HEALTH

• Environmental health is concerned with how the environment affects the health of people. Take note that this field deals with both natural and built environments.
• The natural environment refers to the non-artificial aspect of the world around us. These places are the ones that were not built by humans, and their presence can be attributed to natural means. Examples of natural environments in the Philippines are rainforests, beaches, and montane forests.
• Built environments, on the other hand, refer to man-made areas. These are artificial areas created by humans for a variety of purposes. Some of the most common built environments include cities and towns. Places that are constructed to reflect natural settings, like parks, are also still considered to be built environments
• What you are exposed to: There are many aspects of the natural and built environments that a person are exposed to, and many of these have health effects. An example is sunlight, which allows the body to produce vitamins in the right amounts, but can damage the skin or cause cancer if exposed to in excess. Another example is the quality of air, with fresh air being beneficial.
• The amount and duration of exposure: Other factors to consider are how often a person is exposed, and the amount that a person is exposed to it. From sunlight, the most harmful to health usually comes from prolonged exposures to it. For chemicals in the environment, on the other hand, long-term exposure can negatively impact health.
• Individual differences: What affects one person may not necessarily affect another. There are also distinct differences between people, and not everyone will react to the environment in the same way. An example would be that some people are more naturally resistant to ingesting toxins as a result of them being of a larger body mass and size.
• Disaster management : This involves the prevention and mitigation of the effects of natural calamities. Monitoring and catering the health of the environment can help in mitigating the hazards brought by disasters
• Good air quality : The quality of air that we breathe in directly affects respiratory health. An example of good quality air is that which does not have high amounts of particulate matter
• Parasite control : The control of parasites is of particular concern in many urban areas, where their spread is common.
• Others: Environmental health also has other concerns, like waste management, chemicals, food safety, and many more.
• In biology, a community refers to a group of different species living together within one area. In the field of environmental health, however, the term community refers to a group of people living in a given place. It does not just apply to the inhabitants that are immediately around you. Your community may also indicate your neighbors, the other people within your vicinity, the people you interact with, the people they communicate with, and so on
• Segregating waste : This includes separation of biodegradable wastes to non-biodegradable wastes. Waste segregation and other waste management strategies will help in the reduction of pollution in the environment
• Planting more trees: Planting trees will improve the quality of air, and eventually, respiratory health.
• ● Cleanup projects : Initiating causes like cleanup projects will help lessen wastes in the environment hence, the spread of diseases will also be prevented. Acts like this will also promote environmental awareness that can potentially motivate others to do the same
• ● Education : Educating people on the various aspects of the environment that can affect the health of the community is perhaps the most important. Education leads to awareness, which leads to action.
• Others : Many other activities can be done, including recycling, properly disposing of wastes, preventing the spread of parasites, and more.
• A healthy environment will naturally have fewer factors that can physically harm the residents of the community, and more elements that can be beneficial. If the conditions in the environment are favorable for humans, then this will naturally lead to a community that is more physically healthy compared to other settings. A good, healthy environment will also lead to fewer diseases in the population.
• Less Health Care Expenses The fewer diseases there are, then the fewer expenses for healthcare there will be for the inhabitants of the community. Hospitalization and medication expenses can reach astronomical amounts depending on the diseases involved, and a healthy environment can help reduce this.
• Contentment and Happiness A healthy environment will also lead to a general sentiment of contentment and happiness within a community, compared to an environment that is not healthy. Many studies show that healthy people generally report higher satisfaction compared to those that aren’t
• Improper Waste Disposal The production of waste is inevitable in today’s world. However, this, unfortunately, leads to waste being disposed of through improper means. Improper waste disposal is a problem that many countries are facing, and this has several negative impacts on the environment
• The kind of waste that we produce is commonly classified as either biodegradable or non￾biodegradable .
• Ways to Properly Dispose of Wastes There are many ways to properly dispose of the wastes that we produce. Some of these include reducing, recycling, reusing, waste segregation, and composting.
• Many things that humans do will produce materials that eventually enter the environment and cause harmful effects on the environment and its inhabitants. This is known as pollution .
• Terrestrial pollution affects land-based areas. Some of the most common types of terrestrial pollution are caused by garbage, or through contamination of the soil by harmful chemicals.
• Aquatic pollution affects the bodies of water. Marine plants and animals are usually severely affected by aquatic pollution as they spend a vast majority of their lives being directly immersed in water, which may contain pollutants. Common types of this pollution are chemicals that come from factories, agricultural areas, and from the air.
• Air pollution affects the atmosphere. Some of the most common sources of air pollution include the combustion or burning of materials or the aerosolization of different materials. Aerosolization refers to materials becoming small and light enough to be carried as particles in the air. Air pollution affects both land-based and water-based organisms and
• Mining refers to the process of extracting economically important substances and metals from the Earth
• Deforestation refers to the removal of multiple trees for the benefit of humans but the detriment of the environment. These benefits include clearing new land for land conversion, the use of these trees as lumber, and for other reasons.
• The process of photosynthesis improves air quality, and the removal of forests will severely impact air quality in the surrounding areas