Topics about best practices in environmental science include how recycling programs, landfills and green energies work to minimize damage to the environment. Topics about recycling can include research on how much space recycling saves in landfills and how industries use recycled products to make manufactured goods, such as bottles, cans and paper items. Research about landfills can focus on how much landfill space exists and how much will exist in the future; also how landfills generate their own energy thanks to landfill gas byproducts. Research on green energies, such as solar, wind and hydroelectric, can assess how much power they produce and their cost-effectiveness.
Researching some of the worst environmental disasters, both in the United States and abroad, allows students to find out the extent of the damages, as well as the associated cleanup costs and policies enacted to prevent further catastrophes. While man does cause some environmental disasters, nature also does its fair share through hurricanes, tornadoes and floods. Assessing what those types of disasters do to power plants, communities, shoreline and wilderness areas can make an interesting research project.
Topics in environmental science research can include media coverage of many of the issues that make news on a daily basis. Media coverage often creates awareness about particular issues, especially if undertaken by a celebrity. Researching what issues create "buzz" and examining how media coverage can advocate changing laws, rules and perceptions all make solid research topics. Research can also center on politics and how it enters the environmental science debate; students can look at the merits and disadvantages of political arguments and how they become a part of the daily media dialogue on radio and television talk shows and on the editorial pages of newspapers.
Researching the attitudes of consumers and the eco-friendly movement can assess how much consumers spend on green products and how companies market them. Research topics can address what concepts work best and the demographics used to target products, such as automobiles, paper and clothing. Topics can also focus on the attitudes of consumers and their insights and observations about eco-friendly products.