Environment (Science & Engineering)

Brief Overview

Environmental Science

Why is the polar ice cap melting as steadily as an ice cube on a hot summer day? Why are the fish and shellfish population falling precipitously in ocean waters? What can we do to stop global warming and the extreme weather patterns it is encouraging? How can we save our disappearing wetlands, which once helped protect our coastal cities against weather events like Hurricane Katrina?

Ecologists and environmental scientists are the people who study issues that impact the environment, seeking answers that will ultimately help us live in sync with our environment and other animals. While both ecologists and environmental scientists study the relationships among and between plants, animals, people, and other living organisms and their environments, their focuses tend to differ.

Ecologists study individual organisms, the structure and dynamics of populations, how species interact, how biological communities are organized, and how ecosystems process energy and matter. Most do research or work for universities. They study many different topics: how lions survive in the hot, dry weather of Africa; how they interact with antelopes, elephants, zebras and other animals; how natural disturbances like forest fires or flooding affect their environment.

Environmental scientists are also concerned with relationships among organisms, but their study focuses on how humans interact with their environments and what can be done to improve these interactions. Environmental scientists work to identify, decrease, or eliminate sources of pollutants that affect people, wildlife, and their environments. They might be concerned about the such issues as the Amazonian rainforest that is disappearing due to farming and agricultural techniques, or the effects of population growth on a region or area.

The goal of ecologists is often to discover and describe how an environment works. Environmental scientists, on the other hand, usually apply this knowledge about environments to solving problems.

Although their focuses differ, ecologists and environmental scientists have much in common and often compete for similar jobs. These range from soil and water scientist to environmental consultant to hazardous-waste manager. Both ecologists and environmental scientists study and use many different sciences, including biology, physics, chemistry, and the social sciences. And they both tend to specialize in the same areas, such as wildlife, wetlands, or soil.

Taken from Career Prospects in Virginia.

Environmental Engineers

If there’s one thing to be said about today’s agriculture: it’s not plant it-water it-harvest it any more.
Today, people like agricultural and biological systems engineers preside over an increasingly complicated and sophisticated world, using innovative technology like global positioning, genetic engineering, and computer technology.

Agricultural and biological systems engineers deal with the production, processing, and distribution of food and other agricultural products, looking for ways to improve efficiency, safety and quality. While they still do more the more “traditional” work of designing irrigation systems, grain silos, combines, and farm equipment, today they’re also likely to spend time developing high-tech electronic instruments and advanced methods to test the quality and safety of food and fiber products. They also design waste-treatment and insect- control systems and look for ways to conserve energy, soil, and water resources.

“Agricultural engineers” was once the most common title for this occupation, but as the complexity and range of this field has grown, so have the titles used to describe the job. Now people in this field may be called biological engineers, bioprocess engineers, biological systems engineers, or even agricultural and biological systems engineers.

Taken from Career Prospects in Virginia.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Environmental Engineers
Environmental Scientists

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