Our environment is the combination of all the living and non-living things that surround us. Environmental science is the study of our surroundings, including how our actions alter our surroundings. There are many fields of study which make up the environmental sciences. For example, zoologists study animals, botanists study plants, and ecologists study how plants and animals interact with their environment.
Geologists study the formation, history, structure, and physical composition of the earth.
Chemists study the composition of both living, and non-living material, and the reactions controlling the distribution of material. Political scientists and economists study how we use and interact with our environment. In order to understand our environment, including the causes of and possible solutions to our current environmental problems, a knowledge of all of these subjects is required.