Environmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction

Human behavior

Human behavior refers to the range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics....

 with the environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

, built environment

Built environment

The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...

, and the sets of relationships between them. While distinct from ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

 and environmental science

Environmental science

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...

, the field encompasses study in the basic principles of those two fields of learning as well as the associated subjects, such as: ethics

Environmental ethics

Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world...

, policy

Environmental policy

Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...

, politics

Environmental politics

Environmental politics is an academic field of study focused on three core components:The study of political theories and ideas related to the environment.The examination of the political parties and environmental social movements....

, law

Environmental law

Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...

, economics

Environmental economics

Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues. Quoting from the National Bureau of Economic Research Environmental Economics program:...

, philosophy

Environmental philosophy

Environmental philosophy is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the natural environment and humans' place within it. Environmental philosophy includes environmental ethics, environmental aesthetics, ecofeminism and environmental theology...

, sociology

Environmental sociology

Environmental sociology is typically defined as the sociological study of societal-environmental interactions, although this definition immediately presents the perhaps insolvable problem of separating human cultures from the rest of the environment...

 and other social aspects

Environmental justice

Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...

, planning

Environmental planning

Environmental Planning is the process of facilitating decision making to carry out development with due consideration given to the natural environmental, social, political, economic and governance factors and provides a holistic frame work to achieve sustainable outcomes.-Elements of environmental...

, pollution control, natural resources

Natural resource management

Natural resource management refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations ....

, and the interactions of human beings and nature.

History

Middlebury College

Middlebury College

Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...

 became the first institution of higher education in the United States to offer an Environmental Studies major, establishing the major in 1965.

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences(AESS) was founded in 2008 as the first American professional association in the interdisciplinary field of environmental studies. An academic journal is scheduled to begin publication in 2011.

See also

• Bachelor of Environmental Studies
  Bachelor of Environmental Studies
  A Bachelor of Environmental Studies is an undergraduate bachelor's degree awarded for courses taken in the study of environmental studies or related disciplines, such as geography, urban planning, environmental resource studies, or architecture....
  
  
• Brian Black
  Brian Black
  Brian Black is an U.S. professor of history and environmental studies at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona Pennsylvania. Dr. Black received his BA in English in 1988 from Gettysburg College, an MA in American Civilization in 1991 from New York University and his Ed.D in American Studies from...
  
  
• Conservation Commons
  Conservation Commons
  The Conservation Commons is the expression of a cooperative effort of non-governmental organizations, international and multi-lateral organizations, governments, academia, and the private sector, to improve open access to and unrestricted use of, data, information and knowledge related to the...
  
  
• Environmental communication
  Environmental communication
  Environmental communication refers to the study and practice of how individuals, institutions, societies, and cultures craft, distribute, receive, understand, and use messages about the environment and human interactions with the environment...
  
  
• Environmental education
  Environmental education
  Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...
  
  
• Environmental sociology
  Environmental sociology
  Environmental sociology is typically defined as the sociological study of societal-environmental interactions, although this definition immediately presents the perhaps insolvable problem of separating human cultures from the rest of the environment...
  
  
• List of environmental studies topics
• School of Environmental Studies
  School of Environmental Studies (disambiguation)
  School of Environmental Studies may refer to:*Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies*School of Environmental Studies Delhi University*Queen's School of Environmental Studies...
  
  
• Sustainable development
  Sustainable development
  Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...