Editing Environmental science (section)

== History ==

=== Ancient civilizations ===
Historical concern for environmental issues is well documented in archives around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kovarik |first=Bill |date=September 9, 2022 |title=Environmental issues are part of history |url=https://environmentalhistory.org/2022/09/09/about-environmental-history/#more-164 |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=Environmental history}}</ref> Ancient civilizations were mainly concerned with what is now known as environmental science insofar as it related to agriculture and natural resources. Scholars believe that early interest in the environment began around 6000 BCE when ancient civilizations in Israel and Jordan collapsed due to [[deforestation]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Prehistoric |url=https://environmentalhistory.org/ancient/prehistoric/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=Environmental history|date=20 July 2012 }}</ref> As a result, in 2700 BCE the first legislation limiting deforestation was established in [[Mesopotamia]].<ref name=":0" /> Two hundred years later, in 2500 BCE, a community residing in the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus River Valley]] observed the nearby river system in order to improve sanitation.<ref name=":0" /> This involved manipulating the flow of water to account for public health. In the Western Hemisphere, numerous ancient Central American city-states collapsed around 1500 BCE due to soil erosion from intensive agriculture.<ref name=":0" /> Those remaining from these civilizations took greater attention to the impact of farming practices on the sustainability of the land and its stable food production. Furthermore, in 1450 BCE the [[Minoan civilization]] on the Greek island of Crete declined due to deforestation and the resulting [[environmental degradation]] of natural resources.<ref name=":0" /> [[Pliny the Elder]] somewhat addressed the environmental concerns of ancient civilizations in the text ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'', written between 77 and 79 ACE, which provided an overview of many related subsets of the discipline.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Classics of Environmental Literature |url=https://environmentalhistory.org/about/classics-of-environmental-literature/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=Environmental history|date=14 September 2014 }}</ref>

Although warfare and disease were of primary concern in ancient society, environmental issues played a crucial role in the survival and power of different civilizations. As more communities recognized the importance of the natural world to their long-term success, an interest in studying the environment came into existence.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

=== Beginnings of environmental science ===

==== 18th century ====
In 1735, the concept of [[binomial nomenclature]] is introduced by [[Carl Linnaeus|Carolus Linnaeus]] as a way to classify all living organisms, influenced by earlier works of [[Aristotle]].<ref name=":1" /> His text, ''[[Systema Naturae]]'', represents one of the earliest culminations of knowledge on the subject, providing a means to identify different species based partially on how they interact with their environment.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

==== 19th century ====
In the 1820s, scientists were studying the properties of gases, particularly those in the Earth's atmosphere and their interactions with heat from the Sun.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Mason |first=Matthew |date=August 2014 |title=History of the Study of Climate Change in Field of Environmental Science |url=https://www.environmentalscience.org/history-climate-change |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=Environmental Science}}</ref> Later that century, studies suggested that the Earth had experienced an [[Ice age|Ice Age]] and that warming of the Earth was partially due to what are now known as [[greenhouse gas]]es (GHG).<ref name=":2" /> The [[greenhouse effect]] was introduced, although climate science was not yet recognized as an important topic in environmental science due to minimal industrialization and lower rates of greenhouse gas emissions at the time.{{cn|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Rachel-Carson.jpg|thumb|[[Rachel Carson]] published her groundbreaking novel, ''[[Silent Spring]]'', in 1962, bringing the study of environmental science to the forefront of society.]]
[[File:Santa Barbara, Calif, oil slick area - NARA - 194617.tif|left|thumb|Former President [[Richard Nixon]] visits the site of the 1969 [[Santa Barbara oil spill]], which received intense media coverage and inspired a multitude of environmental legislation.]]
[[File:First Space-Based View of the Ozone Hole (8006648994).jpg|left|thumb|A team of British researchers found a hole in the ozone layer forming over Antarctica, the discovery of which would later influence the [[Montreal Protocol]] in 1987.]]

==== 20th century ====

In the 1900s, the discipline of environmental science as it is known today began to take shape. The century is marked by significant research, literature, and international cooperation in the field.

