ENVIRONMENT STUDIES
INTRODUCTION:- Environmental studies are the study of human interaction with the environment and in the interests of solving complex problems environment includes which are directly or indirectly dependent for our survival, whether it is living component like animal ,plants Orion living component like soil ,air and water
MEANING:- Environment studies is all about learning the way we should live and how we can develop sustainable strategies to protect the environment. It helps individuals to develop an understanding of living and physical environment and how to resolve challenging environmental issues affecting nature In addition to studying the physical aspects of the environment, it also emphasizes the need to conserve biodiversity and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and utilize resources in a responsible way
DEFINITION:-
Environmental studies is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. Environment studies connects principles from the physical sciences ,commerce/
economics ,the humanities, and social sciences to address complex contemporary environmental issues
IMPORTANT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES:-
Environment studies is all about learning the way we should live and how we can develop sustainable strategies to protect the environment. It helps individuals to develop an understanding of living and physical environment and how to resolve challenging environmental issues affecting nature. In addition to studying the physical aspects of the environment, it also emphasizes the need to conserve biodiversity and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and utilize resources in a responsible way. To create awareness among today’s generation on pressing environmental problems, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it mandatory for the universities to introduce a course in environmental studies and teach students about the eco-system, pollution and problems concerned with the environment. Let us discuss the dire need to include environmental studies in the course cucurriculum.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES :
Environmental Studies involves scientific study of the environmental system and the status of its inherent or induced changes on organisms.In addition to study of physical and biological characters of environment, it also describes the social and cultural factors and the impact of man on environment.
OBJECTIVE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES;-
(i) Creating awareness about different environmental problems. (ii) Imparting fundamental knowledge regarding environment and its allied problems. (iii) Developing an attitude of concern for environment. (iv) Motivating public to participate in environmental protection and environmental improvement.
SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES:- Environmental studies discipline has multiple and multilevel scopes. This study is important and necessary not only for children but also for everyone. The scopes are summarized as follows:
1. The study creates awareness among the people to know about various renewable and nonrenewable resources of the region. The endowment or potential, patterns of utilization and the balance of various resources available for future use in the state of a country are analysed in the study. 2. It provides the knowledge about ecological systems and cause and effect relationships. 3. It provides necessary information about biodiversity richness and the potential dangers to the species of plants, animals and microorganisms in the environment. 4. The study enables one to understand the causes and consequences due to natural and main induced disasters (flood, earthquake,landslide, cyclones etc.,) and pollutions and measures to minimize the effects. 5. It enables one to evaluate alternative responses to environmental issues before deciding an alternative course of action
TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES:-
The Classification of the environmental Broadly divided into categories : • Geographical environmental • Man-made environmental
GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENTAL :- Geographical environment is the terrestrial environment that is a creation of complex natural and environmental conditions. ... They are direct aspects of how human society conceptualizes the geography of the Earth. Geographical environment is also called a natural environment as it interacts with nature.
It consists of all components provided by nature and hence can be called as the natural environment. It is also referred to as the physical environment as it pertains to the physical requirements of life. These physical or geographic conditions are not dependent on the existence of humans. Sometimes, humans have no control over the physical conditions of the environment.
It includes natural resources, the earth’s surface, mountains, plains, land, water, deserts, storms, cyclones, volcanoes, oceans, climatic factors, and so on. It is also used to refer to biological situations such as complexities associated with plants and animals. The sustainability of the nature resources is known to contribute towards the economy of a country. MAN MADE ENVIRONMENTAL:- This environment is used to refer to the one created by man in order to regulate and monitor certain environmental conditions. Some address it as a social-cultural environment. It can further be divided into two types of environments. 1.Inner Environment 2.Outer Environment
The Inner Environment It is a social environment and it exists as long as a particular society exists. It pertains to the regulations, traditions, organizations and institutions. It involves customs and folkways which is existent in every human group. It is addressed with names such as non-material culture, social heritage etc. This heritage is essential for the social life of humans to flourish, it is known to have an influence on an individual’s life. The altered form of the economic and physical environment – artificial environment, are seen as two different aspects of the man-made environment.
The Outer Environment Through advancement in the field of science and technology, humans have attempted to alter conditions of their physical environment. This outer environment is as a result of these modifications which includes modern infrastructure in cities, our homes and their associated amenities, our modes of communication and transport, our resorts to conveniences and luxury, different kinds of industry manufacturing luxurious commodities,electrical appliances and so on which ultimately aims at civilization and urbanization.The inner and the outer environments are correlated and hence inseparable.
NATURE AND MAN MADE ENVIRONMENTAL:-
As it was mentioned above that one of the human creativities is the built environment within the urban areas. The development of urban area always follows the growth of its population numbers, because the more the population numbers within the city increase, the more the urban facilities in the city will
be improved. Since the urban form is a result of human intervention in a natural environment, the quality of relationship among the Natural and man-made environment is depend on the men as human being who carry out their activities in urban areas. If the activities do not consider the ecological aspects of urban areas, the environmental qualities will be worst.
Whereas if the human being carries out their activities with taking into consideration the ecological aspects, the development
of urban areas will be in harmony and sustain.
In landscape architecture, the built environment is identified as man-made landscapes as opposed to the natural environment. In architecture and environmental psychology, the phrase is a useful acknowledgment that the majority of urban environments already exist, that a small fraction of buildings constructed annually, even in the industrialized world, are designed by architects, and that users of the built
environment encounter issues that cross the traditional professional boundaries between urban planners, traffic engineers, zoning authorities, architects, interior designers, industrial designers, etc.