ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental science is defined as the study of the environment and the

interconnecting systems it contains, furthermore, the way people interact with
their natural surroundings and use natural resources (wise geek, 2013).
Scientist in this field is highly interdisciplinary and extremely diverse, for
example, a scientist might study volcanoes or climate change. This essay will
cover the following; the definition of environmental science, the relationship
between science and technology and how it affects environmental problems;
the concept of environmental suitability and why it should be studied.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is the process of making sure current processes
of interaction with the environment are pursued with the idea of keeping the
environment as pristine as naturally possible based on ideal-seeking behavior
(Wikipedia, 2010). What makes environmental sustainability so important is
that it demands that society designs activities to meet human needs while
indefinitely preserving the life support systems of the planet (Wikipedia, 2010).
Human consumption can only use the nature’s resources at a rate that can be
replenished naturally.

Human Values affecting Society

The most devastating environmental change of all is the loss of biodiversity.
The rate of species extinction has remained at one species per million per
year, furthermore, the accelerating destruction of habitats throughout the
world leads to projections of the loss of two-thirds of all species on earth by
the end of this century, and millions of years to recover from the Cretaceous
period (mindfully.org, 2013). As individuals, we obtain our food, directly or
indirectly from plants, for example, plant our primary use of medicines.
Climate Change As Major Environmental Issue
Widespread improvements in the quality of life of many of the world’s
populations have gone hand-in-hand with increased demands on natural
resources. The planet is struggling to keep up. Increases in the average
global temperature, and the frequency of extreme weather events are
transforming ecosystems around the world and threatening entire species of
plants and animals. Forests are drying up because there is less rainfall and
thus more fires, and the glaciers of both the North and South Poles are
shrinking. The consequences of climate change affect all of us, but to react
and adapt to these challenges, we must first understand them.
Climate, Weather And Natural Disaster
Climate is not the same as weather, but the two phenomena are closely
related. While weather refers to short-term conditions that can change
quickly, climate determines the long-term character of a given place, for
instance, whether it is temperate or tropical. The relationship between
weather and climate is crucial: the former is subordinate to the latter. Climate
determines temperatures, weather diversity, the traits of winters, rainfall
totals, as well as the nature of meteorological phenomena such as the
severity of storms. It is due to this delicate relationship that we are facing
both temperature rises and more frequent weather extremes and natural
disasters as a result of climate change.