In the early 20th century, criticism from dissenters downplayed the effects of [[Climate change|global warming]].<ref name=":2" /> At this time, few researchers were studying the dangers of [[fossil fuels]]. After a 1.3 degrees Celsius temperature anomaly was found in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1940s, however, scientists renewed their studies of gaseous heat trapping from the greenhouse effect (although only [[Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere|carbon dioxide]] and water vapor were known to be greenhouse gases then).<ref name=":2" /> Nuclear development following the Second World War allowed environmental scientists to intensively study the effects of carbon and make advancements in the field.<ref name=":2" /> Further knowledge from archaeological evidence brought to light the changes in climate over time, particularly [[Ice core|ice core sampling]].<ref name=":2" />

Environmental science was brought to the forefront of society in 1962 when [[Rachel Carson]] published an influential piece of environmental literature, ''[[Silent Spring]]''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Milestones in EPA and Environmental History |url=https://www.epa.gov/history/milestones-epa-and-environmental-history |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=United States Environmental Protection Agency|date=20 May 2020 }}</ref> Carson's writing led the American public to pursue environmental safeguards, such as bans on harmful chemicals like the [[insecticide]] [[DDT]].<ref name=":3" /> Another important work, ''[[Tragedy of the commons|The Tragedy of the Commons]]'', was published by [[Garrett Hardin]] in 1968 in response to accelerating natural degradation.<ref name=":1" /> In 1969, environmental science once again became a household term after two striking disasters: Ohio's [[Cuyahoga River]] caught fire due to the amount of [[pollution]] in its waters and a [[1969 Santa Barbara oil spill|Santa Barbara oil spill]] endangered thousands of marine animals, both receiving prolific media coverage.<ref name=":3" /> Consequently, the United States passed an abundance of legislation, including the [[Clean Water Act]] and the [[Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement]].<ref name=":3" /> The following year, in 1970, the first ever [[Earth Day]] was celebrated worldwide and the United States [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) was formed, legitimizing the study of environmental science in government policy.<ref name=":3" /> In the next two years, the [[United Nations]] created the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP) in Stockholm, Sweden to address global [[environmental degradation]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Karr |first=Katherine |date=January 2022 |title=Celebrating 50 years of the IES: A brief history of environmental science |url=https://www.the-ies.org/analysis/celebrating-50-years-ies-brief |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=The Institution of Environmental Sciences}}</ref>

Much of the interest in environmental science throughout the 1970s and the 1980s was characterized by major disasters and social movements. In 1978, hundreds of people were relocated from [[Love Canal Disaster|Love Canal]], New York after [[carcinogenic pollutant]]s were found to be buried underground near residential areas.<ref name=":3" /> The next year, in 1979, the nuclear power plant on [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]] in Pennsylvania suffered a meltdown and raised concerns about the dangers of [[radioactive waste]] and the safety of nuclear energy.<ref name=":3" /> In response to landfills and toxic waste often disposed of near their homes, the official [[Environmental justice|Environmental Justice Movement]] was started by a Black community in North Carolina in 1982.<ref name=":3" /> Two years later, the toxic [[methyl isocyanate]] gas was released to the public from a power plant disaster in [[Bhopal disaster|Bhopal]], India, harming hundreds of thousands of people living near the disaster site, the effects of which are still felt today.<ref name=":3" /> In a groundbreaking discovery in 1985, a British team of researchers studying Antarctica found evidence of a [[Ozone depletion|hole in the ozone layer]], inspiring global agreements banning the use of [[chlorofluorocarbon]]s (CFCs), which were previously used in nearly all aerosols and refrigerants.<ref name=":2" /> Notably, in 1986, the meltdown at the [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]] nuclear power plant in Ukraine released radioactive waste to the public, leading to international studies on the ramifications of environmental disasters.<ref name=":3" /> Over the next couple of years, the [[Brundtland Commission]] (previously known as the World Commission on Environment and Development) published a report titled ''[[Our Common Future]]'' and the [[Montreal Protocol]] formed the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|International Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC) as international communication focused on finding solutions for climate change and degradation.<ref name=":4" /> In the late 1980s, the [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|Exxon Valdez]] company was fined for spilling large quantities of [[crude oil]] off the coast of Alaska and the resulting cleanup, involving the work of environmental scientists.<ref name=":3" /> After hundreds of oil wells were burned in combat in 1991, warfare between Iraq and Kuwait polluted the surrounding atmosphere just below the air quality threshold {{-r|environmental scientist}}s believed was life-threatening.<ref name=":3" />

