Environmental Health: Assessing Human Health and Disease Risk From Climate and Built Environments - Essay Sample

Introduction

Environmental health is a field of science that analyzes how the environment influences diseases and human health. The climate, in this case, includes soil, water, air, and all the physical, biological, social, and chemical features of the surroundings (Miller, Chandler & Birnbaum, 2020). The built or human-made environment includes features that allow the man to work and live, such as factories, schools, offices, farms, and homes. The physical structures also include waste management, land-use practices, and transport systems. However, there are consequences because humans alter the natural environment.

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Environmental health elaborates more on the chemical, biological, and physical factors external to human beings and all behavioral characters. The study also encompasses the control and assessment of environmental factors that affect health at large (Miller, Chandler & Birnbaum, 2020). The role of environmental health is to create health-supportive equipment to prevent diseases. The definition, however, excludes behavior because it does not relate to the environment instead of the cultural and social environment and genetics.

Why is creating a healthy city important to environmental health?

The reason why a healthy city must be created to the environment is to promote economic development, ecological and spiritual success, and to promote health services. A robust city, in this case, always improves and creates the social and physical environments to expand the community resources (Averett, 2016). This enables people to support each other in developing their potential and performing their life functions.

Healthy cities are also known as the best largest and known towns of settings approaches. Even though it is a long-term plan, it creates the agendas of decision-makers to promote local strategies for sustainable development and health protection (Averett, 2016). The primary methods of creating healthy cities include community empowerment and participation, participant equity, and intersectoral partnership.

What could your city do to become a healthy city?

The health of a city depends on the contextual factors similar to the national health profile. One way this city can do is by making the planners anticipate, implement and design spaces that allow people to play, live and work to reduce pollution provides access to essential services, encourage physical activities and preserve the green area (Averett, 2016).

What would be the obstacles to change, and why are their obstacles?

Every city faces many health challenges, such as the contamination of water, air soil, and noise, and traffic congestions (Sinha, 2010). Cities also face poor housing conditions by unsustainable climate change and urban development. One obstacle that is hard to adjust is climate change because it aggravates urban health inequalities and risks by increasing the severity and frequency of extreme weather incidents such as air pollution and disturbing urban ecology.

What financial issues would have to be considered?

More and more, solving urban issues involves creative strategies that circumvent the challenges faced in communities through the collaboration of civil society and the private sector. However, innovating the city also requires people to tackle the fiscal constraints by setting up systems that will be able to predict the flow of finances from regional and national governments (Sinha, 2010). When such arrangements have been mapped, then the underlying choices will be addressed from a domestic angle to make this city a better place and effectively governed.

How would these changes benefit you, your family, and your community?

While many benefits are achieved living in a healthy city, a few stand out as compared to the rest. One advantage is that living in a healthy city creates a positive impact not only for the family members but for the community at large (Sinha, 2010). For instance, the town experiences health features and amenities that benefit the families due to more robust community support, better access, and holistic educational experience. Both the family and community will also experience a clean environment and economic opportunities.

What could your city do to become better prepared for disasters, both natural and human-made?

The best way to cope with natural and human-made disasters is through preparations. Hazards, in this case, vary in size. Some are small, such a storm that affects a single suburb while some are large enough to affect whole cities that cross the state boundaries. The best way is by identifying the type of disaster the community is exposed to, the impact and the likelihood of re-occurrence (Turchetti, Cannizzo & Trieste, 2012). When common hazards are known, then it is more natural focusing on the preparation plans. The best steps that the city should follow include:

Knowing the hazards that take place in the are:

• Reviewing the insurance policies to analyze if it can cover all types of disasters
• By taking a household inventory and storing the data in a safe place for future references
• By using a disaster plan to educate the community on steps to take in case of a disaster
• Developing communication plans that will assist the city in preparing during emergencies
• Creating an evacuation plan that will quickly and make everyone escape in case of danger (Turchetti, Cannizzo & Trieste, 2012).
• Practicing the steps that teach the basic first aid methods which will assist others during emergencies.
• Why should environmental health be considered an individual concern? Why should it be regarded as a global concern?

Environmental health must be seen as an individual concern because water, food supplies, plants, and clean air are all essential every person needs for their wellbeing (Miller, Chandler & Birnbaum, 2020). The relationship, therefore, between humanity and the environment is interdependence. Thus our choices and actions affect the situation similar to how a health planet influences individual personal wellbeing and health, families, economies, and communities at large.

Environmental factors also play a significant role in the world. A report by the World Health Organization showed that the burden of the world are diseases, and these are caused by environmental factors (Miller, Chandler & Birnbaum, 2020). In developing countries, for instance, they lack modern technology and have weak environmental regulations and laws. Nonetheless, the wealthy countries, on the other hand, are affected by poor urban environments, air pollution lead poisoning, and pollution, thus making environmental health a global issue.

What could you or your family do-in your home, your neighborhood, and your workplace-to reduce your impact on the environmental health of your city?

The best recommendation is to ask families to make buildings tighter or spend time indoors to reduce ambient pollutant penetration complicated by indoor sources of air pollutants encountered indoors from both outdoor and indoor sources (Miller, Chandler & Birnbaum, 2020). Decreasing home ventilation and staying indoors increases health risks and personal exposure but, at the same time, reduced individual exposures from outdoor pollutants due to volatile organic compounds extracted from building materials and consumer products (Miller, Chandler & Birnbaum, 2020). These ways, families will also escape from particulate matter and carbon monoxide released from indoor combustion activities like wood burning, smoke from tobacco products, and cooking.

References

Averett, N. (2016). Healthy Ground, Healthy Atmosphere: Recarbonizing the Earth's Soils. Environmental Health Perspectives, 124(2), 87-99. doi: 10.1289/ehp.124-a30

Miller, M. F., Chandler, K. J., & Birnbaum, L. S. (2020). Environmental Health. Environmental Science, 114-119. doi: 10.1093/obo/9780199363445-0127

Sinha, P. (2010). Analyzing Dynamic Faces: Key Computational Challenges. Dynamic Environment Faces, 177-186. doi: 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014533.003.0013

Turchetti, G., Cannizzo, S., & Trieste, L. (2012). Natural and Man-Made Disasters: Challenges and International Perspectives for Insurance. International Disaster Response Law, 685-702. doi: 10.1007/978-90-6704-882-8_28