Solving Environmental Health Problems

Do you ever feel like you know just enough about environmental health to be dangerous? Let's see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from environmental health experts.

If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole environmental health story from informed sources.

Global warming, unsafe drinking water, poor air quality inside and outside and contaminated food supplies, those are just some of the big environmental health problems we are currently experiencing. These problems may seem very overwhelming, it may seem inevitable and unavoidable, but it is us who have all the power to prevent or fix these problems. It is us who have all the power to decrease pollution, limit our exposure, and most importantly, strengthen our bodies and environmental systems in order to resist contamination.

Decrease pollution: Try to improve your quality of life by decreasing your contribution to pollution. A good example would be to turn down the thermostat during winter time; doing so will decrease carbon dioxide emissions and also improve the quality of indoor air.

Using HVAC (Heating Ventilating & Air Conditioning ) on high levels will redistribute contaminants inside a building. To avoid using HVACs try and wear appropriate clothing for the temperature. For example, instead of turning up the heater during cold days, just wear a thick jacket in order to save electricity; you won't just save electricity, but your body's immune system will be strengthened and it will be trained to live in rhythm with nature.

Safe pesticides and cleaners: While it is recommended to avoid pesticides completely, if you should use them, use biodegradable and safe pesticides. When it comes to cleaning agents, you should also use biodegradable and safe cleaning agents. In cleaning your house, it is best to limit the use of chemicals to prevent contaminants from getting inside. Biodegradable products will also keep your water supplies safe for drinking.

Exposure to contaminants: If possible, try and limit your exposure to contaminants. The human body was designed to process at a specific level of contamination. Environmental health problems are the result of exposure to levels that are too high for the body to process. As it is always important to decrease levels, if there already are some contaminants present, precautions should be taken in order to limit exposure. A good method to avoid exposure to lung illness is ventilating your home. The use of a HEPA-filtered vacuum in your home will get rid of any paint led chips which will make your children safe from lead poisoning. Another way to limit your exposure to chemicals is insuring that your building materials, clothes, furniture and other products you use on a daily basis are only made of materials which do not emit chemicals. Perfume and smoke are also contaminants. A perfume-free and also smoke-free environments are protections against exposure.

Organic foods: It is always best to eat natural, organic foods, and also drink clean water and exercise in clean environments; you should always know that you are eating. There are types of fish that are caught from certain areas that have pollutants such as mercury in their tissue; this can cause some developmental problems in fetuses and children. While pesticides increase crop yields, they also increase the presence of contaminants in our water and soil. Installing a water filter system will insure that the drinking water will be clean.

Is there really any information about environmental health that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.