considered nonrenewable resources in that their use is not sustainable because their formation takes billions of years.

Pollution

the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.

Biodiversity

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Ecological footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Developed country

Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita; countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries.

Developing country

a poor agricultural country that is seeking to become more advanced economically and socially.

Biology

the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and distribution.

Chemistry

the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change; and the use of these processes to form new substances.

Earth science

branch of science dealing with the physical constitution of the earth and its atmosphere.

Physics

branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. The subject matter of physics, distinguished from that of chemistry and biology, includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms.

Social science

the scientific study of human society and social relationships.