January 5, 2014

SCI 301: Water: Science, Policy, and HealthDay 1: Environmental Health 101

Students will be able to define “toxicology and its basic terms”.

Students will have responded to the assumptions and overview of the course.

At end of the day,

What are some water problems we have

in this region?

Water challenges Drinking water quality: mercury, arsenic, lead

Dysfunctional or absent sewage treatment Use of poison in fishing

Depleted aquifers Car washing

Salination Photo by Suzanne Fournier

Environmental Health 101

Let’s talk about Mr. Geoffrey’s bias.

Environment: Circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded.

Natural environmentBuilt environmentSocial environment

Environmental Health Terms

Health: condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit

Disease: a condition that impairs the performance of a vital function

Enviro. Health Terms

The study of the effects of chemicals on organisms.

The study of what agents do to the body and what the body does to agents.

"All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison.“ - von Hohenheim

Objective science is needed to inform policy.

The Science of Toxicology

Agent: a chemical, biological, physical factor that can affect human health

Exposure: An agent comes into contact with a human

Risk: the possibility of loss or injurySafe: free from risk

Enviro. Health Terms

BacteriaVirusRadiation Chemical

Types of agents

Bacteria

Virus

Bacteria and viruses are not the same thing.

Bacteria Viruses

Alive Examples:

Streptoccoculus, Cholera, some food poisoning

May be killed by antibiotics (e.g. Cipro)

Alive? Examples: Causes of

the common cold, HIV, Ebola, some causes of cervical cancer

Antibiotics have no effect.

Can be prevented by vaccinations.

BacteriaVirusRadiation Chemical

Types of agents

Depleted uranium from shells, looted nuclear material

Increase in cancers and birth defects(?) Photo by relaxedpolitics.com

An Agent: Radiation

BacteriaVirusRadiation Chemical

Types of agents

Over 70,000Their effects are not well documented.

Why not? Agents are released by a source into the environment.

Examples: Benzene, Arsenic, Lead, Mercury

How many synthetic chemicals are on the market?

Break 1

We can manage risk. Risk Management is the selection of the best alternatives, considering the risks and other social, economic, and political concerns.

This is policy. This is life.

You are not safe.We cannot avoid risk.

Individual characteristicsLatencyMulti-factorial etiologyMixed exposure scenariosDisease non-specificitySocio-economic status (SES)

Why is it so hard to “prove” that Agent X causes Disease Y?

Humans impact the environment and the environment impacts humans.

E.G.: Methlymercury in seafood causes developmental delays in children of exposed mothers.

Apply new terminology to the above situation.

Environmental Health

EnvironmentHealth DiseaseAgentExposureRiskSafe

Review of Environmental Health Terms

Do citizens of these countries all use the same amount of water?

USA China India Mozambique Mexico Peru

Water Usage

Population Affluencex Technology Impact

How to think about our Impact

For everyone to use water like water is used in the West, we would need 3.5 earths.

So, we should all be like Mozambique?

How can we control the factors in the Impact equation?

Water Usage

Population Affluencex Technology Impact

How to think about our Impact

Germany would be a huge improvement.

Environmental degradation can be reversed.

Break II

January 5, 2014

SCI 301: Water: Science, Policy, and HealthDay 1: Overview of course

Assumption:We have a

materialistic world view.

The only things that exist are matter and energy.

Goal of the courseStudents will be able to use

scientific research and policy to improve water quality and

human health in Iraq and the KRG.

Environmental problems are human problems.

Science improves policy.Policy can improve human health.

The Big Ideas of the Class

This class is exactly that. We are a mix of business, policy, politics, IT, and

engineering people. But each one of us is also a mix of those fields. Business people sell technology. Politicians use research to make arguments. This course will not make you a toxicologist or a

policy-maker. This course will help you to use research to reach

your goals. Which hopefully include cleaner water and

healthier people.

I know you are sick of hearing about liberal arts, but . . .

The Interesting Stuff

HousekeepingQuestions

Let’s look at the syllabus.

Master’s degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a focus on Environmental Health and Policy. After earning his degree, he worked for six months at the Washington D. C. offices of the NGO Environmental Defense Fund.

About the Professor

More importantly,

Who are you?

Engineering?Business Majors? IT? IS?

Who took SCI 208 with Dr. CJ Geraci?

Who are you?

Environmental Health 101

What is your bias?

This is a 300-level Science course.

This course is not an “Easy A”.You will need to take notes, do the readings, and revise your memo several times in order to get a good grade.

Please understand:

Oh, boy!Quiz!!

What is it? Our actions will have results we cannot predict.

Example: DDT to prevent MalariaThis is why precaution and alternatives are important.

Cell phones

Law of Unintended Consequences

What is it? Is it a problem here? Please go to the WHO website, Cholera Factsheet.

Use Cholera example to review these concepts.

Cholera

EnvironmentHealth DiseaseAgentExposureRiskSafe

Review of Environmental Health Terms