 |
| |
Spheres of Influence
|
Environmental Health 2000 Charles W. Schmidt Abstract
The year 2000 is fast approaching with many environmental health challenges and opportunities. With the dawning of a new millennium, a historical threshold is being crossed--localized pollution problems of the past are giving way to what may be irreversible environmental changes affecting both the global ecosystem and global economics. Due to substantial differences in population growth rates and levels of economic development, environmental health priorities for the year 2000 will differ sharply between the developed and developing worlds. Many developed nations are building on years of well-funded environmental programs that have done much to increase sanitation, reduce levels of environmental pollution, and improve public health. Priorities in these countries will focus largely on remaining problems such as minimizing chronic low-level exposures to pesticides and other chemicals, and continuing to study and assess their toxicological effects. Environmental health priorities of the developing world will reflect the pressures of population growth and rapid industrialization. Many developing countries are decades behind the developed world with respect to environmental protection. These countries continue to face poor sanitation and related increases in diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, and cholera. Critical shortages of safe drinking water are a serious problem, as are exposures to highly polluted air, industrial chemicals, and agricultural pesticides. Among the most challenging environmental priorities of the 21st century, global climate change is one that will be shared by developed and developing nations alike.
The full version of this article is available for free in HTML format. |
|
|
|
|
