Sustainable “green” ChemistryIntroduction |
What are the five environmental spheres? |
In the past environmental science focused on the health of four areas, or spheres, of our world. These are the hydrosphere (dealing with water), the atmosphere (dealing with the air), the geosphere (dealing with the Earth), and the biosphere (dealing with living organisms). Environmental scientists have recently been increasingly recognizing a fifth sphere, the anthrosphere, which deals with the ways that humans modify the overall environment by carrying out their daily activities.