ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

What is Environmental Science? GLOBAL HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH

The study of how humans interact with their  More than 8 billion humans
environment
 Why so many humans?
Our environment is everything that surrounds us,
both natural and man- made.  Agricultural revolution

• All the things around us with which we  Stable food supplies

interact:  Industrial revolution
• Living things  Urbanized society
• Nonliving things  Powered by fossil fuels
• Our built environment  Sanitation and medicines
• Social relationships and institutions  More food
Natural resources: vital to human survival

 RENEWABLE RESOURCES:

 Perpetually available: sunlight, wind,

wave energy

 Renew themselves over short

periods: timber, water, soil

 These can be destroyed by

human activities.

 NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES: can be

depleted

 Oil, coal, minerals

 Human population growth exacerbates  ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
all environmental problems
 The pursuit of knowledge about the
 The growth rate has slowed…but we natural world
still add more than 200,000 people to
 Scientists try to remain object
the planet each day. We depend
completely on the environment for  ENVIRONMENTALISM
survival
 A social movement dedicated
 Life has become more pleasant for protecting the natural world
us so far (Increased wealth, health,
mobility, leisure time) What is an “environmental problem”?

 But…natural systems have been Instance:

degraded and environmental changes
DDT, a pesticide
threaten long-term health and survival
• In developing countries: welcome because it
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: HOW DOES THE
kills malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
NATURAL WORLD WORK?
• In developed countries: not welcome, due
Environment ←impacts → Humans to health risks

IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

• It has an applied goal: developing solutions
to environmental problems • Knowledge about challenges

An interdisciplinary field • Role of Environment Education

 Natural sciences: information CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURE

about the world
• Expanded food production led to increased
 Social sciences: values and human population and consumption
behavior, politics, economy, etc
• Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is
used for agriculture

• Chemical fertilizers

• Pesticides

• Erosion

• Changed natural systems

CHALLENGES IN POLLUTION

• Waste products and artificial chemicals

used in farms, industries, and households
CHALLENGES IN CLIMATE NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

• Change in the composition of the • Endangered natural resources

atmosphere
• Role of youth
• The Earth’s surface is warming
• Science and Technology can help in a
• Melting glaciers limited way but cannot deliver it

• Rising sea levels • The moral and ethical education

• Impacted wildlife and crops • To protect children living in polluted

regions, environmental education
• Increasingly destructive weather
represents a relevant means of prevention
Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon
• For conceptual change
dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the
highest level in 650,000 years IMPACT OF SCIENCE

EFFECT OF GLOBAL WARMING • Paying a high ‘price’ for it in terms of

environmental degradation
• Melting of Ice in North and South Pole.
• This has serious implications for future
• All the Water Drained to Sea.
generations.
• Rise in Sea Level.
UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL
• Water Pollution BEHAVIORAL CHANGE THROUGH
COMMUNICATION
• Natural Calamity - TSUNAMI
• Developing a ‘responsible environmental
CHALLENGES IN BIODIVERSITY behavior’ became one of the tasks of
environmental education
• Human actions have driven many species
extinct, and biodiversity is declining • The ‘responsible environmental behavior’
dramatically is defined as “the whole of actions of an
individual within the society, relationship
• Habitat Destruction
between these actions and environment”.
• Over exploitation
• Communication is a way of approaching and
• Pollution explaining processes in society and it can be
defined as “the exchange processes among the
• Diseases
individual and group members of a given
society”.
CREATING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

• Global Learning and Observations to Benefit EDUCATION AND AWARENESS – What we need
the Environment (GLOBE) to do?
• (NASA), USA. Over 50,000 schools all over
the world, of which 86 are in India, are enrolled • To introduce & enhance formal and
in the GLOBE programme. informal Environmental Education and training
• A School in Lucknow, they have set up a programmes at schools & institutions of higher
small weather monitoring station in their learning
school. The data is then used to forecast • To encourage an integrated approach to
worldwide weather trends and to develop environment education that embraces
environment protocols. multidisciplinary approach (environment and
development issues)

• To promote non-formal education and

What is being done?
awareness activities at local communities’ level
• There are a number of Educations, to foster partnerships. Municipalities and NGOs
Awareness and related initiatives within each
• To strengthen the role of the media as
Department.
agents for the dissemination of messages
• Sector Education, Training and
• To empower communities to take
Development
ownership
• Environmental Sector Skills Plan

• Environment Careers Guidance for

SENSITIZATION
Schools
Definition:
• Eco-Schools Programme
An amplified response to a stimulus resulting from
• Capacity Building for Educators ;
repeated exposure to it.
Biodiversity for Teachers
Drug sensitization :
• National Greening Programme
• Occurs in drug addiction
• Women and Environment Forum &
related events • An increased effect of drug following
repeated doses
• Local Government development &
training • This sensitization involves changes in brain
signal transmission, as well as a protein
• Clean Fires Campaign
transport.
• Participate annually in various
• An associative process may contribute to
scientific exhibitions attended by
addiction, for environmental stimuli
educators and learners.
associated with drug taking may increase
• Kids and parks craving. This process may increase the risk
for relapse in addicts attempting to quit.
Education For Life Education Through Life
Education Throughout Life

-Mahatma Gandhi