Author: Yuliya Shneyderman

Water shortages and quality

While the Earth is covered in water, most of that water is not useful for human consumption. Globally, we are already suffering from fresh water shortages and water contamination issues.

Our oceans are vital for regulating global temperature, providing a food source for humans, and providing oxygen in the atmosphere. However, human activity has put the ocean’s food web at risk and increased other effects that can be harmful to our health, like harmful algae blooms. We are also responsible for pollution in the ocean, including plastics, and oil spills. Read more here – https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/oceans_of_discovery_508.pdf

Some things we can do is try to reduce our plastic consumption and recycle everything that we can. The Zero Waste movement has been growing in recent years – https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/our-work/zero-waste

While in the US we have not had to worry much about drinking water safety, globally thousands of people die every year from water-borne diseases – https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases-risks/en/

However, there are issues of water contamination in certain regions in the US, like in Flint, MI. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know. Other problems include agricultural runoff and fracking.

Environmental exposures

There are certain things in our environment that can increase our change of illness.

Sun exposure is important for Vitamin D generation in our bodies, but too much can be dangerous. Too much sun, specifically UV radiation (which includes tanning beds), can increase your risk of skin cancer. Make sure to wear sunscreen, sun glasses, or cover up with clothes – https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/skincancer/.

One of the most harmful exposures is tobacco smoke. If you smoke, you should try to quit. If you work or live with people who smoke, try talking to them about smoking. Tobacco smoke can also compound other risks to your lung health like air pollution and radon gas.

Consider ingredients in your personal care products and cleaning products. While the beauty industry has quickly adopted terminology like “natural” and “clean,” those terms are not regulated by the FDA. There are several consumer advocacy groups like the Environmental Working Group or MADE SAFE that provide databases of ingredients inside these products. Read more here https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2016/12/making-healthier-home

The story of cosmetics

Plastics may also pose a risk to human health. There is a lot of research currently ongoing about things like phthalates and BPA, substances used in pesticides that may end up in our foods and others. Some suggestions for what you can do include not using plastic containers in microwaves and dishwashers, washing fruits and vegetables before eating them, and trying to buy items that don’t contain these chemicals. Read more here https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/exposure/endocrine/index.cfm

Some more ideas for lowering your risks are also found here https://www.nih.gov/health-information/environmental-wellness-toolkit.

What can you do about climate change?

Climate change is largely driven by emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Where do these gases come from? Read more here – https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

Image shows pie chart of greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector in 2017. Transportation is 29%, electricity is 28%, industry is 22%, commerical & residential is 12%, and agriculture is 9%.
From EPA. gov

The largest proportion of emissions come from cars, trucks, buses, planes and so on. Over 90% of these vehicles use petroleum-based fuels. Changes to these trends like more hybrid and electric vehicles, and more efficient public transportation, can help lower emissions.

The second largest section is electricity use. Most of the electricity in the United States is produced by burning fossil fuels. Renewable sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydro energy, although they only provide about 17% of all energy generation in the US. Read more here – https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=electricity_in_the_united_states. It is vital that citizens make a switch to these renewable sources when they can, but also that they lobby for reforms that lead to more renewable energy generation.

Image showing electricity generation from different sources. Trends show that coal has been declining, natural gas increasing and renewable sources increasing some, while nuclear has stayed about the same.
From US Energy Administration

A few other changes in our personal behavior can help reduce emissions. One, switching to a more plant-based diet can help reduce demand for meat production and shrink that section of the farming industry, which is a much bigger polluter and emitter. This can help with your health, as well as decrease the over-fishing of the oceans, which threatens the ocean food web. Also, this can help with deforestation, since many forests are removed to make way for cattle.

Getting more energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs can help reduce your household’s emissions. Setting your thermostat for slightly higher temperatures in the summers and lower in the winters can help with household energy consumption. But most importantly of all, it is important for us to support policy makers who understand and want to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Can you think of any other ideas?

Climate change

You may have heard the term global warming, or the more current term climate change. But how can this affect our help? And what is it, exactly?

The Earth’s climate fluctuates, as can be seen in the history of our ice ages. However, right now we are experiencing a period of global temperature rise, which has led to many other changes in our climate. Most scientists believe that at least some part of the global warming effect has been due to human-made changes like the burning of fossil fuel, land use, and industry.

Image illustrating the Greenhouse effect. Some solar radiation is reflected by the earth and its atmosphere, but some passes through and is absorbed and re-emitted by greenhouse gas molecules. The effect is to warm the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere.
From EPA.gov

Greenhouse house gases are those that trap heat in the atmosphere and include carbon dioxide and methane – read more here https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.

Read more about the changes we can expect in different regions of the United States https://grist.org/article/we-broke-down-what-climate-change-will-do-region-by-region/. Some changes include less rainfall leading to droughts and less food production, more wildfires, more common and severe storms and weather events, changes in animal habitats, and others. There may also be an increase in certain types of diseases, especially food and water-borne, and vector-borne (insects). Finally, there will be higher temperatures and changes in precipitation and sea level rise – drowning some regions and drying out others.

All of these factors will also lead to increased migration all over the world, as crop yield decreases, temperatures increase, coasts flood, and wild fires and other environmental disasters push people out. This may lead to concentration of people in urban areas, with attendant issues like poverty, violence, gang activity, and others. Read more here – https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/23/magazine/climate-migration.html

Sea level rise

Climate change is a great threat to human health all over the world – https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/health-and-climate-change.

