Environmental Studies 
                                         
          
          
          
          
          
          
                                 AEC- 02 
                                      
                        SELF LEARNING MATERIAL 
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
                            DIRECTORATE 
                    OF DISTANCE EDUCATION 
          
               SWAMI VIVEKANAND SUBHARTI UNIVERSITY 
          
                           MEERUT – 250 005, 
          
                         UTTAR PRADESH (INDIA) 
               SLM Module Developed By : 
                
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                         Unit 1 
        
       Introduction to environmental studies: 
       Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies:-   
       Environment belongs to all the lining beings and thus is, important for all. Each and 
       every body of whatever occupation he or she may have is affected by environmental 
       issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer, dwindling forest, energy resources, 
       loss of global biodiversity etc.. 
       Environment study deals with the analysis of the processes in water, air, land, soil and 
       organisms which leads to pollute or degrade environment. It helps us for establishing 
       standard, for safe, clean and healthy natural ecosystem. It also deals with important 
       issues like safe and clean drinking water, hygienic living conditions and clean and fresh 
       air, fertility of land, healthy food and development. 
       Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies: 
        
       Because, the environment is complex and actually made up of many different 
       environments, including natural, constructed and cultural environments, environmental 
       studies is the inter disciplinary examination of how biology, geology, politics policy 
       studies, law, geology, religion engineering, chemistry and economics combine to inform 
       the consideration of humanity‘s effects on the natural world. 
       This subject educates the students to appreciate the complexity of environmental issues 
       and citizens and experts in many fields. By studying environmental science, students 
       may develop a breadth of the interdisciplinary and methodological knowledge in the 
       environmental fields that enables them to facilitate the definition and solution of 
       environmental problems. 
             It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach and its components include Biology, 
             Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Sociology, Health Sciences, Anthropology, 
             Economics, Statistics and Philosophy. It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach. 
             An Understanding of the working of the environment requires the knowledge from wide 
             ranging fields. The Table 1.1 below shows a list of topics dealt commonly in air pollution 
             and the related traditional fields of knowledge illustrating the interdisciplinary nature of 
             the subject. 
             Table 1.1. Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental Science: 
              
             Ex: Air Pollution: 
             Environmental issue/topics          Major subject/ Topic knowledge required 
             Nature and reaction of air          Chemistry and Chemical engineering 
             pollutants 
             Effects of air pollutants on human  Zoology and botany and various branches of 
             beings, animal and plants           life science. Physics and Chemistry 
             Effect of air pollutants on         Meteorology, Thermodynamics, Geography 
             materials 
             Effect of climate on air pollution  Mathematical modeling, etc. 
             Air pollution control devices       Physics, chemistry and various branches of 
                                                 Engineering 
             History of air pollution and air    History