Bachelor Of Science In Environmental Science, What It Really Entails?

Have you been thinking and pondering about what direction your Bachelor of Science degree should be launched in that would actually matter and would involve you doing your part in taking care of the environment in the little way you can, which will eventually result in your saving the world? Well, if you have, then this is probably the answer you have been looking for: Environmental Science (yeah!). If you come to think about it, you will realize that the course itself is an interesting one, as it does not deal with only the chemistry, biology or physical component of the environment. It also deals with the interaction between these components.

A bachelor of science in environmental science offers you a basic knowledge of what the environment is about and the interactions that occur within it. It is a multidisciplinary science, as it touches almost every discipline in science, ranging from plant physiology to soil science, geology, physics, biology, hydrology, chemistry, computer science, ecology and among others. And being an environmental scientist make you an expert (well, you've had trainings) in more than one discipline. An example is the geochemist, who has trained in the fields of geology and chemistry, and who is an expert and can apply the knowledge gathered from both. What does a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in its entirety entail? Before we can get a grasp of what it is about, it is essential to know and understand the history, some of the pioneers of the field and their contributions.

For close to two thousand years, one of the texts on the subject of meteorology that has had the greatest influence was by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle who lived between 384 and 322 BCE. Aristotle posited that weather is the result of cyclical movement of two exhalations: of which one is hot and dry like fire and the other one, water-like and vaporous. When the heat radiating from the sun breaks the water up into smaller parts, vapour rises into the upper part of the atmosphere where the cold exhalations cool it and allow it to fall back to the earth. Following this theory of Aristotle, Theophrastus, a Greek scientist compiled a book on the topic, "weather forecasting" and his influence in the study of weather and weather forecasting remains prominent. Pomponius Mela was the earliest Roman geographer, around AD 43 who worked on formalising the climatic zone system.

Charles Darwin during a five-year surveying voyage, collected many specimens of fossils, rocks, animals and plants, observing them and using the observations to develop his theory of descent with constant modification to accommodate new facts. In the mid-1800's, a new branch of science was introduced which attempted to examine specific species, the type of environmental factors that affects them and the reason they live the way they do, which was the beginning of ecology, a term coined by Ernst Haeckel.

Henry David Thoreau was another revolutionary that lectured about preserving the world through wild lands. John Wesley Powell wrote a report about the lands of the arid west after he navigated the Colorado River. George Perkins Marsh wrote a book tiltled 'Man and Nature' which was the first book to raise concern over the way humans are able to carry out activities that will negatively impact and degrade the environment of the United States. Rachel Marsh wrote in 1962, the book titled Silent spring: a book that aimed to notify the public as to the negative effects the increase in the use of chemicals like pesticides, have on human beings and the ecosystem at large. The focus that these revolutionaries put on the environment and the impact human beings have on the environment resulted in a change in the way we started view the activities we carry out and their impact in the preservation and destruction of the ecosystem.

The interactions of man with the natural world led to the creation of the discipline called Environmental Science. Having a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science will provide you with an overview of the different ways and manners with which science impacts the environment, although, it will not dig into the different components that impact the environment, it will however offer you the understanding of the way these components interact with each other. One of the numerous advantages of studying environmental science is the fact that the activities carried out during the course of the program is often much more practical than those carried out in the real world as scholars are more prone to believing that the things they study matter most, not being cognizant of the fact that other phenomena might be involved. One important aspect the bachelor of science in environmental science majors degree, is the preparation it hands out in dealing with conflict and change in any aspect of the environment, which is not often taught in 'traditional science' majors.

Some components of environmental sciences include the following: Atmospheric sciences. This is a branch of environmental science that deals primarily with the earth's atmosphere, placing emphasis on the interrelation of the atmosphere and other systems. Atmospheric sciences include studies of atmospheric dispersion modeling of airborne contaminants, meteorology, greenhouse gas phenomena, light pollution and sound propagation phenomena in relation to noise pollution. A good example would be the global warming phenomena that would require chemists examining the inventory of the chemicals in the atmosphere and their effects, biologists analyzing the contributions animals and plants make to carbon dioxide fluxes, certain specialists including oceanographers and meteorologists continue to understand atmospheric dynamics.

Ecology. Ecology refers to the study of the interactions that occur between organisms and their environment. It involves investigating the relationship that exists between the number of organisms in an area and the physical properties present in that environment they are found in; it also involves the investigation of the interaction between two populations of organisms that are dissimilar through the symbiotic or competitive relationship they share. A good example includes the analysis of an ecosystem that is being impacted by stressors. An estuarine setting, for example, intended for the development of industries could have certain impact on certain species through water and air pollution, chemists would make analysis of the transport of water pollutants to the estuarine area, biologists would make descriptions of the fauna and flora, geologists would aid in understanding the bay muds and the marsh soil and physicists would work to calculate the air pollution emissions. All of these can be done by an environmental scientist.

Environmental Chemistry. This component of environmental science has to do with the study of changes or alterations in the chemical composition of the environment. The areas that are principally studied in this component include: water pollution and soil contamination. The topics involved in analysis include multi-phase transport of chemicals, the effects of chemical on biota as well as chemical degradation in the environment. A good example would be the case of a leaking solvent tank that is in the habitat of a specie of amphibians. A computer model would be implemented in a bid to understand and resolve the extent to which the soil has been contaminated and also, the subsurface transport of solvent, it is then up to the chemist to characterize the molecular bond between the solvent and the soil type, biologists would then study the effects of the solvent on the plants, arthropods and the pond-dwelling organisms that serve as food for the amphibians.

Geosciences. The fields of geosciences include environmental soil science, environmental geology, volcanic phenomena and evolution, hydrology and oceanography. A good example is the study of soil erosion. Soil scientists calculate the surface runoff with fluvial geomorphomologists assisting in examining the transport of sediments in overland flow, physicists would asses the light transmission changes in receiving waters and biologists would make analysis of subsequent impacts to aquatic fauna and flora from the increases seen in water turbidity. A bachelor of science in environmental science has a good number of benefits which include:

• Increase in the understanding of the problems facing the environment as it is and the environment was, from the eyelenses of science, humanities and social sciences. This is in an attempt to prevent them from reoccuring and also to prepare for the way the environment will be.
• It also gives the student experiences in solving real problems of the environment at large.
• Environmental Science equips the student with the ability of making use of modern research methods in order to explain the observations made concerning different societies and the natural world. Although the study of the environment in itself is old, the field of environmental science is not, it was however developed through public concern and awareness about the problems of the environment that was generated in the 1960's and 1970's. A lot of Universities now offer the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science for students who want to make impacts in their society while making money too. You can now positively impact your society by earning a degree in this course.