Environmental problems are complex.
They arise, most often, from conflicts in the way people wish to use the environment. For example, a problem arises when a smelter wants to use the air to dispose of acid rain-forming smokestack emissions, while at the same time the people in neighbouring communities want to use the air to breathe and to provide a healthy habitat for plants and animals. Therefore, the solutions to these problems are also complex. Other data should also affect the decision, such as data about the costs of clean-up measures, the number and nature of jobs potentially affected by those costs and measures, the indigenous culture and any heritage lands that may be affected, the commercial value of local fish, wildlife and forestry stocks, social and ethical considerations, and so on. The fields of environmental studies and environmental sciences are thus clearly interdisciplinary in nature.