Lecture 01 - Overview - 21 Jan 2015 Flashcards
Population Growth - What is ZPG - What problem was presented by Malthus in 1791?
- ZPG = Zero Population Growth = the number of children needed to be born to replentish the population (2.1 per capita)
- Malthus - Humans are unsustainable because there is a finite amount of land.
What are population pyramids?
A visual representation of the population distribution based on age.
Population Pyramids - What shape is a developing country? - What shape is a developed country?
Developing Country = triangle
Developed Country = rectangle
Reasons for the pyramid shape in a developing country
- problems with waste water because low income countries less likely to use improved sanitation methods
- problems with drinking water because low incomes less likely to get drinking water from an improved source.
- lack of immunizations = infectious disease - basically lots of PH problems
What environmental health programs could help change the pyramid shape for a developing country? (name 3)
- Vaccination programs
- drinking Water cleaning
- waste water cleaning
What are the birth rate trends in developing and developed countries?
- Developing = increasing
- Developed = stagnating
Also, urban population is increasing for low income countries and leveling off in high income countries
4 Methods of Disease Transmission (plus examples)
- Intestinal discharges = cholera, salmonella
- Nose and throat respiratory = influenza
- Animals = rabies, lyme - Insects = west nile
Past Enviro Health in USA (4 things)
- Earlu 1900s - control of diseases like TB, cholera, typhoid, other infectious diseases
- Success of sanitation = controlling disease through prevention and regulation
- Safe food, drinking water, sewage disposal
- Emphasis on educating the public
Checks to Population Growth (4)
- Push/Pull
- Urban v. Rural
- Squatting v. Homeless
- Environmental Supply/Demand (Biosphere)
4 Major Determinants of Health
- Heredity
- Environment (sanitation/controls)
- Lifestyle 4. Medical Care System
3 Major Causative Agents of Disease
- Microorganisms
- Chemical/Physical exposures
- Chronic Disease
List 2 types of pollution that were occurring in the 1960s that raised public awareness about environmental issues.
Visible pollution in the AIR and WATER (largely due to increased manufacturing)
List 5 sentinel events (total) that occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s that focused the public’s interest on issues of the environment.
- 1962, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson = dangers of pesticides on birds.
- Oil spills
- Drinking water contamination
- Untreated sewage
- Smog
What is DEEP?
Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection
What is PURA and what does it report to?
Public Utilities Regulatory Authories
Reports to DEEP
What are the differences among Registration, Certification, and License?
Registeres = name on a list; often title states that they are ‘registered’ but they are actually licensed
Certification = demonstrate ability to do something by passing a test
License = nobody else can perform this job
Which agencies dealt with 1960’s health issues?
Health depts and agencies (local, state, federal)
U.S. Public Health Service
What is the former/present role of Public Health Agencies (PHAs) in dealing with environmental issues?
Public Health Agencies did not become involved in environmental issues until they became a public health problem. This has changed over time.
In 1969 the National Environmental Policy Act was passed by Congress. What major requirement concerning federally funded projects did this act put in place?
Implemented requierment of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
1969 NEPA: Which federal agency other than EPA plays a major role in protecting the environment in the implementation of this Act and why?
Federal agencies playing a major role:
- EPA
- Army Corps of Engineers - because they have control over the navigable waters and interstate waters, and EIS often deal with impacts on these waters
Why is NEPA, which predates the establishment of EPA, such an important piece of legislation, and what process does it require in the review of proposed projects?
Important because it mandates EIS (Enviro Impact Statements) to be reported to Congress wherever federal funding is being sought for actions “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment”
- ID what possible impacts the org/development/etc, may have and how it will be addressed
- Absent an EPA, this was the primary regulation method for the government to exercise control over pollution/environmental harms that may cause harm to humans.
Examples of EIS Sitautions
I-84, TVA, malls, etc.
Problems with EIS
more complicated than originally expected:
- politics
- conflicts of interest
- hard to designate when EIS are required
Origins of the EPA
- how was it passed?
- who was the first administrator?
