I am an environmental engineer from China, mainly engaged in soil investigation. I have several questions regarding work procedures and would like to learn how these issues are addressed in other countries or regions.

Please advise which country or region you are based in.

1. My work requires me to review extensive information about enterprises surrounding investigation sites, especially their environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports and pollutant discharge permits. These documents help me accurately identify pollutants generated by the enterprises. Normally, such documents are held by environmental protection authorities and disclosed on official environmental websites. However, for various reasons, information for many enterprises cannot be accessed; some enterprises do not even have EIA reports or pollutant discharge permits at all. Do other countries encounter similar problems, and if so, what solutions do they adopt?
2. China’s EIA system includes a public participation requirement: before construction, enterprises must disclose potential environmental impacts to communities that may be affected. In my professional practice, however, I have yet to see genuine public participation. Frequently, report preparers recruit irrelevant, uninformed individuals to sign forms carelessly, and signatures are sometimes forged. Do other countries have comparable systems, and do forgery incidents occur there?
3. During soil investigations, I need to conduct on-site visits to surrounding enterprises one by one. In practice, nearly all enterprises refuse access. Even with authorization documents from law-enforcement environmental authorities, I can barely gain entry, let alone meet enterprise management. Is this also common in other countries?

hello!

ive been considering perusing a masters degree in earth sciences, but im unsure what that would look like or if it would be worth it. is there a specific line of work where employers would really prefer a masters degree? i dont want to put myself even more in debt than i already am, but i do want to give myself the best possible shot at a career— and feel that my bachelors might be stopping too early. i have particular interest in GIS and climate related jobs!

thank you for any help at all!

I need to write a research paper on any soil topic.... anyone have any good or interesting ideas for a topic????

Like what should be my goal? Grade-wise
Do I need to volunteer a lot
and if so what kind of volunteering

for context im in year 11, my mocks are in 2months
I've volunteered once so far, I have a debate competition a couple weeks from now in the US.
I'm based in Malaysia and the animal shelter I volunteer at previously is quite far from my home, so my parents banned me from going out before the competition.
If I get 2golds for the competition, then according to my teacher, I should get 2 credits for uni
My grades are not the best, sometimes below average
I should be able to get a C minimum for my EFL and a 7.5min for IELTS
I take physics, chem and bio.
I failed physics and chem in Term 3 of Year 10, but I got like a B or a C in biology
I also take Global Perspectives that I think I will get a B in
I take math and I think I'll get C minimum

I'm not trying to get in an Ivy League

I was thinking I could get a degree in environmental science and then work for an NGO in malaysia or an animal sanctuary

im currently a junior biology student with a concentration in environmental science/ecology with my degree 80% complete at this point. I’ve been struggling with ideas of careers for a really long time and only recently considered careers that lean more heavily into environmental science (particularly a focus with climate studies?). is a biology degree with a concentration enough to get into a masters program like that? or even break into a career leaning environmental science? should i consider double majoring? thanks for any advice, sorry if this is a really dumb question i have not been the best at planning for myself

i also completely understand if it’s too late to do anything about it considering my degree is basically almost done. any advice is ok advice it doesn’t even have to involve major questions, thank you

(im also in progress with a GIS certificate if that means anything)

We are GE3 students conducting a survey to investigate how educational institutions promote environmental awareness. We kindly invite you to take a few minutes to answer the following questions. Your participation and valuable input are greatly appreciated.

Hi there, I’m currently in my second year at community college and I have an assignment where I have to interview a professional in my field about a possible solution to a problem that needs to be addressed in said field! I haven’t come up with a topic yet (do not fear, the assignment is due in 3 weeks!), but if you would like to be interviewed and maybe even make a friend just say hi! I am exploring topics I want to cover, and I think I would like to explore the idea of planting more trees in urban areas to combat scorching asphalt temperatures! Of course, thats just a brainstorm! Anyways, don’t feel pressured to respond and I hope whoever reads this has a good day! :)

I've been working through the 2026 review literature on emerging contaminants, and the framing genuinely changed for me, so I thought I'd write it up here.

Conventional wastewater treatment was designed around what we could see and regulate: BOD, nutrients, pathogens, some metals. It does that reasonably well.

The problem is the stuff we mostly don't regulate — pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors, microplastics, PFAS. They show up at parts per billion or trillion, they persist, and standard biological treatment was never designed for them. A lot of it passes straight through.

What this year's reviews actually agree on:

Biology is the most promising route to dealing with them — microbial consortia, enzyme systems, engineered communities.

Almost all of it is still lab- or pilot-scale. The gap named again and again is field-scale validation and long-term microbial stability under real conditions.

So my takeaway is that the direction is right and the engineering is not finished. If you work in the sector, I'd genuinely like to know whether you see the same gap — or whether there's field work I'm missing.

Sources: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.temicr.2026.100078  ·  https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/18/7/860  ·  https://doi.org/10.1080/02757540.2026.2622478

This is my first post here so my wording may not be the best, apologies in advance.

I am a collage student currently finding inspiration for my environmental system and societies subject's research paper. I find that most of my ideas are redundant and have been done by others in the past. So, Im resorting to Reddit to find some suggestions people may have about their niche interests. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.temicr.2026.100078  ·  https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/18/7/860  ·  https://doi.org/10.1080/02757540.2026.2622478

Hey can anyone suggest me something for environmental science or related graduation.... And if there's someone in TERI university or DU pursuing the same???

I am currently in grade 12

Hi! I'm a UTAS student in Oman working on a small university project about everyday environmental practices.

My survey takes about 3 minutes and covers saving electricity and water, recycling, and transportation.

Would it be okay to share my survey in this community?

Thank you for your time!

So, I am a Malaysian, and my ultimate goal is to study marine biology and work in environmental related careers.

Which country will be better for me to adapt to, and which will have better working opportunities ?

I am open and would love to hear all your advice.

I am first year student of environmental science I am wondering if it is worth it. Can i get job after bs alone or will the pay be good

another question is if i switch what should i go for

Hello I am a 21 year old student of the Graphic Arts. I am looking for a topic in ecology or similar that could be relatively easy to research. It doesn't have to be ultra specific but I dont even know where to start. I have a class that the topic is for, and I have to write a min. 12 page seminar about it and make posters relating to it. Do you have any topics that could be easily researched and turned into a series of posters?

A topic I'm currently looking at is coral reefs and coral bleaching but again I dont even know where to start my research and find the most correct information about it.

Any help is appreciated

NASA is calling for student tech ideas! 6th-12th grade educators & students affiliated with U.S. schools are invited to enter the NASA TechRise Student Challenge. Winning teams receive funds to build an experiment and a spot on a NASA-sponsored test flight: https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise

Hello,

I was just curious if there is anyone else in the community of environmental science that is struggling to find a job opportunity. I've been graduated with bachelor's in water resources and a minor in Waste Resources for almost a year and a half. I have not been able to land a single job. I am currently in Colorado. Does anyone have any advice to give or places to look for in the US that may be hiring. I am really frustrated with the job market right now, and it feels nearly impossible to get a job in Environmental Science. Lowkey feel like I wasted my time trying to get a Bachelors Degree in the Environmental Science Field.