A compelling account of the relentless trajectory of humankind across time and geography.

This compelling account charts the relentless trajectory of humankind, and its changing survival and disease patterns, across place and time from when our ancient ancestors roamed the African Savannah to today's populous, industrialised, globalising world. This expansion of human frontiers - geographic, climatic, cultural and technological - has encountered frequent setbacks from disease, famine and dwindling resources. The social and environmental transformations wrought by agrarianism, industrialisation, fertility control, social modernisation, urbanisation and mass consumption have profoundly affected patterns of health and disease. Today, as life expectancies rise, the planet's ecosystems are being damaged by the combined weight of population size and intensive economic activity. Global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion and loss of biodiversity pose large-scale hazards to human health and survival. Recognising this, can we achieve a transition to sustainability? This and other profound questions underlie this chronicle of expansive human activity, social change, environmental impact and their health consequences.

Winner of the 2021 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award In A History of Population Health Johan P. Mackenbach offers a broad-sweeping study of the spectacular changes in people’s health in Europe since the early 18th century. Most of the 40 specific diseases covered in this book show a fascinating pattern of ‘rise-and-fall’, with large differences in timing between countries. Using a unique collection of historical data and bringing together insights from demography, economics, sociology, political science, medicine, epidemiology and general history, it shows that these changes and variations did not occur spontaneously, but were mostly man-made. Throughout European history, changes in health and longevity were therefore closely related to economic, social, and political conditions, with public health and medical care both making important contributions to population health improvement. Readers who would like to have a closer look at the quantitative data used in the trend graphs included in the book can find these it here.

This handbook provides a comprehensive and authoritative survey of Global Environmental Politics. It brings together leading international academic experts and features 40 chapters that: Describe the history of global environmental politics as a discipline and explain the various theories and perspectives used by scholars and students to understand it. Examine the key actors and institutions in global environmental politics, explaining the role of states, international organizations, regimes, international law, foreign policy institutions, domestic politics, corporations and transnational actors. Address the ideas and themes shaping the practice and study of global environmental politics, including sustainability, consumption, expertise, uncertainty, security, diplomacy, North-South relations, globalisation, justice, ethics, participation and citizenship. Assess the key issues and policies within global environmental politics, including energy, climate change, ozone depletion, air pollution, acid rain, sustainable transport, persistent organic pollutants, hazardous wastes, water, rivers, wetlands, oceans, fisheries, marine mammals, biodiversity, migratory species, natural heritage, forests, desertification, food and agriculture. With an in-depth new preface by the Editor, this edition of the handbook is an invaluable resource for students, scholars, researchers and practitioners of environmental politics, environmental studies, environmental science, geography, international relations and political science.

This fascinating book is the first comprehensive analysis of the economic, social and political interrelationships between tourism and global environmental change: one of the most significant issues facing humankind today. Its contributors argue that the impacts of these changes are potentially extremely serious both for the tourism industry, and for the communities dependent upon it. Integrating knowledge from the social and physical sciences, this significant book explores they key issues surrounding global environmental change, as well as government and industry willingness to meet the challenges posed by it. Divided into four main sections, it investigates: the tourism and global environmental change relationship in specific environments global issues related to environmental change differing perceptions of global environmental change held by tourists and the tourist industry. Comprehensive in scope, topical and integrative, this key text is essential reading for students, scholars and researchers in all aspects of tourism, geography and environmental studies.

Economic development, population growth and poor resource management have combined to alter the planet's natural environment in dramatic and alarming ways. The field of environmental security has matured in response to improved scientific understanding of the causes and trends of global environmental change. Research conducted in the past two decades has grappled with this core set of questions in a variety of ways, generating findings and hypotheses that have stimulated considerable intellectual and policy activity. This volume takes stock of the research, and organizes it into a framework, described in the first chapter of the volume, that clarifies its achievements as well as identifies its weaknesses and gaps. This is followed by seven chapters representing the various ways in which environmental change and security have been linked, and including the principal critiques of this linkage. A third section explores six key issue areas: water, population, development, food, energy and climate change. The book concludes with a chapter on the future of environmental security.

The bestselling environmental health text, with all new coverage of key topics Environmental Health: From Global to Local is a comprehensive introduction to the subject, and a contemporary, authoritative text for students of public health, environmental health, preventive medicine, community health, and environmental studies. Edited by the former director of the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health and current dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, this book provides a multi-faceted view of the topic, and how it affects different regions, populations, and professions. In addition to traditional environmental health topics—air, water, chemical toxins, radiation, pest control—it offers remarkably broad, cross-cutting coverage, including such topics as building design, urban and regional planning, energy, transportation, disaster preparedness and response, climate change, and environmental psychology. This new third edition maintains its strong grounding in evidence, and has been revised for greater readability, with new coverage of ecology, sustainability, and vulnerable populations, with integrated coverage of policy issues, and with a more global focus. Environmental health is a critically important topic, and it reaches into fields as diverse as communications, technology, regulatory policy, medicine, and law. This book is a well-rounded guide that addresses the field's most pressing concerns, with a practical bent that takes the material beyond theory. Explore the cross-discipline manifestations of environmental health Understand the global ramifications of population and climate change Learn how environmental issues affect health and well-being closer to home Discover how different fields incorporate environmental health perspectives The first law of ecology reminds is that 'everything is connected to everything else.' Each piece of the system affects the whole, and the whole must sustain us all for the long term. Environmental Health lays out the facts, makes the connections, and demonstrates the importance of these crucial issues to human health and well-being, both on a global scale, and in our homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

This new edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine concentrates more on the newer kinds of occupational disease including those (like “RSI” and pesticide poisoning) where exposure and effects are difficult to understand. There is specific emphasis on work, health and wellbeing, with links to public health, health promotion, the value of work, disabled people at work, the aging workforce, vocational rehabilitation, evidence based practice, and further chapters on the health effects of climate change and of occupational health and safety in relation to migration and terrorism.

Why are rainfall, carcinogens, and primary care physicians distributed unevenly over space? The fourth edition of the leading text in the field has been updated and reorganized to cover the latest developments in disease ecology and health promotion across the globe. The book accessibly introduces the core questions and perspectives of health and medical geography and presents cutting-edge techniques of mapping and spatial analysis. It explores the intersecting genetic, ecological, behavioral, cultural, and socioeconomic processes that underlie patterns of health and disease in particular places, including how new diseases and epidemics emerge. Geographic dimensions of health care access and service provision are addressed. More than 100 figures include 16 color plates; most are available as PowerPoint slides at the companion website. New to This Edition: *Chapters on the political ecology of health; emerging infectious diseases and landscape genetics; food, diet, and nutrition; and urban health. *Coverage of Middle East respiratory syndrome, Ebola, and Zika; impacts on health of global climate chan≥ contaminated water crises in economically developed countries, including in Flint, Michigan; China's rapid industrial growth; and other timely topics. *Updated throughout with current data and concepts plus advances in GIS. Pedagogical Features: *End-of-chapter review questions and suggestions for further reading. *Section Introductions that describe each chapter. *"Quick Reviews"--within-chapter recaps of key concepts. *Bold-faced key terms and an end-of-book glossary.