Environmental science is the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. It is an interdisciplinary science overlapping the categories in Natural sciences, Engineering sciences and Social sciences. In nature, Environmental science focuses on pollution and degradation of the environment related to human activities and their impact on biodiversity and sustainability. As an interdisciplinary field, environmental science also applies knowledge from economics, law and social sciences. It can be applied to cyberspace environment also. In nature, Physics is used to understand the flux of material and energy interaction and construct mathematical models of environmental phenomena. Chemistry is applied to understand the molecular interactions among natural systems. Biology is fundamental to describing the effects within the plant and animal kingdoms.
Environmental science came alive as a substantive, active field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s. This was driven by the need for a large multi-disciplined team to analyze complex environmental problems, the arrival of substantive environmental laws requiring specific environmental protocols of investigation, and growing public awareness of a need for action in addressing environmental problems.
Environmental science encompasses issues such as climate change, conservation, biodiversity, groundwater and soil contamination, use of natural resources, waste management, sustainable development, air pollution and noise pollution.