Air pollution

We require air to survive, but a lot of human activity has contributed to air pollution. This can be indoors air pollution and outdoor air pollution – these usually come from slightly different sources.

Outdoor air pollutants include exhaust from automobiles, heat and power generation, emissions from manufacturing plants, and so on. Read about major pollutants here – https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/pollutants/en/. Be sure to click through all of the pollutant types on the bottom of the page.

These pollutants have a harmful effect on human health, including lung health, headaches, cardiovascular disease, and even outcomes of pregnancy. Read more here https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution/index.cfm.

You can check the air quality index here https://airnow.gov/ and be aware that heat makes poor air quality effects worse. If you have asthma or other lung problems or if you like to exercise outdoors, check the air quality index, especially on very hot days.

What is environmental health?

The environment describes all external factors that affect us – thus environmental health is the idea that these factors can influence our health, for better or worse. There is the social environment, or the people around us, and the physical environment, or all external physical factors that affects us. This can be the air we breathe, the water we drink, the neighborhoods we live in, and even the laws and policies that structure our lives.

How can a neighborhood impact our health? Try this interactive activity to find out – https://unnaturalcauses.org/interactivities_03.php. Do you live in a healthy neighborhood? New York City has been surveying and writing about its neighborhoods for several years – looks up yours here.

The kinds of toxins and pathogens we are exposed to may be a product of our environment. That is, if we live in cities with higher air pollution, or geographic locations where certain animals that carry diseases proliferate, we may be more likely exposed to these diseases. For example, you can look at maps of where cases of West Nile virus happen here – https://wwwn.cdc.gov/arbonet/Maps/ADB_Diseases_Map/index.html

Other environmental factors are built environment – roads, buildings, parks, and so on. Things like availability of bike lanes may help people reach their recommended levels of physical activity. Other things like the presence of lead paint in a home with small children can be detrimental to people’s health – the NYC report on lead levels is here https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/lead/lead-quarterly-report.pdf

Website analysis extra credit assignment

Pick a health-related topic and find a website that explains it. Answer the following questions:
• Who sponsors/pays for the site, and what is their mission?
• Can you tell when the site was last updated and who was the author of the site (if any)?
• To what extent does the website distinguish between facts and opinions? Are there supporting documents or are there links to information on other sites?
• Does the site use understandable language?
• Is the website clear and easy to use/navigate? Is the information comprehensive?
• Is the information reputable, accurate, current, and interesting? Does it ask for any personal information? Can you tell how the information on the site is selected?
• Would you recommend this site to others and why?

Reliable health information

In order to make educated and wise decisions about healthcare and health products and services, we must be able to get good information. With the Internet, there has never been more freely available information. But not all of that information is correct. Nevertheless, most of us reach for Dr. Google when we have a health question. How can we get the best information out there?

First, you should be skeptical of news pieces about health, especially if it’s something that sounds too good to be true. Read more or listen here – https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-health-news-edition.

Second, you can always ask your doctor what source of health information they recommend. Nowadays, many doctor’s offices have a way for you to email your doctor for quick questions and answers, if you don’t have a face-to-face appointment coming up.

Look things up on search engines using these tools.

Infographic on how to google more effectively. Use keywords like report, search in a particular site, use quotes around a phrase to search for it. Use Google Scholar or your library for scientific papers.

If you want to quickly see if a website has been reviewed and certified by experts, you can do a custom search here at Health on the Net –
https://www.hon.ch/en/search.html or install a browser extension to see which sites are certified or not
https://www.hon.ch/en/tools.html#honcodeextension.

Finally, consider these questions – who pays for this site? Do they provide evidence, and if so, what kind? How recent is the information? Read more here – https://www.mlanet.org/page/find-good-health-information.

Health insurance

You may have had health insurance for a long time, you may be covered under your parents’ plan, you may get it through Medicaid or Medicare, or maybe you don’t have it. But what is health insurance?

Here are some of the more common terms you may find in your health insurance plan – https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Files/Downloads/uniform-glossary-final.pdf

Most of the time, if you can get a health insurance plan through your employer, that will be a better deal than getting it on your own. What should you look for when trying to select a plan? http://guides.wsj.com/personal-finance/insurance/how-to-shop-for-health-insurance/. Consider a few things as well – do you have a known chronic condition? What is your budget for healthcare? Are you generally healthy and don’t visit the doctor often?

You may be eligible for a plan through Medicaid or Medicare (if you are over 65 years of age).

You may also decide to shop for a plan through the marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act – the New York State marketplace is here. Some information for young adults and about the essential plan can be found on the site.

Healthcare costs in the US are very high, usually much too high for an individual to afford. This video explains some reasons why.

Prevention and wellness

One view of medical care is that if something is wrong, you can go to the doctor to get better. The medical definition of health is often just the absence of a particular disease.

However, there is another view of health and wellness – this is the view that sees wellness as a combination of several dimensions, and sees the interaction of the person and their environment. In this view, we not only want to cure an illness, we want to prevent it from happening if possible. This is the public health model of health.

We can think of prevention as a behavior that eliminates or lowers the chances that a disease will happen in the first place (primary), or behaviors that lead to a disease being discovered early and thus treated early (secondary).

Examples of primary prevention are vaccination, wearing condoms, putting on sunscreen and hand washing. Examples of secondary prevention are Pap smears, mammograms, and other screening tests.

Image of vaccine adminstration

Here are a few more ideas for preventing disease – https://www.nih.gov/health-information/disease-prevention-toolkit.