Mora, Camilo, et al. “Over Half of Known Human Pathogenic Diseases Can Be Aggravated by Climate Change.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 8 Aug. 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01426-1. 

This article talks about the ultimate effects of climate change. Starting with how just within the increase of heat, more bugs come out and end up infecting many people. It also talks about how Greenhouse gasses are one of the main factors of human illness. It ends up getting into our system through absorption of food, water, bugs, animals etc. As our main resources continue to get infected, it will become harder and harder for us to use those basic necessities. It also talks about the affects of animals absorbing Co2 in the ocean and how that ultimately ends up affecting us as well, just from consuming their meat with bacteria and or toxins in them. Overall, this article strictly talks about how we often ignore the causes from climate change and how we need to work now to reduce the risks of these diseases and increase in bacteria spread. 

I feel as if within this article it mentions so much without saying lots. It is important to understand the depths of climate change and I feel like this article really illustrates them. I really enjoyed that it talked about the effects it has on humans too and not just on people because we often ignore the level of damage it does to other things besides humans. In addition, I think it was important for it to mention the main cause of these issues (Greenhouse gasses) because without knowing we become clueless to the cause and ways to avoid further damage. Finally, the incorporation of diseases it causes is also very important because we don’t always think it was from the environment, we try to make excuses as to why we got that specific disease, but it specifically mentions how common it is to get heart disease due to the amount of contaminants released. Overall, I think this article really showed important effects from the environment. 

“Social Determinants of Health.” Social Determinants of Health – Healthy People 2030, https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health. 

This website mainly focuses on how we can avoid these environmental diseases/health issues which are huge. It mentions the incorporation of electric vehicles, and the things we can avoid using to eliminate increases in contaminated areas. Some of these things include, incorporating a healthier diet, educating people on the harms and importance of maintaining safe water ways, as well as reducing toxic water from diets. These “little things” ultimately end up causing health issues as severe as heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. It also mentions the program named SDOH that focuses on making sure the population is given basic needs and resources in order to decrease the amount of people affected from contaminated food, and water. 

I think it was super cool to learn about ways we can avoid these issues by simply just adding electric vehicles to our lives, and or by eliminating certain things from our diets, specifically meats from industrial farms. I also think it was cool to learn about another program and or system that strictly focuses on the safety and health of the people who live in their environments. It was super interesting to learn that they really focus on people getting their basic needs met as I feel like that is not something a lot of programs or people worry about. I honestly recommend people to read about this organization as they truly are looking out for their people to further benefit them. 

“As Climate Change Boosts Mosquito-Borne Diseases, We Must Take Action to Stop Their Spread.” World Economic Forum, 17 Jan. 2023, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/health-risk-climate-change-demands-collective-action-davos23/. 

This article talks about how urbanization is one of the main causes of the spread of the west nile virus. This virus increases where there is a lot of water as well as humid areas that are mainly caused due to climate change. With the production of more Co2 we will see the increase in heat and sea level rise which will ultimately only make this virus spread quicker and faster. It is in equatorial places for example, New Guinea, Panama and so forth. These scientists 100% believe that the increase in this virus is due to climate change and the increase in heat around the world. They are trying to find vaccines that will help stop the spread as well as heal those who are infected due to it being a very deadly disease. 

I really liked this article because it talked about something I am not very familiar with. I was interested in learning more about the virus and I was able to find the main reason why it spreads as much as it does, which is due to heat. I also really enjoyed learning about the vaccine they are trying to make and how it will help people who are affected by this virus. It is scary to know that the climate can cause many bad effects to one’s health and in fact infect many people just because of hotter temperatures. Ultimately this article was one that I found overall very informative as well as super interesting due to learning about new diseases that are just getting worse due to the pollution and gasses we emit into our planet and atmosphere.  

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). “Federal Health Agencies Unveil National Tool to Measure Health Impacts of Environmental Burdens.” HHS.gov, 10 Aug. 2022, https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/08/10/federal-health-agencies-unveil-national-tool-to-measure-health-impacts-of-environmental-burdens.html. 

 This article talks about the detrimental factors from the environment. It talks about how  just with slightly elevated air quality how greatly it can affect people with asthma. Not only does it talk about diseases but also how people who are in lower classes are greatly affected by environmental burdens. They believe education will be the best thing to incorporate into people’s lives so that they are able to further understand the depths of how much the environment can affect diseases as well as people who are not as privileged. They believe by incorporating areas that focus on the people and the atmosphere they are surrounded in will greatly benefit their society and the health factors caused by the environment. 

I believe this article was super interesting because it focused a lot on how to avoid these problems and how we can all come together to eliminate further damage. I also liked how it talked about the people who are predominantly affected and why they are, and how they need to be better educated on these issues and more supported in order to eliminate any more damage to their society. I also think that we often ignore the people who are in lower economic status and have them fend for themselves. As a community we ultimately need to start focusing on them more and helping them out as they are less privileged and fortunate and have to fight against these issues alone. 

