Whilst the traditional sciences have been recognised for centuries, it was only in the mid-20th century with the emergence of a range of serious environmental problems, that the environmental sciences were really professionalised and a range of environmental research institutes were established. Our own Institution was also founded in this period, and the community of environmental managers, researchers, auditors and policymakers became largely restricted to full time experts. However, in the last few years, a minor revolution has taken place. Facilitated by the sudden availability of desktop, and latterly handheld information technologies such as Global Positioning Systems and image processing capability, environmental science is now capitalising on the talents and geographical spread of non-specialists, ‘citizens’, with spare time, curiosity and a smart phone. The potential resource available in terms of person-power has grown hugely, and using social media, persuasive...

From the moment humans began launching into Space, we have been turning our tools of exploration back towards the Earth itself. Here, we bring together a collection of papers which explore how Earth Observation technology has changed the way we study environments on Earth, what we can learn about the Earth from looking beyond our own biosphere, and the complex ethical questions of how our environmental obligations apply as we explore Space.

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessed the impact of research undertaken by UK universities for the first time. Universities submitted case studies to demonstrate their research impacts on “the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia”. The Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences (CHES) is the arm of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) dealing with higher education, and thus has a keen interest in how the discipline informs society as a whole. Here, we showcase the impact of environmental science research from UK universities, and explore how researchers develop and demonstrate impact, ensuring that interdisciplinary work is appropriately represented in analyses of societal effects.

More of us than ever before live and work in cities. This issue of the environmental SCIENTIST seeks to address some of the questions that arise around our common urban future. Articles draw on work from across the environmental sciences, exploring the challenges that cities will face over the coming decades, and the exciting and innovative environmental solutions and projects being undertaken to improve our urban areas.

Researchers are exploring and developing exciting new materials and industrial processes that manufacturers are bringing to market very rapidly. Yet some of these materials pose problems that could be taking us further away from a sustainable circular economy. This edition of the environmental SCIENTIST investigates these novel materials and how they can be recovered, reused and recycled.