Environmental science focuses on theoretical research to understand the causes of environmental changes, while environmental technology offers practical solutions to pollution and degradation. The two fields often work together, with scientists and engineers collaborating to develop new technologies and processes. Environmental science and technology cross many disciplines, and cooperation between all fields is increasingly important to prevent damage to the environment caused by human activity. Government organizations like the US National Science Foundation and the European Science Foundation work to promote collaborative efforts for environmental solutions on a global scale.
The main difference between environmental science and technology is that environmental science is mainly involved in theoretical research to find out the underlying causes of environmental changes, although this research can sometimes also be applied to research that looks for solutions to problems along the way . Environmental technologists, on the other hand, are focused on offering practical solutions to the environmental pollution or degradation that exists in the present, and have only a secondary interest in what the underlying causes are. Both environmental science and technology work hand in hand to find solutions to environmental problems caused by past or current human activity, and both science and technology themselves depend on each other to develop a better understanding of the complex cycles causing – effect that occur in nature.
The field of environmental science and technology often creates an atmosphere where researchers and technology engineers work for the same company. This can be found in a wide variety of industrial arenas, from crop research to oil exploration and drilling, and alternative energy development such as in solar cell manufacturing. Together, scientists and engineers are often grouped under the umbrella of research and development, where scientists use experimental or empirical data along with past field knowledge to suggest potentially better processes or systems. Engineering teams then take this knowledge and apply it by building new machines, systems, or biological controls to test in the real world.
Science is generally divided into two broad disciplines: the life sciences and the physical sciences. Life sciences include research in fields such as biology, botany and entomology, or the study of living things and organic processes such as those of plants and insects. The physical sciences involve research in physics, geology and mathematics, which are often referred to as the pure sciences, as they are much more theoretical in nature and involve the discovery of basic physical laws. When someone is said to work in environmental science technology, however, their research can cross many disciplines. An example of this might be a climatologist, a scientist who studies changes in weather patterns that are influenced by geological and solar events, as well as the effects of plant life on the air and water cycles.
When engineers look for environmental technology solutions, they also end up overcoming traditional research and development barriers. Engineers focus on building solutions to problems in the chemical, mechanical, and civil engineering fields, but the solutions themselves often lead to new discoveries and a new understanding of physical laws. As engineers built buildings and cars over time, inefficiencies in how buildings retain heat or resist earthquakes or how cars burn fuel for mechanical movement have led to refinements in technologies with better understanding of physical laws under which they operate involving principles of pure scientific research in physics, chemistry and metallurgy.
The crossover of environmental science and technology in both research and the application of knowledge has traditionally grouped both disciplines together as parts of a team. Scientists are preoccupied with “why” questions about environmental processes, and technology developers are preoccupied with “how” questions to build something to meet environmental goals. Cooperation between all fields of environmental science and technological development becomes increasingly important as human activity has an ever greater effect on the natural world.
The health of ecosystems around the world is increasingly linked to the commercial human production of natural and raw materials to fuel human growth. Since such activity has far-reaching effects in numerous scientific and technological fields, new environmental technologies need to be produced alongside the latest cutting-edge research by scientists to prevent mistakes that can cause unforeseen damage to the environment. Government action by groups such as the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Science Foundation (ESF), an association of 78 scientific research organizations across Europe, work to create collaborative efforts for environmental science and technology solutions on global scale.
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