(2023, March 15). WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Proposes First-Ever National Standards to Combat PFAS in Drinking Water. Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from .https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/15/what-they-are-saying-biden-harris-administration-proposes-first-ever-national-standards-to-combat-pfas-in-drinking-water/

Polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are chemicals that resist grease, oil, water, and heat. These chemicals which were originally spread into water in the 1940s have been a continued danger in drinking water across the United States. Despite any attempts to solve the issue of PFAS chemicals in the United States seems delayed, the Biden-Harris administration has recently announced a plan to protect public health by ensuring access to clean drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency predicts this first PFAS water standard to prevent death and illness.

Similar to many of the other cases of environmental-related diseases studied here, dangerous PFAS chemicals have been the cause of many deaths and illnesses which are especially prominent in lower-class areas. This trend seems like the best place for many organizations and governments to target first.a This historic starting point by the Biden-Harris administration seems to be a good start in attempting to solve some of the negative health effects of environmental and chemical dangers.

Hansen, J. (2023, April 8). Experts discuss how environmental changes are altering the risk for mosquito-borne diseases. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from https://news.stanford.edu/2023/08/08/mosquito-diseases-move/

Mosquito-borne diseases which have already been a dangerous cause for concern in many parts of the world, have been spreading due to climate change. Mosquitos and mosquito-borne illnesses greatly vary in ecology and therefore vary in the ways in which they should be treated. Climate change has led to many environmental changes such as floods and droughts. Floodwater pooling can be a breeding ground for mosquitos, while during drought, people store water in small containers, which can also become breeding grounds. These mosquito breeding grounds can lead to a rise in diseases such as dengue fever. Plastic waste on the other hand can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Mosquito-borne illnesses have been spreading to new areas as close as Texas and Florida. The worldwide spread of these worrying diseases is on account of environmental factors caused by climate change, such as extreme heat, flooding, and drought. These new environmental realities can be breeding grounds for mosquitos carrying a variety of illnesses which would be difficult to reduce as doctors and scientists would be unprepared to deal with these unprecedented rises in diseases. The comparison to COVID-19 made by Rosser stood out to me as I agree that reducing the spread of disease early on in high-risk areas and hotspots would be crucial to lessening the effects of mosquito-borne illnesses.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2023, April 25). EPA Releases Report Showing Health Impacts of Climate Change on Children in the United States. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-report-showing-health-impacts-climate-change-children-united-states

The EPA reports that climate change can have lifelong effects on children in regard to learning efficiency, physical health, and housing. Effects of climate change such as extreme heat, air quality, changing seasons, flooding, and infectious diseases disproportionately affect children of color in lower socioeconomic standings. Scientists also project these negative health effects to worsen in coming years with an estimated increase of 4% to 11% in asthma due to worsening air quality. Worsening heat is also predicted to have a negative effect on children while in school. Coastal flooding could also lead to the displacement of 1 to 2 million children.

Children are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, especially since the future effects of climate change on children growing up today can only be estimated. Long-term illnesses, disorders, and learning disabilities could be worsened due to the effects of climate change. Not only can the dangerous effects of climate change physically hurt children through negative health impacts, but they can also hurt them through societal disadvantages caused by the predicted loss of housing due to climate concerns. I’d consider many of these issues interconnected as many of these negative health effects will disproportionately affect lower-class black and brown children and the societal effects of climate change will economically hurt more children. 

European Environment Agency (2023, June 22). Beating cardiovascular disease – the role of Europe’s environment. Retrieved August 27, 2023, from https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/beating-cardiovascular-disease

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in EEA member countries. Cardiovascular diseases are a broad and complex spectrum of illnesses with established risk factors such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and family history. Over 18% of cardiovascular disease deaths in Europe are believed to come from environmental factors such as outdoor and indoor air pollution, heat and cold, second-hand smoke, and lead. Exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke, and some chemicals can cause and worsen cardiovascular disease, while the stress that comes from noise pollution and extreme heat or cold can put pressure on the cardiovascular system. 

Although societal factors such as stress from work can also be a large cause for the large amount of cardiovascular death and disease in Europe (as stated in the article), environmental factors also seem to contribute greatly. Climate change and pollution have also reportedly contributed to a rise in cardiovascular disease in Europe. Although some of these environmental causes for concern such as climate change and exposure to dangerous chemicals directly create a risk for cardiovascular disease/death, other stressors like noise pollution that aren’t directly environmental factors are caused by environmental noises caused by transport, industrial, and recreational activities. I wonder if the United States has similar issues as many of the environmental risks are issues that are also prevalent in the U.S.

 The article covers the widespread presence of heavy metals in everyday life, with environmental pollution producing substantial health problems, particularly in children due to their unique traits. It examines several epidemiological research on the effects of heavy metal exposure on children’s immunological function. The review, which focuses on lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, nickel, and manganese, shows negative impacts such as decreased lymphocyte counts, poorer immunological responses, altered cytokine levels, and lower antibody titers. The study emphasizes heavy metals’ link to vaccine failure and immune-related disorders in children while considering how age, gender, nutrition, and co-exposure influence outcomes.

