Article by: Layla Blockcolski
Cover Image by: Ceryna Smith
Keeping the environment healthy is not only about preserving the world around us; it’s also about maintaining and enhancing the health of all living things on Earth today.
Human and environmental health are deeply intertwined, more so than human society may realize. The United Nations Environmental Programme says that for human health to flourish, the environment’s health needs to flourish. Ignoring the pleas for a more environmentally conscious way of living is not just ignoring nature, it’s ignoring the needs of human survival.
There is a long list of environmental issues that hinder the environment’s health, and, in turn, human health, such as air pollution, water pollution, excessive waste and climate change. These problems are becoming inescapable, and they will continue to worsen if society continues down the path it is on.
Pollution is everywhere; it contaminates the air we breathe and the water we drink. As well as pollution, climate change poses threats to, more natural disasters and accelerates climbing temperatures. If big strides toward a healthy environment aren’t made quickly, the consequences for both the environment and human health will become even more dire.
Air pollution
Air pollution is one of the most urgent environmental challenges impacting human health today. It is made up of a harmful mixture of particles and gasses that get released into the air, which can have detrimental effects. The dreaded repercussions it has on the environment can cause the air to be harmful to breathe, negatively impacting people, crops and wildlife.
There are three main types of air pollution: fine particle matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that are primarily emitted through vehicle emissions, wildfires, waste burning, burning of coal in power plants, and agricultural, as well as industrial, activities. NO2 can come from industrial facilities, power plants and vehicles. Ozone forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react with sunlight. Each of these air pollutants comes from slightly different things and may affect the world in various ways, but they all have their destructive habits in common.
If you’ve ever heard of Ozone Alerts or wondered why you’re having trouble breathing on a scorching summer day, you’ve experienced one of these types of air pollution. If you’ve ever coughed around a campfire or woken up stuffy after being around smoke, you’ve experienced another.
Air pollution can cause an increased risk of a number of minor and serious health issues. They include respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular diseases, and even a higher chance of death from COVID-19. A State of Global Air Report concluded that as of 2024, air pollution is the second leading cause of death worldwide, behind high blood pressure. In 2021, air pollution caused the deaths of 8.2 million people, with 709,000 of them under age 5, according to the report.
Water pollution
Water pollution is rapidly becoming a more pressing issue. Waste and harmful chemicals contaminate rivers, lakes and oceans, harming marine life and making clean drinking water increasingly scarce. Statistics from the Joint Monitoring Programme show that 2.2 billion people worldwide lack access to safe water. As pollution levels rise, these numbers are likely to grow, further exacerbating the global water crisis.
A large pollutant that contaminates our water is plastic. Everyone has probably seen the pictures of the ocean with an abundance of trash floating around, but a large majority of this trash can’t even be seen with the naked eye.
As plastics attempt to break down over time, they become tiny particles called microplastics, which can break down even more to form nanoplastics. These tiny particles can make it into our waterways and oceans and are small enough to enter cells and tissues in the body. Studies done by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found microplastics in blood, breast milk, stool, placenta and lungs. The effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on the human body aren’t certain, but they do have the potential to release harmful chemicals into the body.
Sarah King, who teaches a course on environmental determinants of health at the OU Hudson College of Public Health, explained that microplastics are increasing rapidly, as well as the studies being done on them, but there is still a lot of uncertainty.
When microplastics and nanoplastics are in our waterways, they can find their way into our drinking water, whether tap or bottled. According to Penn State researcher Sherri Mason, there are approximately 325 plastic particles in a liter of bottled water and 5.5 in tap water. The abundance of microplastics in our oceans also breeds concern, as these particles are often ingested by marine life, and then by humans when they eat fish, crustaceans or a terrestrial animal that was fed fish-derived feed.
Awareness leads to action
With environmental health becoming such a pressing issue, it seems to finally be getting the attention it deserves. Awareness has increased in recent years, and while that doesn’t exactly correlate with being environmentally conscious, it is a step in the right direction.
“You have to first increase the knowledge base, so they can act and understand what they’re doing, and how it impacts the world around them, and possibly their health,” said Anne Pate, director of public and community health programs at OU’s Hudson College. “If people aren’t aware of something, then they’re not going to be able to do anything about it.”
Awareness and effort among citizens is vital when discussing environmental health; however, most things that need to change are out of an average person’s control.
“Oftentimes, our first intention when we try to do some type of health education is to get individuals to change their behavior … but that’s a space where policy has huge implications,” King said.
The government plays a critical role in shaping environmental outcomes through the policies they implement. Lawmakers and regulators have the power to create policies that either protect or harm sustainability efforts. Using this power they can enact laws that lower plastic consumption, encourage recycling, support clean energy sources, and enable easier and safer means of transportation that don’t require a car. They can use their power to create a healthier environment for their people, but just because they have this power doesn’t mean they’ll act on it.
The government has the power to enact policies that lead to more pollution, more plastic consumption and an even greater overuse of natural resources.
Whether for better or for worse, people higher on the proverbial food chain are needed to affect such a huge level of change, Pate explained. If a nation wants to achieve sustainability, citizens need to advocate for it, and the government needs to listen and respond to the needs of the people, she said.
Getting political leaders’ attention works. As does teaching future generations the consequences of consumption choices.
Teaching children about environmental issues and ways to be more environmentally conscious is a huge part of advocacy.
“I think teaching public health concepts like determinants of health is useful at all levels of education because we’re making a more informed society,” Pate said.
If children grow up thinking about how they affect the environment, and how the environment affects them, they are less likely to be closed-minded about it throughout their lives. This can already be seen in younger generations. People have started to grow up hearing about it, and, as a result, awareness and concern have reached a larger group of people.
“They are, you know, to some degree having to deal with the consequences of decisions that were made by previous generations,” King said.
Teaching environmental health to adults is also needed, especially the people who have a say in policies, so they know the effects their policies could have on the environment and human health, King said.
“I’d like … for state government leaders to really have a kind of cross-cutting knowledge to understand how their respective policies or their programs go on to then interact with environmental health or public health,” she said.
While individuals can’t act on those big changes directly, anyone can make small changes to reduce waste, such as switching from single-use plastic bags and water bottles to reusable ones. There are so many single-use items that can be traded out for a sturdier, longer-lasting version.
Taking shorter showers to conserve water, turning off lights when not in use to save energy, and researching local recycling programs are all easy ways anyone can help. The more people who strive for sustainability, the more of an impact it’ll have on the health of the environment and ourselves.
Not everyone wants to pursue a career in environmental health, but making small changes in your everyday life and advocating for a healthier society already have the ability to make a substantial difference.