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Posting about the World Cup a few days ago has left me thinking about the many ways in which sports, particularly professional sporting events, can impact the environment or public health. Leaving aside the many health issues associated with performance-enhancing drugs, and the health impacts of evolving protective equipment (football helmets and concussions, for example), [...]  Perhaps you have seen this story about Chinese iPhone workers who have been committing suicide. As an environmental health specialist the first thing that came to my mind was that these workers were being exposed to chemicals that was altering their brain chemistry. I assumed that these chemicals were causing the workers to be depressed [...] Like much of the world I have been glued to and enthralled by the spectacle unfolding in South Africa that is the 2010 World Cup. Like all of the world however, I will also be feeling the effects that the Cup has imposed on the planet. According to a study conducted by the South African [...] I was listening to the BBC World News service this morning, because news always sounds better with a British accent, and they had a cute little piece about how men are switching from bars of soap to body wash. They said that the problem with this is that body wash comes in a plastic container [...] It didn’t take long for the oil spill to become an occupational health issue, it just happened it a way that I am not sure many would have expected. The FEMA trailers that were considered unsafe for emergency housing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have resurfaced – as housing for oil spill cleanup workers. [...] In a tough defeat for health policy today, a penny-per-ounce tax proposal on sugary beverages has been abandoned by the New York state legislature. The NY Times claims that the biggest puncher in this fight has been the anti-tax lobby, and from an anecdotal standpoint, I can agree. Over the past several months, on an [...] There is no denying that the BP oil spill is the worst disaster in US history for so many reasons. It is going to have financial, social, environmental and health ramifications for years to come. What I find most upsetting is the oil soaked wildlife. It’s not just because they look so helpless and sad, [...] The next time you have a prescription filled, take a close look at the informational brochures provided to you by your pharmacist. Chances are there is a fair amount of discussion in there about other medications to avoid while taking your prescription; perhaps a contraindication with another drug, or instructions to avoid alcohol, and for [...] Before I started graduate school I had never heard of GIS (geographic information systems). After taking a semester of this class I have realized how important maps are in studying public health. Mapping is really the best way to see patterns of disease and correlations between environmental factors and disease. Recently, NY State Department of [...] While the unmitigated disaster that is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico clearly takes precedence as the environmental health issue of the day, I wanted to also call attention to a couple of other important developments in our field that have been taking place in the shadow of this terrible tragedy. First though, I don’t [...] |
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