Environmental Health Literacy
Environmental Health Literacy

Author: Symma Finn

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-09-12

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 3319941089

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This book explores various and distinct aspects of environmental health literacy (EHL) from the perspective of investigators working in this emerging field and their community partners in research. Chapters aim to distinguish EHL from health literacy and environmental health education in order to classify it as a unique field with its own purposes and outcomes. Contributions in this book represent the key aspects of communication, dissemination and implementation, and social scientific research related to environmental health sciences and the range of expertise and interest in EHL. Readers will learn about the conceptual framework and underlying philosophical tenets of EHL, and its relation to health literacy and communications research. Special attention is given to topics like dissemination and implementation of culturally relevant environmental risk messaging, and promotion of EHL through visual technologies. Authoritative entries by experts also focus on important approaches to advancing EHL through community-engaged research and by engaging teachers and students at an early age through developing innovative STEM curriculum. The significance of theater is highlighted by describing the use of an interactive theater experience as an approach that enables community residents to express themselves in non-verbal ways.

The Polluters
The Polluters

Author: Benjamin Ross

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-09-02

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0199752974

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The chemical pollution that irrevocably damages today's environment is, although many would like us to believe otherwise, the legacy of conscious choices made long ago. During the years before and just after World War II, discoveries like leaded gasoline and DDT came to market, creating new hazards even as the expansion and mechanization of industry exacerbated old ones. Dangers still felt today--smog, pesticides, lead, chromium, chlorinated solvents, asbestos, even global warming--were already recognized by chemists, engineers, doctors, and business managers of that era. A few courageous individuals spoke out without compromise, but still more ignored scientific truth in pursuit of money and prestige. The Polluters reveals at last the crucial decisions that allowed environmental issues to be trumped by political agendas. It spotlights the leaders of the chemical industry and describes how they applied their economic and political power to prevent the creation of an effective system of environmental regulation. Research was slanted, unwelcome discoveries were suppressed, and friendly experts were placed in positions of influence, as science was subverted to serve the interests of business. The story of The Polluters is one that needs to be told, an unflinching depiction of the onslaught of chemical pollution and the chemical industry's unwillingness to face up to its devastating effects.

U.S. Health in International Perspective
U.S. Health in International Perspective

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-04-12

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 0309264146

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The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Environmental Health Hazards and Social Justice
Environmental Health Hazards and Social Justice

Author: Florence Margai

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-18

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1136537813

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This book provides geographic perspectives and approaches for use in assessing the distribution of environmental health hazards and disease outcomes among disadvantaged population groups. Estimates suggest that about 40 per cent of the global burden of disease is attributable to exposures to biological and chemical pathogens in the physical environment. And with today's rapid rate of globalization, and these hazardous health effects are likely to increase, with low income and underrepresented communities facing even greater risks. In many places around the world, marginalized communities unwillingly serve as hosts of noxious facilities such as chemical industrial plants, extractive facilities (oil and mining) and other destructive land use activities. Others are being used as illegal dumping grounds for hazardous materials and electronic wastes resulting in air, soil and groundwater contamination. The book informs readers about the geography and emergent health risks that accompany the location of these hazards, with emphasis on vulnerable population groups. The approach is applications-oriented, illustrating the use of health data and geographic approaches to uncover the root causes, contextual factors and processes that produce contaminated environments. Case studies are drawn from the author's research in the United States and Africa, along with a literature review of related studies completed in Europe, Asia and South America. This comparative approach allows readers to better understand the manifestation of environmental hazards and inequities at different spatial scales with localized disparities evident in both developed and developing countries.

Environmental Health
Environmental Health

Author: Kathryn Hilgenkamp

Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 9780763723774

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Environmental Health: Ecological Perspectives is intended as an environmental health text for both undergraduate and graduate levels. This text provides balanced coverage of how humans are affected by the quality of air, water, and food as well as how humans affect these survival necessities. The evolution and prosperity of the human species has resulted in concerns about pollution, overpopulation, and several other issues that are having a harmful effect on humans and our environment. This knowledge, along with an understanding of the legislation and history of environmental issues, will help students to make positive changes in their behavior and in the world around them.

A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health
A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health

Author: Merrill Singer

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-04-27

Total Pages: 517

ISBN-13: 1118786920

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A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health presents a collection of readings that utilize a medical anthropological approach to explore the interface of humans and the environment in the shaping of health and illness around the world. Features the latest ethnographic research from around the world related to the multiple impacts of the environment on health and of societies on their environments Includes contributions from international medical anthropologists, conservationists, environmental experts, public health professionals, health clinicians, and other social scientists Analyzes the conditions of cultural and social transformation that accompany environmental and ecological impacts in all areas of the world Offers critical perspectives on theoretical and methodological advancements in the anthropology of environmental health, along with future directions in the field

Resilient Cities
Resilient Cities

Author: Peter Newman

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2009-01-09

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 9781597264983

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Half of the world’s inhabitants now live in cities. In the next twenty years, the number of urban dwellers will swell to an estimated five billion people. With their inefficient transportation systems and poorly designed buildings, many cities—especially in the United States—consume enormous quantities of fossil fuels and emit high levels of greenhouse gases. But our planet is rapidly running out of the carbon-based fuels that have powered urban growth for centuries and we seem to be unable to curb our greenhouse gas emissions. Are the world’s cities headed for inevitable collapse? The authors of this spirited book don’t believe that oblivion is necessarily the destiny of urban areas. Instead, they believe that intelligent planning and visionary leadership can help cities meet the impending crises, and look to existing initiatives in cities around the world. Rather than responding with fear (as a legion of doomsaying prognosticators have done), they choose hope. First, they confront the problems, describing where we stand today in our use of oil and our contribution to climate change. They then present four possible outcomes for cities: ”collapse,” “ruralized,” “divided,” and “resilient.” In response to their scenarios, they articulate how a new “sustainable urbanism” could replace today’s “carbon-consuming urbanism.” They address in detail how new transportation systems and buildings can be feasibly developed to replace our present low efficiency systems. In conclusion, they offer ten “strategic steps” that any city can take toward greater sustainability and resilience. This is not a book filled with “blue sky” theory (although blue skies will be a welcome result of its recommendations). Rather, it is packed with practical ideas, some of which are already working in cities today. It frankly admits that our cities have problems that will worsen if they are not addressed, but it suggests that these problems are solvable. And the time to begin solving them is now.

The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange
The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange

Author: Alvin Lee Young

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-04-21

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0387874860

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For almost four decades, controversy has surrounded the tactical use of herbicides in Southeast Asia by the United States military. Few environmental or occupational health issues have received the sustained international attention that has been focused on Agent Orange, the major tactical herbicide deployed in Southern Vietnam. With the opening and establishment of normal relations between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995, the time has come for a thorough re-examination of the military use of Agent Orange and other "tactical herbicides" in Southern Vietnam, and the subsequent actions that have been taking place since their use in Vietnam. The United States Department of Defense has had the major role in all military operations involving the use of tactical herbicides, including that of Agent Orange. This included the Department's purchase, shipment and tactical use of herbicides in Vietnam, its role in the disposition of Agent Orange after Vietnam, its role in conducting long-term epidemiological investigations of the men of Operation RANCH HAND, and its sponsorship of ecological and environmental fate studies. This book was commissioned by The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) with the intent of providing documentation of the knowledge on the history, use, disposition and environmental fate of Agent Orange and its associated dioxin.

Chemistry of Phytopotentials: Health, Energy and Environmental Perspectives
Chemistry of Phytopotentials: Health, Energy and Environmental Perspectives

Author: LD Khemani

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-12-02

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 3642233945

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Since the beginning of human civilization, plants have been our true companions. Plants contribute not only to our existence but also serve us through discovery, design and the treatment of various diseases where there is no satisfactory cure in modern medicine. This has focused Natural Product Chemists to unravel plants therapeutic potential in the light of modern analytical and pharmacological understandings. Presence of multiple active phytochemicals in medicinal plants offers exciting opportunity for the development of novel therapeutics, providing scientific justification for their use in traditional medicines. Non-food plants have been recognized as biofactories for the production of eco-friendly value added materials including agricultural, food products, enzymes, nutraceuticals etc. They have also been widely explored for personal care, industrial products and sources of energy generation. The proven efficacy of botanicals has been appreciated by the scientific community and strengthened plant-human relationship. The synergism in the Phytoproducts, the result of the interaction of two or more moieties, is not simply additive but multiplicative. Recent acceptance of the Food and Drug Administration (US) for herbal-medicine based preparation has renewed interest in Natural Product Research. The year 2011 is declared as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) by the United Nations Assembly. On this occasion, the present conference CPHEE 2011 aims to offer chemists from diverse areas to come to a common platform to share the knowledge and unveil the chemistry and magic potentials of phytoproducts for the mankind.