- 2 goals of EPA
- EPA passed by executive order –> never passed by Congress
- administrator = Ruckelshaus
- goals?
What you need to know about all the laws passed for environmental protection in our recent history: (and some examples)
- More laws passed during 1965-1985 than any other time, and during a period where deregulation (opposition to federal government) was favored
- Many of the laws created standards, which are important for enforcement Examples - Clean Air Act (1970)
- FIFRA and water pollution control (1972)
- Endangered Species (1973)
- Safe Drinking Water (1974)
- Toxic Substances Control and RCRA (1976)
Know, generally: - branches of government - regulations v. statutes - negotiated rule making
Negotiated Rule Making = a process in American administrative law, used by federal agencies, in which representatives from a government agency and affected interest groups negotiate the terms of a proposed administrative rule.
Why have PH laws been enforced with primarily criminal repercussions?
Because criminal procedures allow for revocation of licenses/other important info to run a business
Standards: Some issues with them
Standards require resources (improved labs, equipment, employees, training, etc.) but are vital for enforcement
Pollution Prevention - treatment v. prevention
Treatment = end of pipe - dealing with the pollution once it has been created
Prevention = stopping/lowering the overall amount of pollution that gets created
- important to perform well/conform to standard
- ex: cap and trade –> buying/sharing others’ credits; when they do this, they get to retire a portion of the credits, so it lowers the amount overall over time
Budget Stuff: Authorization v. Appropriation
Authorization = does not guarantee that you ever get the money, even if you’re allowed to spend it
Appropriation = actual money (typically better)
Budget Stuff: Categorical v. Block Grants
Categorical = specific funds for specific stuff; can be limiting, but better for specific projects because there is more certain funding
Block grant = better for those delegating funds, less great if you’re a project person who might not get the block grants
Define the term “environmental justice”.
Environmental Justice = the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
- problem = enforcement varies by neighborhood Goal of EPA Achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
Discuss one current or developing issue involving “environmental justice” (include sites, people involved, health data and enforcement activities in your discussion when applicable).
Ex: Keystone Pipeline:
- involves low-power communities, like Indigenous people living in Fort Chipewyan in Northern Alberta, Canada and communities of color in Port Arthur, Texas
- currently being debated by Congress
- toxicity of tar sands oil, sulfur dioxide will go up, as will the ozone. Increase of 20 to 25 percent in emissions.
- communities have low voting power (esp. due to gerrymandering) so no control over what happens with it
Other Environmental Justice issues
- CA: chemical waste incinerator has no publication in Spanish
- Tribes importing waste
- Yucca mountain - proposed nuclear waste storage
(note: sometimes affected areas WANT these things because they can increase federally-funded employment)
Challenges to Env Health
- Lack of performance measures (standards exist, but no measures)
- Lack of good health risk data - ex: no sodium notification for tap water now because of a lack of data
- Congress - trending toward deregulation
- Community-based programs for education and enforcement – can be good, but lack resources
- Empowering communities - leaders v. citizens
- Disease latency - Parts per trillion
Approaches to Environmental Health
- Multi-media approach –> try to get agencies to work together
- Environmental Management Systems: ex: Green design - environmentally better infrastructure
- International standards - often lack authority of law
- Ozone/Global Warming/Ocean
Contamination - consciousness-raising?
- Health risk v. Environmental
- Certification programs - problem of no evaluation
- Bioterrorism?
USGBC and LEEDS
USGBC = United States Green Building Code
LEEDS = Leadership in Energy and Envrionmental Designs (how to design a sustainable building) There are no PH/ EPA people on this!
Pollution prevention is a term that is gaining prominence in environmental regulatory programs. How does the implementation of a pollution prevention policy differ from our past and current policies of environmental enforcement? What role do standards play?
- Difference = polllution prevention reduces/eliminates waste at the source (stops waste before it gets communicated)
In the past, policies and procedures focused on trieatment (“end of pipe”) and based them on standards
- Standards are classified as end of pipe because the focus on regulating the amount of pollutant allowed and already in circulation (calues are definable amounts)
