Environmental Studies Book

As residents on Earth, our actions can impact the planet and the rest of its inhabitants. Just as major environmental catastrophes, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, can affect us, our actions can have major impacts on the environment. Human activities, such as pollution released into the environment, cutting down forests, and damning rivers, have all created significant impacts for environmental health and society. Environmental studies is the field that examines this relationship between people and the environment.

Environmental studies is an interdisciplinary subject examining the interplay between the social, legal, management, and scientific aspects of environmental issues. 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.