How to Solve Environmental Health Problems

The most pressing environmental health problems are climate change, specifically, global warming, unsafe drinking water, poor air quality (indoors and out), and contaminated food supplies. Environmental problems may seem overwhelming, but we all have the power to decrease pollution, limit our exposure and, more importantly, strengthen our bodies and environmental systems to resist contamination.

Instructions

Environmental Solutions

• 1

  Decrease your contribution to pollution while improving your quality of life. Turning down the thermostat in the winter decreases carbon dioxide emissions and also improves indoor air quality. HVAC systems not only keep your house comfortable but re-distribute any contaminants already present in your home which can make indoor air quality unsafe.

  Using HVAC on high levels redistributes contaminants in the building. Wearing appropriate clothes for the season and only heating and cooling to the necessary level for the season will stimulate and strengthen your body's immune system, re-training it to live in rhythm with nature.

• 2

  Use biodegradable, safe cleaning agents and pesticides. Keeping your home and body clean by limiting the use of chemicals in your house and yard will prevent contaminants from getting inside. Biodegradable products also keep water supplies safe for drinking.

• 3

  Limit your exposure to contaminants. The human body is designed to process a certain level of contamination. Environmental health problems are the result of exposure to levels that are too high to process. Decreasing levels is important; but if there are contaminants present, precautions should be taken to limit exposure.

  Ventilating your home forces pollutants outside, alleviating exposure to lung illnesses. Using a HEPA-filtered vacuum in your home will rid your environment of any paint lead chips, keeping your children safe from lead poisoning. Insuring that your building materials, furniture, clothes and other products you use every day are only made of materials that do not emit chemicals is a way to limit your exposure to chemicals while also encouraging sustainable use of resources. People who are struggling with sulfur dioxide poisoning, resulting from drywall imported from China, would have appreciated this information before they bought their homes.

  Smoke and perfumes are contaminants. Smoke-free environments and even perfume-free public space afford protections against exposure.

• 4

  Eat natural, organic foods, drink clean water and exercise in clean environments. Make sure you know what you are eating. Certain types of fish caught from certain areas have pollutants such as mercury in their tissue which cause developmental problems in fetuses and children. Advisories are posted on the EPA website to limit seafood meals for this reason. Pesticides may increase crop yields, but they also increase contaminants in our water and soil. When you eat food grown with pesticides, you are eating the contaminants. These contaminants are also in our water system which we ingest when we drink unfiltered water or seep into our skin when we swim in the ocean, ponds and lakes. Installing a water filter system in your home insures that the water you drink is clean, and checking EPA's beach advisories gives you information on safe swimming times and locations.

  Eating naturally decreases exposure and, coupled with exercise in clean environments, strengthens the body's capacity to process contaminants. Clean environments include: inside, well ventilated structures or, better yet, structures built with low pollutant-emitting materials; and outdoors near the seashore waves and anywhere after a lightning storm, both of which naturally clean the air.