==== 21st century ====
[[File:Adoption of the Paris Agreement (23677269226).jpg|thumb|The Paris Agreement (formerly the Kyoto Protocol) is adopted in 2016. Nearly every country in the United Nations has signed the treaty, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.]]
Many niche disciplines of environmental science have emerged over the years, although [[climatology]] is one of the most known topics. Since the 2000s, environmental scientists have focused on modeling the [[effects of climate change]] and encouraging global cooperation to minimize potential damages. In 2002, the [[Society for the Environment]] as well as the [[Institute of Air Quality Management]] were founded to share knowledge and develop solutions around the world.<ref name=":4" /> Later, in 2008, the United Kingdom became the first country to pass legislation (the [[Climate Change Act 2008|Climate Change Act]]) that aims to reduce carbon dioxide output to a specified threshold.<ref name=":4" /> In 2016 the [[Kyoto Protocol]] became the [[Paris Agreement]], which sets concrete goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restricts Earth's rise in temperature to a 2 degrees Celsius maximum.<ref name=":4" /> The agreement is one of the most expansive international efforts to limit the effects of global warming to date.

Most environmental disasters in this time period involve crude oil pollution or the effects of rising temperatures. In 2010, [[BP]] was responsible for the largest American oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, known as the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill|Deepwater Horizon spill]], which killed a number of the company's workers and released large amounts of crude oil into the water.<ref name=":3" /> Furthermore, throughout this century, much of the world has been ravaged by widespread wildfires and [[water scarcity]], prompting regulations on the sustainable use of natural resources as determined by environmental scientists.<ref name=":3" />
[[File:Boston False-Color Composite.png|left|thumb|A false color composite of the greater Boston area, created using remote sensing technology, reveals otherwise not visible characteristics about the land cover and the health of the surrounding ecosystems.]]
The 21st century is marked by significant technological advancements. New technology in environmental science has transformed how researchers gather information about various topics in the field. Research in engines, [[Fuel economy in automobiles|fuel efficiency]], and decreasing emissions from vehicles since the times of the [[Industrial Revolution]] has reduced the amount of carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last1=Austin |first1=David |last2=Marauley |first2=Molly K. |date=December 1, 2001 |title=Cutting Through Environmental Issues: Technology as a double-edged sword |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cutting-through-environmental-issues-technology-as-a-double-edged-sword/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=Brookings}}</ref> Furthermore, investment in researching and developing [[Sustainable energy|clean energy]] (i.e. wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power) has significantly increased in recent years, indicating the beginnings of the [[Fossil fuel divestment|divestment from fossil fuel use]].<ref name=":5" /> [[Geographic information system]]s (GIS) are used to observe sources of air or water pollution through satellites and digital imagery analysis.<ref name=":5" /> This technology allows for advanced farming techniques like [[precision agriculture]] as well as monitoring water usage in order to set market prices.<ref name=":5" /> In the field of water quality, developed strains of natural and manmade bacteria contribute to [[bioremediation]], the treatment of [[wastewater]]s for future use.<ref name=":5" /> This method is more eco-friendly and cheaper than manual cleanup or treatment of wastewaters.<ref name=":5" /> Most notably, the expansion of computer technology has allowed for large data collection, advanced analysis, historical archives, public awareness of environmental issues, and international scientific communication.<ref name=":63">{{Cite web |last=Lambertini |first=Marco |date=August 23, 2018 |title=Technology can help us save the planet. But more than anything, we must learn to value nature |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/here-s-how-technology-can-help-us-save-the-planet/ |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=World Economic Forum}}</ref> The ability to crowdsource on the Internet, for example, represents the process of collectivizing knowledge from researchers around the world to create increased opportunity for scientific progress.<ref name=":63" /> With [[crowdsourcing]], data is released to the public for personal analyses which can later be shared as new information is found.<ref name=":63" /> Another technological development, [[blockchain]] technology, monitors and regulates global fisheries.<ref name=":63" /> By tracking the path of fish through global markets, environmental scientists can observe whether certain species are being overharvested to the point of extinction.<ref name=":63" /> Additionally, [[remote sensing]] allows for the detection of features of the environment without physical intervention.<ref name=":63" /> The resulting digital imagery is used to create increasingly accurate models of environmental processes, [[climate change]], and much more. Advancements to remote sensing technology are particularly useful in locating the [[Nonpoint source pollution|nonpoint sources of pollution]] and analyzing [[ecosystem health]] through image analysis across the [[electromagnetic spectrum]]. Lastly, [[Thermography|thermal imaging]] technology is used in [[wildlife management]] to catch and discourage poachers and other illegal wildlife traffickers from killing endangered animals, proving useful for conservation efforts.<ref name=":63" /> [[Artificial intelligence]] has also been used to predict the movement of animal populations and protect the habitats of wildlife.<ref name=":63" />