Murez, Cara. “In U.S., Minority Communities More Likely to Have Water Contaminated by Toxic Metals.” US News & World Report, HealthDay, 28 Dec. 2022, https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-12-28/in-u-s-minority-communities-more-likely-to-have-water-contaminated-by-toxic-metals. 

Water metal concentrations, specifically arsenic and uranium, were found to be significantly higher in the drinking water of minority communities, especially Hispanic and African American. With more “residents from communities of color relying on public drinking water,” they have a heightened risk for arsenic and uranium exposure which can result in adverse, often fatal, health outcomes such as cancer and heart disease. The study tested 2,585 counties for arsenic and 1,174 counties for uranium.

This is incredibly saddening, across all incomes and classes we should strive as a society to provide at least the bare necessities, such as clean drinking water, to everyone; However, especially to people who are systematically disadvantaged due to (racial/ethnic/cultural) biases in society. Perhaps governmentally funded filtration systems are needed to keep heavy metal concentrations low as the alternatives, having low-income families buy bottled water or to have them buy their own filtration systems, is costly and far more time consuming in maintenance for each household. It is unfortunate how our most vulnerable, those of low socioeconomic status, are paying the price for the reckless or ignorant actions of polluting larger corporations and businesses.

McVan, Madison. “Agriculture Pollutes Underground Drinking Water in Minnesota. Well Owners Pay the Price.” The Minnesota Reformer, Investigate Midwest, 17 Jan. 2023, https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/01/17/agriculture-pollutes-underground-drinking-water-in-minnesota-well-owners-pay-the-price/.

Excess levels of nitrogen (22 ppm over the EPA’s safety standard of 10 ppm) are rendering the well water of Weaver, Wabasha County undrinkable. Although the water is “crystal clear, refreshing, and odorless,” the nitrate rich water can cause a multitude of health issues, often fatal ones. For instance, nitrate consumption is not only “linked to thyroid disease and certain cancers,” but additionally can cause methemoglobinemia, also known as “baby blue syndrome,” which affects the blood’s ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. This excess of nitrate (formed from nitrogen and oxygenated water) commenced from the nitrogen-rich fertilizer used in high doses in farming practices that, after precipitation, flows as agricultural runoff into watersheds and aquifers, and thus, are contaminated with unhealthy, undrinkable fresh water. Not only does this issue strike low-income rural families in Minnesota, but also solutions to the issue: installing a filtration system for purchasing bottled water, can be costly to already struggling families.

When looking up methemoglobinemia, the “baby blue syndrome,” although written in the name of the condition, I was still so surprised to see visuals of people’s skin developing a dark purple-blue hue, it seemed almost alien. I can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it would be for your skin to change color, I don’t know why this issue hasn’t reached and shocked more people. As what seems an incessant trend, not just limited to the United States’ capitalist society but globally, that large scale business ventures, in this case agricultural corporations, shove the environmental burden onto low-income families, usually in terms of bad air quality or contaminated soils and water.

LaMotte, Sandee. “Locally Caught Fish Are Full of Dangerous Chemicals Called PFAS, Study Finds.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/17/health/freshwater-fish-pfas-contamination-wellness/index.html.

Manufactured additives, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals” because of their resistance to decomposition, are being found in dangerously high levels across the streams, rivers of the nation, along with the Great Lakes. The synthetic toxins were extensively used in the 1950s and beyond to make “consumer products nonstick and resistant to stains, water, and grease damage.” PFAS leached into public water systems and private wells and further “accumulated in the bodies of fish, shellfish, livestock, dairy and game animals that people eat.” The EPA recommended standard of PFOS in drinking water is 70 ppt (parts per trillion) but has been lowered to 0.02 ppt  for growing public health concerns. Astonishingly, the level of PFOS in the contaminated water is 8,000 ppt, meaning that, in comparison, a single contaminated locally caught freshwater fish contains the same level of PFOS as a month’s worth of drinking contaminated water. “Chronic diseases, high cholesterol, and cancer, as well as a reduced antibody response” to vaccines has been linked to chemicals in the PFAS family.

I wonder that, in wake of this new research of the potent danger that locally caught freshwater poses to human health, if new governmental laws and regulations emerge? I am conflicted, I both hope that there will be in order to halt consumption and spread awareness about the imminent dangers of such innocuous fish, and thus, save human lives; However, I could see many small businesses being decimated by such an action which would, once again, target lower or middle class families. It is surprising to me that PFAS is still being used, now in Teflon and other non-stick cookware (in products that you cook with!), despite the adverse health effects. In this modern era, we should be investing more heavily into newer technologies and easily biodegradable substances, why are we still using “1950’s” chemicals widely studied to be dangerous?

