As with the first edition, this second edition describes how environmental health policies are developed, the statutes and other policies that have evolved to address public health concerns associated with specific environmental hazards, and the public health foundations of the policies. It lays out policies for what is considered the major environmental physical hazards to human health. Specifically, the authors describe hazards from air, water, food, hazardous substances, and wastes. To this list the authors have added the additional concerns from climate change, tobacco products, genetically-modified organisms, environment-related diseases, energy production, biodiversity and species endangerment, and the built environment. And as with the first edition, histories of policymaking for specific environmental hazards are portrayed. This edition differs from its antecedent in three significant themes. Global perspectives are added to chapters that describe specific environmental hazards, e.g., air pollution policies in China and India. Also there is the material on the consequences of environmental hazards on both human and ecosystem health. Additionally readers are provided with information about interventions that policymakers and individuals can consider in mitigating or preventing specific environmental hazards.

Written by environmental health experts with long teaching and professional careers in policy and public health, the third edition of Environmental Policy and Public Health comprises two volumes addressing key physical hazards in the environment that impact public health. The first volume on Principal Health Hazards and Mitigation is complemented by the second volume, Emerging Health Hazards and Mitigation. The health of the environment is inextricably linked to that of people. Thoroughly updated, Volume 1 describes how the quality of air, water, and food is threatened by the presence of toxic substances and explains why climate change is a global health priority already impacting human health and the environment. The mitigations discussed in this volume are twofold: policies that are intended for control of specific hazards and suggested hazard interventions. The role of policy in addressing each of these key environmental health areas is extensively discussed in this volume as well. Each chapter explains step by step how new environmental health issues are translated into public health policies and concludes with practice questions to facilitate interactive learning for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in public health and environmental sciences. The step-by step approach, as well as the case studies and practice questions, allow for a diverse portfolio of in-person and hybrid pedagogical strategies and tools at the fingertips of faculty who not only teach policy courses, but whose course topics, such as climate and health, have policy relevance.

As with the first edition, this second edition describes how environmental health policies are developed, the statutes and other policies that have evolved to address public health concerns associated with specific environmental hazards, and the public health foundations of the policies. It lays out policies for what is considered the major environmental physical hazards to human health. Specifically, the authors describe hazards from air, water, food, hazardous substances, and wastes. To this list the authors have added the additional concerns from climate change, tobacco products, genetically-modified organisms, environment-related diseases, energy production, biodiversity and species endangerment, and the built environment. And as with the first edition, histories of policymaking for specific environmental hazards are portrayed. This edition differs from its antecedent in three significant themes. Global perspectives are added to chapters that describe specific environmental hazards, e.g., air pollution policies in China and India. Also there is the material on the consequences of environmental hazards on both human and ecosystem health. Additionally readers are provided with information about interventions that policymakers and individuals can consider in mitigating or preventing specific environmental hazards.

Public health officials have the traditional responsibilities of protecting the food supply, safeguarding against communicable disease, and ensuring safe and healthful conditions for the population. Beyond this, public health today is challenged in a way that it has never been before. Starting with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, public health officers have had to spend significant amounts of time addressing the threat of terrorism to human health. Hurricane Katrina was an unprecedented disaster for the United States. During the first weeks, the enormity of the event and the sheer response needs for public health became apparent. The tragic loss of human life overshadowed the ongoing social and economic disruption in a region that was already economically depressed. Hurricane Katrina reemphasized to the public and to policy makers the importance of addressing long-term needs after a disaster. On October 20, 2005, the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine held a workshop which convened members of the scientific community to highlight the status of the recovery effort, consider the ongoing challenges in the midst of a disaster, and facilitate scientific dialogue about the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on people's health. Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters: Hurricane Katrina is the summary of this workshop. This report will inform the public health, first responder, and scientific communities on how the affected community can be helped in both the midterm and the near future. In addition, the report can provide guidance on how to use the information gathered about environmental health during a disaster to prepare for future events.

Policy-makers are increasingly concerned about the impact of climate variability and change on the health of vulnerable populations. Variations and trends in climatic factors and extreme weather events impact many health outcomes, including malaria, heat stress and undernutrition. Climate Information for Public Health Action is based on the premise that climate knowledge and information can help protect the public from climate-sensitive health risks. With a focus on infectious disease, hydro-meteorological disasters and nutrition, the book explores why, when and how data on the historical, current and future (from days to decades) climate can be incorporated into health decision-making. Created as a collaborative effort between climate and health experts, this book targets a broad technical public health community, alongside development practitioners and policy-makers engaged in climate change adaptation. It may also guide climate experts in the development of climate services tailored to health needs. Written in an accessible, informative style, while maintaining the highest technical and scientific standards, it will also be a valuable resource for students and academics studying and working in the emerging field of environment and health. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315115603, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license."

It is increasingly apparent that human activities are not suitable for sustaining a healthy global environment. From energy development to resource extraction to use of land and water, humans are having a devastating effect on the earth’s ability to sustain human societies and quality lives. Many approaches to changing the negative environmental consequences of human activities focus on one of two options, emphasizing either technological fixes or individual behavior change to reduce environmental harms through sustainable consumption habits. This book takes a different approach, focusing on the role of environmental policy in shaping the possibilities for and creating hindrances to pursuing more sustainable use of environmental resources. This unique compilation examines environmental policy through empirical case studies, demonstrating through each particular example how environmental policies are formed, how they operate, what they do in terms of shaping behaviors and future trajectories, and how they intersect with other social dynamics such as politics, power, social norms, and social organization. By providing case studies from both the United States and Mexico, this book provides a cross-national perspective on current environmental policies and their role in creating and limiting sustainable human futures. Organized around four key parts – Water; Land; Health and Wellbeing; and Resilience – and with a central theme of environmental justice and equity, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental policy and sustainability.

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.