Rising Need For Innovative Minds To Protect Our Planet

We live in a world where increasing population, air pollution, global warming, and the current global health crisis are constantly triggering collateral damage to our environment and fast-tracking the adverse effects of climate change. These are serious concerns where countries around the world are struggling with increasing environmental issues. For instance, look at The Great Pacific garbage patch- an increasing pile of marine debris and plastic waste or look at the World Air Quality Report every year. All such reports indicate the loud cry to take collective action and keep our Earth safe. 

Environmental parameters unwaveringly control the dynamics of our lives. It is crucial to raise awareness, educate and empower youth to unite people from exploiting resources that pave the way to environmental damage. 

It requires collective efforts from governments running different nations, social impact entrepreneurs, global health professionals, communities and our next generation to learn and handle the threats posed by the environmental issues. Universities, educators, and youth are uniquely placed to turn this tide. 

Education and youth

Young people must be encouraged to learn and challenge the threats that crises like Covid-19 and climate change carry. While universities and education institutes are starting to offer professional courses designed to learn about global warming, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, carbon footprint, and other global grand challenges, a serious approach to environmental science studies can help create environment enthusiasts in the years to come. It was very encouraging to know that the statutory body set up by the Department of Higher Education, University Grants Commission (UGC), India, instructed its affiliated universities and colleges to introduce a compulsory six-module course on Environmental Studies across all branches of undergraduate degree. Despite being short-term, pursuing this course would make students ecologically aware of a sustainable future. It will make Gen Z aware and conscious of the environment and inspire them to take it up as a core subject for their higher studies.

Know about the environment and its branches

Being an interdisciplinary subject, it students to explore and understand the connection between humans and the environment by combining physical, biological, and information sciences. One can delve into and observes communication of social, legal, management, and scientific aspects of environmental issues.

The study of the environment is categorized into two interconnected branches called Environmental Studies and Environmental Science. Environmental Engineering and Environment Management are two evolving fields of study in this area.

A career in the field of environment 

As the drive to save the environment will continue to gain momentum, there will be high demand for young minds equipped with skills and knowledge in areas like environmental research, conservation, and sustainability. 

One can opt for different job roles like Pollution control officer, Environmental consultant, Director of waste management, and Environment journalist. Disaster management departments of various state and central governments also employ environmentalists. Or one can explore working as an environmentalist with International organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on different projects.  

The world will need all the innovative minds who can develop and prepare strategic frameworks, policies, and procedures, conduct live field research, maintain biodiversity conservation and monitor activities for land management, and so much more. Studying Environmental studies will help improve our capacity to gather data, compute and define risks and scenario planning for the future, prepare for climate change emergencies and recover from the undesirable impacts that we face as the human race.

To conclude, Bloomberg reported that the world spent a record $501.3 billion in 2020 on renewable power, electric vehicles and other technologies to cut the global energy system’s dependence on fossil fuels. So we can imagine the demand for professionals in the field, including conservation scientists, energy analysts, chief sustainability officers, air quality engineers, hydrologists, renewable energy consultants, geoscientists etc.

Prateek Gujral

Guest Author The author is Principal Advisor (South Asia), Augustana University, South Dakota, US Formerly, Principal Advisor (South Asia) Truman State University. Regional Advisor (South Asia) at Missouri State University