Environment & Human Health

Introduction

For human health and well-being, a clean environment is necessary. However, at the same time, the environment can work as a stressor as well. For example, a polluted environment affects health negatively. Climate change is also affecting human health negatively. Climate change leads to heatwaves, vector-borne diseases, floods, etc. which affect human health and well-being in a negative manner. Loss of biodiversity, climate change, and degradation of land affect human health at a broader level in a negative manner as well.

Example − The diagram below illustrates the threats Landfill Sites Can Present to Human Health and the Environment.

Link between Human Health and the Environment

There is an intricate link between human health and the environment. A good and clean environment provides fertile land for cultivation, clean water and air, and energy for production. On the other hand, bad quality of the environment heals the incurrence of various diseases and disorders.

Pollutants and hazardous chemicals affect human health negatively. Pollution, noise, and hazardous chemicals can lead to even death via various diseases and disorders. It has been found that only in the European region, 12% to 18% of all deaths occur due to these reasons. This fact has been published in a paper by World Health Organization (WHO).

• In terms of enormity, air pollution is the single largest reason for ill health and deaths. It has been estimated by WHO that nearly 400,000 deaths occur in Europe due to air pollution. Moreover, air pollution leads to heart disease. Lung diseases, stroke, and cancer. Exposure to noise can lead to hypertension and cardiovascular diseases as well. Although noise is not thought to be a major reason for ill health, research on the subject has revealed that it can turn out to be a major stressor., especially the ones emitted by industries and vehicles.

• Exposure to hazardous chemicals is also a key concern. It has been found that hazardous chemicals can affect human beings via polluted air and water. Moreover, as some hazardous chemicals bioaccumulation in the food chain, they exist in the food web for a longer period of time, causing diseases and disorders of various natures. As chemical products are increasingly used nowadays, the threat of hazardous chemicals affecting human health has increased manifolds. Such exposures increase the concern about the ill effect of hazardous chemicals over a human lifetime, especially during childhood, pregnancy, and old age.

• Climate change is also a direct threat to human health as it causes floods that are directly related to infectious diseases. Moreover, climate change also makes human beings vulnerable to vector-borne diseases. Climate change also leads to loss of biodiversity, affecting the food champion which may cause certain illnesses. Therefore, although the effects of climate change are not seen directly, they impact human health indirectly in many ways.

• Environmental threats to human health are not evenly distributed across all sectors of society. Socially disadvantaged people have to bear more risks as they do not have access to clean air and water and live in an environmentally degraded location. However, their health is affected by certain behaviors such as smoking and inactivity as well. As hazardous chemicals are present in more amounts in poorer regions, poor people have more exposure to them. This leads to more occurrences of diseases. Therefore, socially disadvantaged people are at higher risk from environmental threats.

Valuing the Environment

• Many researchers have argued that people tend to be late to recognize the value of environmental resources. For example, the value of clean air and water is recognized when they become scarce in quantity. When clean water is available freely in large quantities, people waste them and do not realize its value.

• The same phenomenon is seen in the case of market supply and demand. For example, the demand for water in a place where it is scarce becomes increased in comparison to a place where it is abundant. The market forces, therefore, regulate their supply and demand. As the parts of the environment become a commodity for the market, their use is used which further increases the pressure on their existence, making their quality inferior in certain places.

• As we don’t have to pay for nature’s processes in keeping the resources clean, we often neglect nature’s contribution to our existence. As mentioned above, when nature stops offering its genuine services, natural resources become scarce, and only then do we start to pay attention to the impact of nature in keeping the entire system balanced. Otherwise, when there is no scarcity, we neglect the need of preserving and maintaining the quality of the resources in general. That is why the environment gets degraded, leading to many health risks that cannot be cured with medicine alone.

Environment Protection

Knowing the loopholes is not enough to reduce the ill effect of a degraded environment. We must, first of all, realize the importance of protecting the natural environment. In this case, the waste generated in industrial processes must be considered because they are the main reason for the destruction of the natural environment.

However, managing waste is not as simple as it sounds. Recycling waste is very costly in nature and hence it is neglected by most industries. The only way left, therefore, is to mimic nature in recycling and regenerating products from waste. Mimicking nature in production also offers other benefits. Companies using such methods not only have better output but their processes also cause no harm to the environment. In terms of human health, it is a huge reward because reduced waste and hazardous chemicals mean better human health, especially for the disadvantaged sections of society.

Therefore, the current need is to have a holistic view of the environmental process and human health while creating industrial systems. Only when we create industries that emit fewer pollutants into the air and water, we can create naturally inclusive systems, causing less harm to the environment and thereby to human health.

Conclusion

As the environment and human health are linked to each other, we must try to keep the environment clean and free from industrial waste. Human health can remain in a good shape if we take care of nature and do not destroy nature for human activities. The world can be a better place for human beings if we follow some simple steps to keep the nature and environment intact, and this is the urgent need of the hour.

FAQs

Qns. What is the link between the environment and human health?

Ans. There is an intricate link between human health and the environment. A good and clean environment provides fertile land for cultivation, clean water and air, and energy for production. On the other hand, bad quality of the environment heals the incurrence of various diseases and disorders.

Qns 2. How many people die each year in Europe due to air pollution?

Ans. It has been estimated by WHO that nearly 400,000 deaths occur in Europe due to air pollution.

Qns 3. Why is recycling waste ignored by companies?

Ans. Recycling waste is very costly in nature and hence it is neglected by most industries.