    The article is relevant to environmental science since it dives into the serious issue of heavy metal exposure produced by pollution and its negative consequences on children’s immunological function. The study provides insight into the complex interaction between environmental pollutants and human health by studying the effects of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, nickel, and manganese on immune cells, cytokines, and immunoglobulins. While reading it, I found the critical need to identify and mitigate the environmental conditions contributing to heavy metal contamination, adding to the broader area of environmental science and its consequences for public health.

Wu, H., Eckhardt, C. M., & Baccarelli, A. A. (2023, January 30). Molecular mechanisms of environmental exposures and human disease – Nature Reviews Genetics. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-022-00569-3

       This article explores how environmental influences and pollutants affect human health, resulting in various chronic disorders. It addresses how pollutants alter genes and their control systems (epigenome), resulting in diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and respiratory issues. The study focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, including changes to DNA, proteins, and microscopic cell components. The study also highlighted the difficulties in assessing the long-term impact of the environment (exposome) on health.

      The article is relevant to environmental science since it discusses how environmental factors, such as pollution, can cause people to become ill with diseases. It describes how these factors alter our genes and how they function, resulting in problems such as cancer and heart disease. This assists scientists in better understanding how the environment might impact human health and how to keep people safe. The discovery that environmental variables can influence our DNA, potentially leading to chronic health issues such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, is both fascinating and scary at the same time. This study emphasizes the critical need for ongoing research in this field.

FOS Lifestyle Report: Impact of environmental conditions on the ocular surface. (2023, April 14). TFOS Lifestyle Report: Impact of Environmental Conditions on the Ocular Surface – ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtos.2023.04.007

In-Text Citation: (TFOS Lifestyle Report: Impact of Environmental Conditions on the Ocular Surface, 2023)

     The study investigated how environmental elements influence human vision. They looked for relationships based on age, gender, race, and region. Climate components such as temperature and humidity, contaminants in the air outside and within, and even exposure to sunshine are among these factors. These can lead to dry eyes, discomfort, and disease. The study discovered that air and soil pollution is connected to dry eye illness, but not all types of pollution. More research is needed to be specific, considering other variables and following changes over time. In the future, the study proposes segregating outcomes for different eye diseases.

     The article is connected to environmental science since it investigates how numerous environmental elements, such as climate and pollution both outside and within, affect the health of the ocular surface. It digs into the links between various environmental risk factors and eye disorders, emphasizing the complex interplay between human health and the environment. As I read the piece, I became concerned about how the environment might affect our health. There is a lack of knowledge regarding these factors. Everyone must understand these various possibilities so that we can take the appropriate steps to ensure our safety and well-being. This study also underlines the need to maintain a clean environment, as it protects our health.

Triclocarban and triclosan exacerbate high-fat diet-induced hepatic lipid accumulation at environmental related levels: The potential roles of estrogen-related receptors pathways. (2023, February 01). Triclocarban and Triclosan Exacerbate High-fat Diet-induced Hepatic Lipid Accumulation at Environmental Related Levels: The Potential Roles of Estrogen-related Receptors Pathways – ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160079

 Pollutants discovered in people’s bodies include triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC). Previous research looked at how they can cause fat buildup in the liver but needed to explore how our food can amplify their effects. This study investigated what happens when TCS and TCC are combined with a high-fat diet. They discovered in a lab that these pollutants don’t do much on their own, but when combined with fatty foods, they cause the liver to accumulate extra fat. TCC had a more significant impact than TCS. They also discovered that TCC may be more dangerous for people who consume a lot of fatty meals, as it may cause liver and heart problems. 

     The paper is relevant to environmental science since it explores the combined influence of environmental contaminants, notably triclosan and triclocarban, on our health when paired with a high-fat diet. The paper is intriguing to me since it reveals how environmental factors, such as pollution, can alter the fat in our bodies. It’s incredible how these things can work together with what we eat to impact our health. This study contributes to my understanding of how our surroundings and what we eat affect how our bodies function.

“Ambient (Outdoor) Air Pollution.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health. 

This article talks about the effects from air pollution and genuinely considers air pollution to be one of the main causes of health issues. It also talks about how air pollution does not discriminate and affects everyone regarding where you live or how you live. It talks about how we should create levels of contaminants that can be produced on top of it, talking about the most harmful gasses to our atmosphere as well as to ourselves. It states that around 23% of health issues end up being caused by greenhouse gasses or pollutants and how some of the diseases end up being so deadly they lead to cancer. The article concludes, with mentioning how it is progressively getting worse and without change we will be in a position where we can no longer reverse the damage we have done. 

A lot of these articles talk about the same thing and how heart disease is the most common disease from pollution and or dirty air, but I feel like this article just really specified how much is caused by greenhouse gasses. This article used specific percentages which I have not seen in many of the articles which also helped broaden my perspective. It was very interesting to learn about the damage but also ultimately saddening as this is truly because of us. After reading this it showed me to just really try and benefit people as well as try and benefit myself and remove the unnecessary usage of energy and pollution increasing things I use everyday.