Environment, Health and Sustainable Development

Book excerpt: Longstanding evidence of the links between the environment, development and human health has led to a recognition of the need for public health policy to address sustainable development in low, middle and high income countries. One of the great challenges for public health practitioners is to understand and try to modify the relationship between the environment and health. This book examines the underlying concepts and history of environmental public health including the key factors: • Air pollution • Chemical contamination • Climate hazards • Housing and the built environment This book has been fully revised to discuss recent international environmental conventions and legislation in the fast-moving world of global environmental health. UK and global issues are covered, such as urbanization and the impact of transport on air pollution, housing and indoor air quality, and the impact of environmental change on high and low income countries. Understanding Public Health is an innovative series published by Open University Press in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where it is used as a key learning resource for postgraduate programmes. It provides self-directed learning covering the major issues in public health affecting low, middle and high income countries. "The fully revised second edition presents the wide range of environmental issues that are relevant to public health with academic rigour, but loses none of the ease of use for self-directed study of the first edition, with several new activities and feedback within each chapter." Dr. Sotiris Vardoulakis, Head of Environmental Change Department, Public Health England, UK “The broadening of the traditional scope of environmental health is clearly presented in this book. The 19th century view of this branch of public health still prevalent among public health practitioners has finally been updated, with a change to a global perspective. Energy choices, climate change, ecosystem services, waste are now appropriately included as environmental factors affecting health, and through this lens traditional topics of air, water and soil can be re-interpreted. This overview provides a solid foundation for all public health practitioners intending to include environmental health as part of a renewed mainstream public health capable of engaging with the full range of environmental challenges to sustainable health and wellbeing in contemporary societies.” Giovanni Leonardi, Head of the Environmental Epidemiology Group, Public Health England, UK