This book discusses the natural and anthropogenic determinants of the environment and their impact on human health. It throws light on the perspectives of climate change with case studies from Australia, India, Italy, and Latin America. Themes covered are ecology of antibiotic resistant microorganisms, pesticide and heavy metal (arsenic) problems in natural environment; molecular advances in understanding of microbial interactions; ecological studies of human/animal health and diseases; food security, technological developments and more. The various chapters incorporate both theoretical and applied aspects and may serve as baseline information for future research through which significant development is possible.

Polluted air and contaminated food and water are major causes of human health deterioration, but public health policy has long struggled to effectively address these concerns. This timely book--written for a wide audience of policy makers, researchers, and general readers--synthesizes what we already know about environmental hazards, identifies the gaps in our knowledge, and provides a roadmap for reducing human exposure to environmental pollution. With contributions from leading experts, Environmental Determinants of Human Health examines numerous pollutants, both inorganic and organic, in the context of their human health impacts. Individual chapters explore exposure pathways, macroeconomic impacts of human health deterioration, technological and non-technological methods for reducing exposures, monetary and non-monetary benefits from exposure reduction, and risk communication and awareness, including citizen participation approaches. This volume is a crucial text for policy makers requiring scientific justification for the development of new environmental regulations, scientists researching public health and environmental contamination, and members of the public interested in human health issues.

Raising the average human lifespan by a decade or more will change our world. The future is not about whether this will happen; it is about what we should do when it happens. Even the most pessimistic assertions about the future of our environment are underestimating the extent of the problem. There is simply no model in which more years of life does not equate to more people and in which that does not lead to more crowding, environmental degradation, more consumption, and more waste. Hence, as we prolong life, these environmental crises will be further exacerbated. With current diets and production practices, feeding 7,6 billion people is degrading terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, depleting water resources, and driving climate changes. The challenges of today are not just population, and it’s not just consumption, it is waste also. Thanks to things such as cars, planes, big homes, deforestation and so forth, the annual carbon dioxide emissions of an average are three times as high as it should be. It is likely that this signals that the current level of dividends is unsustainable, hence, we use and return little of value to our natural world. In our book, we address the questions related to environmental health challenges that include contamination of air, water, and soil, and car transportation. In order to better understand natural, industrial, and social-environmental hazards, we have to think of them in a broader context (i.e., physical, chemical, biological, and cultural). We hope that the presented publication gives the reader a broader perspective on the issues related to environmental health challenges in contemporary society in the coming years.

Many countries experience lack of harmony among economic development, environmental management and human health. As a consequence, public health, the integrity of ecosystems, and the efforts to reach environmental sustainability, have been adversely affected. The complexity, frequency and magnitude of those impacts is increasingly parallel to the technological revolution, rising population, and increasing per capita consumption. The burden of the concerns about how humans inflict natural and man-made enclaves tends to rely in highly industrial societies. However, many of the world environmental alterations are been achieved by non-industrial societies. This book examines and discusses multidisciplinary aspects of the impacts that humans had on the physical environment, the biota, and human health, focusing on the scenario of developing and under developing countries. Among the areas covered are environmental degradation, pollution, occupational health, risk management, epidemiology and toxicology. This book will help scientists, resource managers, administrators, educators, policy makers and college students interpret that risk management and the advancement of research in sustainable development is of utmost importance for all parties involved in seeking solutions for the protection of natural and anthropogenic systems, and human health.

The study investigated the effects of environmental degradation on human health in nine selected oil communities in Delta State. A total of 450 copies of questionnaires, specific oil spillage and gas flaring data within the selected communities were used. Result showed that 95.2% of the people had experienced environmental degradation from the oil producing communities and some agreed that most of the effects are still ongoing. The overall major cause of environmental degradation in all the oil producing communities is the negligence of duty by government agencies charged with oversight duties of monitoring and compliance (30.8%), Neglect of Environmental regulations/compliance (26.8%), corruption (23.6%), Lack of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports from Companies either at the beginning of the project or periodic assessment (14.7%) respectively. This has however given rise to high degree of sabotage that causes oil spillage in the area. Each community agreed that they were vulnerable to environmental degradation.

American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Medical Book Award, 1993. For the first time in human history we are altering the basic physiology of the planet, yet until now there has been no single source that summarizes the medical consequences of this environmental crisis for human beings. Critical Condition provides a comprehensive, easy-to-follow review of this most critical and yet most neglected subject in the environmental debate. It brings together the best medical information available about global environmental degradation, including the effects on human health of war and military preparation, global warming, ozone depletion, species extinction, and loss of biodiversity - matters that are generally not addressed in the literature of environmental health. Underlying these contributions are three major themes: that the habitat is an important determinant of human health, that prevention of human illness must involve protection of the environment and preservation of ecosystems, and that well-informed physicians can and should communicate with the public and policy makers about environmental hazards. Eric Chivian, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a co-founder of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. Michael McCally is Lecturer in Medicine at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Howard Hu is Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Andrew Haines is Professor and Head of the Department of Primary Health Care at University College London Medical School.

The book discusses the indispensable connection between the environment and health via all possible aspects, focussing on human interactions with the environment. The multi-dimensional field of environmental and human health perspectives with emerging issues and current trends is illustrated through supporting case studies, reviews, research reports and examples. It also covers crucial areas of research such as vector control in a tropical climate, influence of climate change on human health and so forth, including proliferation of microbial diseases. Environmental, health and safety guidelines are discussed as well. Aimed at graduate students and researchers in environmental and medical sciences, health and safety, and ecology, this book Highlights interdisciplinary aspects of environmental changes and associated health risks Explains different aspects of environmental pollution and health risks Includes dedicated chapters on global epidemics and biomedical and municipal waste Contains case studies pertaining to different health and safety issues.