Overview
Environmental Health recognizes that our well-being depends upon the quality of the physical environment and is focused on the protection of human health from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in the environment. Environmental health literacy (EHL) is an emerging and evolving concept that bridges shared theories from the fields of risk communication, environmental health science, behavioral science, evaluation, communications, public health, and the social sciences.
The process of becoming environmentally health literate entails raising scientific literacy, environmental literacy, and numeracy among the general public while increasing awareness of specific exposures and their potential health effects. Advancing EHL can improve health by raising public awareness of potentially harmful environmental exposures and empowering communities to avoid or reduce such exposures.
Search the web for a popular article concerning an air quality issue and write a 1-2 page essay including the following components:
A brief synopsis of the article (do not regurgitate the whole article)
An explanation of the significance of the issue (why should you, I, and/or society care)
- A discussion providing perspective of the article on the air quality issue – does the article promote EHL by
- Providing technically correct information to develop a sound opinion?
- Raising public awareness of the issue and its potential health effects?
Empowering communities to act in ways that protect and promote health?
- A discussion of ways in which the article could be improved to better support the goals of EHL.