This section focuses on the many factors that influence our health—news and ideas that you may not find in the mainstream media. Here is a sample:

• Sustainability & Public Health – Unsustainable practices harm the environment, but they also make people sick!
• Endocrine Disruptors – Many petrochemicals, including those used in agriculture, disrupt the proper functioning of the endocrine system.
• Expanding Health Care Coverage without Increasing Cost – A ‘white paper’ from The Dartmouth Institute.
• Childhood asthma – a critical problem for the Lehigh Valley
• Breastfeeding Awareness
• Health Dangers of Teflon

Also see the Focus On… section for Food, with reports on Impacts of Sustainable and Industrial Agriculture on Human Health, campus dining services, and Healthy Food for Healthy Communities.

Here we focus on rethinking the ways we live and the ways society and its systems are structured. It includes approaches, perspectives, and philosophies that can empower our pursuit of sustainability, getting more specific about the frameworks for thinking and action given in the Finding Solutions part of the Think Globally section, namely, the models of change available to help us understand the various aspects of the problem we are facing and to help us move towards sustainability.

The change paradigms are a varied lot. Some focus on specific objectives, some are holistic. Some are weighted toward “taking action” strategies, some toward conceptualization, some are rather balanced in dealing with both theory and practice. They all can find expression in local, regional, national and/or world-wide actions. They all can inspire us and help us find the way.

Please contact us about models for change that you would like to see added to this listing.

How we provide healthcare—not just the services and treatment themselves—has a huge impact on people’s health.

The dominant system in the U.S. relies on drugs and technical intervention and is largely administered by—and for the financial benefit of—insurance providers. Health care in the U.S. is the most expensive in the world, but the overall quality is rated about 40th in the world.

Holistic approaches to health care are often less expensive and less invasive or traumatic for the body—and holistic approaches are often more effective, because the strengthen and enhance the body’s natural defenses.

The term environmental health is used to frame issues where pollution and toxins in the environment cause or contribute to health problems, both chronic and acute.  Environmental health concerns often have a very disproportionate impact on minorities and low-income people because of the ways facilities and roads are sited.

Some key areas of concern:

• Endocrine disruptors
• Asthma & Diesel pollution
• Obesity & food from the industrialized food system
• Fracking

The precautionary principle is just a coherent statement of what really is just common sense: Faced with reasonable suspicion of harm, the precautionary approach urges a full evaluation of available alternatives for the purpose of preventing or minimizing harm.  Instead of asking the basic risk-assessment question—”How much harm is allowable?”—the precautionary approach asks, “How little harm is possible?”

Here is the essence of the Precautionary Principle:

We believe there is compelling evidence that damage to humans and the worldwide environment is of such magnitude and seriousness that new principles for conducting human activities are necessary.

While we realize that human activities may involve hazards, people must proceed more carefully than has been the case in recent history. Corporations, government entities, organizations, communities, scientists and other individuals must adopt a precautionary approach to all human endeavors.

Therefore, it is necessary to implement the Precautionary Principle: When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.

In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof.

The process of applying the Precautionary Principle must be open, informed and democratic and must include potentially affected parties. It must also involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including no action.

You can find the original statement of the precautionary principle here: Wingspread Statement

Food is one essential element for life, of course. Unfortunately, much of the food from the industrialized food system actually undermines health instead of supporting it. This category identifies articles that focus on health impacts of food and food choices.

The term holistic health is used to identify practices and philosophies that support wellness and, when necessary, treat disease as part of the whole person.

A sampling of holistic health practices:

• Acupuncture & Acupressure
• Chiropractic & Network Chiropractic
• Cranio-Sacral Therapy
• Herbal Medicine
• Homeopathy
• Macrobiotics
• Meditation
• Reiki
• Therapeutic Massage
• Yoga

Check our directory for local practitioners!

The incidence of asthma in the Lehigh Valley is far higher than the national average, especially in the inner cities.  This is probably due in part to natural factors such as pollen, but the levels 0f Diesel pollution and ground-level ozone are also problematic. [Year after year, the Lehigh Valley fails to meet the minimum standards of the Clean Air Act.]

Locally, asthma is a focus of the Bethlehem Partnership for a Healthy Community and a task force on Diesel pollution that includes the Alliance, Bethlehem Partnership for a Healthy Community, Clean Water Action, Lehigh University’s Environmental Policy Design program, and RenewLV.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with our endocrine system, the hormones that control development & growth and the way our bodies function on a daily basis. Exposure can lead to reproductive disorders, weakened immune systems, reduced intelligence, increased aggression, and can have devastating effects during pregnancy and on young children. Unfortunately, these chemicals are found in household products, toys, plastic food and beverage containers, herbicides & insecticides, and even in many of the foods we eat.

Also see:

• Endocrine Disruptors – a Major Threat
• How Industrial Agriculture Is Destroying Human Health

Related blog post – Fire or Ice? (Does it matter?)

Synthetic turf may have advantages in some situations, but it also is linked to several very serious health concerns.

Because most of the high schools, colleges, and universities in the Lehigh Valley have synthetic turf fields and at least two municipalities are planning to install synthetic turf at recreation facilities, we have identified this as a local health concern. If you have questions or want more information, email us at turf@sustainlv.org.

• Synthetic Turf Overview & Table of Contents
• Open letter to anyone considering synthetic turf