Environmental engineering

[1] Environmental engineers devise solutions for wastewater management, water and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health.

Environmental engineers study the effect of technological advances on the environment, addressing local and worldwide environmental issues such as acid rain, global warming, ozone depletion, water pollution and air pollution from automobile exhausts and industrial sources.

[13] The second part of the phrase environmental engineer originates from Latin roots and was used in the 14th century French as engignour, meaning a constructor of military engines such as trebuchets, harquebuses, longbows, cannons, catapults, ballistas, stirrups, armour as well as other deadly or bellicose contraptions.

[16] From 4000 to 2000 B.C.E., many civilizations had drainage systems and some had sanitation facilities, including the Mesopotamian Empire, Mohenjo-Daro, Egypt, Crete, and the Orkney Islands in Scotland.

that fed into the Tiber River, draining marshes to create farmland as well as removing sewage from the city.

[4][14] Very little change was seen from the decline of the Roman Empire until the 19th century, where improvements saw increasing efforts focused on public health.

[14][17] Modern environmental engineering began in London in the mid-19th century when Joseph Bazalgette designed the first major sewerage system following the Great Stink.

[18] The field emerged as a separate academic discipline during the middle of the 20th century in response to widespread public concern about water and air pollution and other environmental degradation.

One example is the widespread application of the pesticide DDT to control agricultural pests in the years following World War II.

To some extent, this field overlaps the desire to decrease carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from combustion processes.

An essential component of EPA's mission is to protect and improve air, water, and overall environmental quality to avoid or mitigate the consequences of harmful effects.