Gerretsen, Isabelle. “How Microplastics Are Infiltrating the Food You Eat.” BBC Future, BBC, 3 Jan. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230103-how-plastic-is-getting-into-our-food.

An environmental non profit, the Environmental Working Group, divulged astonishing findings that sewage sludge has “contaminated almost 20 million acres of US cropland and PFAS, synthetic toxins most commonly found in plastic products and resist normal environmental conditions to decompose. After municipal wastewater is cleaned, the byproduct is sewage sludge which is both rich in nutrients, primarily phosphorus and nitrogen, and costly for disposal, hence leading sewage sludge to be used most commonly as an organic fertilizer in the United States. Hundreds of millions of microplastic enter wastewater treatment which thus leads microplastic particles to contaminate sewage sludge, and by extension, agricultural soils. Additionally, according to agronomist Mary Beth Kirkham at Kansas University, “plastic serves as a vector for plant uptake of toxic chemicals such as cadmium.” Moreover, microplastics both stunt the growth of earthworms and cause weight reduction because microplastic obstruct earthworm digestive tracts. During the creation of plastic, chemicals are included that “disrupt the endocrine system and the hormones that regulate our growth and development” while also having been linked to cancer, heart disease, cell damage, and poor fetal development.

It seems that excess nutrient use in fertilizers is the root cause of many issues, stemming from eutrophication to microplastics to nitrate contaminated water. Sewage sludge, in this case, needs to be more properly regulated, perhaps by stricter government enforcement or economic incentive, because not only is this excess nutrient surge contaminating water, but also hammering soil health, soil dependent creatures, crop quality, and human health being that we all rely on the agricultural system which envelopes all the aspects previously listed (the soil, water, micro biome, and soil organisms). Although sewage sludge is often not disposed of due to its expensive nature, it seems that it is only expensive when not considering external costs to the health of the ecosystem and humans which depend on (stated prior) healthy ecosystem services. I hope in the near future large scale businesses are able to view economically profitable in terms more than just monetary value, but intrinsic and in terms of retaining the health of the natural and human world.

Cullen, Cait. “20,000 Premature Us Deaths Caused by Human-Ignited Fires Each Year.” ScienceDaily, IOP Publishing, 16 Jan. 2023, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230116112413.htm.

Human-ignited fires are accounting for the death of 80% premature deaths by smoke particles according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Moreover, the level of dire activity has only risen over the years with 2018 marking some of the most frequent, and substantial, fire events. Degraded air quality, as a result of higher concentrations of smoke PM2.5 in the air, has caused respiratory infection and long term illnesses, lung cancer, heart disease, and premature deaths as stated prior. The proposed solution would be to “restrict the ignition of agricultural fires to periods when weather conditions would minimize health impacts” as well as to prevent fires from getting out of hand.

It was especially concerning considering the recurring trend that a single human-made action, in this case fire ignition, set into motion a detrimental domino effect. It perpetuates the pattern that the youngest generations are truly paying the price for the reckless industry and pollution that the older generations admit into law, even babies in the womb, not yet independent, are being condemned to death due to the air polluting actions of agriculture and human-lit fires, not to mention the emotional toil on the parents. I can recall living through the frequent and extreme fires during the spring/summer of 2018, I can still remember how thick the air and red was and the smell of the smoke caked our clothes in nose blinding smog. I was thankful to have an air conditioned house with air purifiers while I also feel so sorrowful for lower income families who are left within such amenities, not only the inconvenience that a smoke ridden house produces, but also the negative effects on their health.

“New Inflation Reduction Act Means Big Things for Climate Resilience.” Inside Battelle, 23 Aug. 2022, https://inside.battelle.org/blog-details/new-inflation-reduction-act-means-big-things-for-climate-resilience?creative=617905827263&keyword=global+climate+change&matchtype=p&source=google&medium=cpc&term=global+climate+change&campaign=Environment-Blog-Climate-Resilience&gclid=CjwKCAjwmJeYBhAwEiwAXlg0AaPb2qnCJC3S5ipHkxMoPeth9oIvuleyg9qbMz17f57joYeVbKEdghoCdoUQAvD_BwE. 

This article talks about the ways we can reduce the pollution and help decrease the amount of diseases caused by the environment in California. They focus on ways to eliminate diseases such as heart disease and asthma. Their main focus is working together and taking bigger steps to making the world a healthier place. They also focus on national policies to remove this issue. It will also focus on reestablishing healthy land, and healthier air. Last but not least, it also focuses on driving away from climate innovation which is something they believe we can do if we all work together. 

Last but not least, this article is super interesting because it talks about how we can be collaborative. I think that what we do for the environment is horrible and truly detrimental to our health. This article raised my hopes to better work as a team rather than individuals and make change. Finally, I enjoyed learning about this article because of the national policies they are also looking at to put in place.