14: Environmental Wellness - A Healthy Planet

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

Explain the relationship of CO2 to climate change.
Provide evidence of climate change.
Explain the impact of climate change on public health.
List strategies for increasing health of the planet.

How are you impacting the environment?

How is the environment impacting you?

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” What was Gandhi trying to convey with that statement? Maybe, that the Earth does not have limitless resources for human consumption and that we as humans impact the health of the planet by the choices we make. All humans live on one planet, planet Earth. Some call Earth “Mother Earth” because Earth nurtures life just like a mother. Human societies throughout history have symbols and depictions of Earth as a nurturer since every species on Earth depends on the resources of the planet for existence. The relationship between humans and the environment is studied through a branch of public health known as Environmental Health. Environmental health seeks to understand how the environment impacts human health and how humans impact the health of the planet.

The information in this chapter primarily comes from:

Globalchange.gov: The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment
The United States Global Change Research Program:Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science
Nasa: Global Climate Change
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Climate Change
World Health Organization: Climate Change
National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences