Humanity has been changing environments for the purposes of making life better ever since the dawn of time. Along with modern practices for this process came modern consequences. We are now, more than ever, aware of our footprint and must collectively come together to address these issues.
Although this ultimately remains a political debate, initially it concerns those out in the field observing the effects. So, what is environmental monitoring? Who does it and why? In what ways does it effect your everyday life? These are some of the questions we are about to answer here today.
Environmental monitoring is the scientific practice that involves the in-depth study of a given environment for the purposes of establishing reliable data, which in turn provides a basis for environmental studies. The purpose of this monitoring is to establish an accurate perception of the changes in the environment. These include, but are not limited to, water and soil. For a detailed account of these, see our groundwater sampling and soil sampling articles.
Those involved in this study aim to predict or identify problems, risks, dangers and potential (or actual) human interference that implicates a chain reaction in the environment. This can be pollution or other damages to the environment—often at the mercy of wildlife and humans as well.
Increasing awareness and activity regarding environmental studies and monitoring is part of a global shift towards sustainable development. This area of research is growing in importance because of greenhouse gas emissions and the impact this is having on our weather.
Even more generally, environmental studies are directly concerned with all the following societal issues:
- Protection of public water supplies
- Weather forecasting
- Hazardous non-hazardous waste management
- Natural resource protection and management
- Urban air quality
- Economic development and land planning
- Population growth
- Endangered species and biodiversity
The practice is becoming more important with time. It is thanks to those out in the field performing the tests and gathering data that our water is drinkable, that our soil is free from contaminants and our air clean enough to breathe. With environmental monitoring, specialists can stop a situation from getting worse and, more importantly, rectify a bad situation already underway.
Plastech is a proud partner of many industry leading companies that alter environments for the purposes of satisfying human needs—how ever large these projects may be. So, it goes without saying that it is a priority for us to be ambassadors of environment friendly practices and ecological responsibility. Be sure to check out our line of environmental products including top of the line drilling products today!