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Image by Ashley Nicole DeLeon © The Balance 2019
Do you love nature? Being outside? Maybe you like to go swimming in the lakes, rivers, or ocean near you. The outdoors are a beautiful place to have fun and go on adventures. It is also something we should look to take care of each day, and there is a career field doing that, environmental scientists.
What is an an Environmental Scientist?
Environmental scientists are people who identify dangers to the environment or to the health of the earth’s inhabitants. They also help create solutions to protect the environment by trying to stop these dangers or at least minimizing the harm as much as possible.
What do they do?
As explained from environmentalscience.org, “Environmental scientists conduct research to identify, control, or eliminate sources of pollutants or hazards affecting the environment or public health. Their research generally involves determining data collection methods; collecting and analyzing air, water, and soil samples; analyzing environmental data gathered by others; and analyzing for correlations to human activity. They also need to prepare reports and presentations that explain their findings.
Environmental scientists also develop plans to prevent, control, or fix environmental problems like air pollution. They may also advise government officials that make policy, and businesses that need to follow regulations or improve their practices. Some conduct environmental inspections of businesses. Many assess the potential effects of development projects to prevent creating new problems.
Some environmental scientists and specialists focus on environmental issues, while others focus on issues relating to human health. Either way, they work on critical issues, solving some of the most important problems of our day.”
Interested in learning more?
Check out some courses from Coursera! You can look up courses related to environmental science and specialized courses around climate change. Below are a few recommendations to get started:
