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2 Environmental Health Overview
Pages 8-18

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From page 8...
... It follows, then, that environmental health isn't just about describing and under standing how aspects of the environment affect our health; it is also about cor recting those problems. We want to be able to assess, control, and prevent fac tors in the environment that might adversely affect not only our own health but the health of future generations.
From page 9...
... , listed 10 public health achievements, that are largely responsible for the fact that life expectancy in our country has increased by 30 years in the last century. A number of these are environmental health measures, such as improved sanitation, better nutrition, and better housing.
From page 10...
... Environmental protection laws are in essence public health laws. Over the last 30 years since the establishment of the U.S.
From page 11...
... Because we have only one planet, we cannot experiment on multiple planets to see what is going to happen. Instead, we need to take action to stem climate change and to protect sensitive environments such as the low lying communities in the region.
From page 12...
... stead look for some way that each of us can contribute to a healthier environment for all, now and in the future. In the final analysis, whether the issue is local and well defined or global and subtle, an important part of achieving environmental protection is simply listening.
From page 13...
... Clearly there are differences of opinion about Houston. It is important to keep the dichotomy in mind and to understand that how one views Houston has a major impact on the perception of environmental health challenges for the region.
From page 14...
... 2. The need to set priorities and make necessary trade-offs across traditional boundaries so that environmental health is adequately protected for current and future generations.
From page 15...
... . In preparation for a 2001 Houstonarea town hall meeting on environmental health, Winifred Hamilton of Baylor College of Medicine and her colleagues asked, using Spanish and English telephone and written surveys, 311 area residents about their concerns regarding pollution and their health.
From page 16...
... Environmental health issues are truly interdisciplinary in nature and must be addressed from a broad, systematic, and team-oriented perspective. BROADER ISSUES AND BASIC CAUSES In the field of environmental health, more and more people are realizing that we have tended in the past to identify and define problems in overly narrow and restrictive ways.
From page 17...
... MULTIPLE STRESSORS AND COMBINED EFFECTS Because there is rarely just one causative factor behind a particular environmental health problem, Houston and many other metropolitan areas will ultimately have to take on the fourth challenge: the need to assess and manage cumulative risks to human populations and the natural environment by taking account of multiple stressors and their combined effects. Many in the environmental health field have been talking about this concept for several years, and it was recently acknowledged in the U.S.
From page 18...
... Moreover, we must train risk managers to appreciate the subtleties and nuances of cumulative risk assessment and to use these new methods to make sound choices that are protective of environmental health for current and future generations. A QUESTION OF BALANCE Finally, we face a fifth and overarching challenge: the need to make better environmental health decisions, where "better" means effective (actions achieve desired results)


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