A systematic 1982 on human reactions to five environmental stress factors.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Eight years ago, four psychologists with varying backgrounds but a common in terest in the impact of environmental stress on behavior and health met to plan a study of the effects of aircraft noise on children. The impetus for the study was an article in the Los Angeles Times about architectural interventions that were planned for several noise-impacted schools under the air corridor of Los Angeles Interna tional Airport. These interventions created an opportunity to study the same chil dren during noise exposure and then later after the exposure had been attenuated. The study was designed to test the generality of several noise effects that had been well established in laboratory experimental studies. It focused on three areas: the relationship between noise and personal control, noise and attention, and noise and cardiovascular response. Two years later, a second study, designed to replicate and extend findings from the first, was conducted.

Ecotoxicology is the evaluation of toxic effects within the environment, typically within one specific ecosystem, like a forest, stream, or lake. For years now, ecotoxicological studies have tended to focus on one toxicant at a time. But that isn't how an ecosystem encounters toxicants (or stresses): there may be several elements at work in the air, several more in the water, and still more already within the soil of any given ecosystem, and all have some level of toxic influence on that ecosystem. Multiple Stresses in Ecosystems presents the state-of-the-art in determining the effects of these multiple impacts upon ecosystems. Resulting from a vanguard conference originally held in 1993 at UC Davis, this new work is divided into three sections that present methodolgies for assessing the health of an ecosystem; the effects of multiple toxicological impacts upon an ecosystem, and which tools are worth using to assess these dangers. Environmental scientists, chemists, toxicologists, risk analysts, and probably the entire membership of SETAC will find need for this book, as will wetlands scientists, ecologists, and research biologists.

People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.

Multiple Stressors in River Ecosystems: Status, Impacts and Prospects for the Future provides a comprehensive and current overview on the topic as written by leading river scientists who discuss the relevance of co-occurring stressors for river ecosystems. River ecosystems are subject to multiple stressors that threaten their ecological status and the ecosystem services they provide. This book updates the reader's knowledge on the response and management of river ecosystems to multi-stress situations occurring under global change. Detailing the risk for biodiversity and functioning in a case-study approach, it provides insight into methodological issues, also including the socioeconomic implications. - Presents a case study approach and geographic description on the relevance of multiple stressors on river ecosystems in different biomes - Gives a uniquely integrated perspective on different stressors, including their interactions and joint effects, as opposed to the traditional one-by-one approach - Compiles state-of-the-art methods and technologies in monitoring, modeling and analyzing river ecosystems under multiple stress conditions

Ecotoxiclogical risk from multiple stressors covers any situation where org- isms are exposed to a combination of environmental stressors. These include physical and chemical pollutants as well as other stressors such as parasites and environmental impact (e. g. , climate change or habitat loss). The combi- tion of stressors can result in increased risk to organisms (either additive or synergistic effects) or decreased effects (protective or antagonistic effects). The multiple stressor challenge is an international, multi-disciplinary problem requiring an international, multi-disciplinary approach. The c- rent approach to multiple stressors is to examine one stressor at a time and assume additivity. Little work has been done on combinations of stressors such that potential interactions can be determined. The problem is very complex. Multiple stressors pose a whole spectrum of challenges that range from basic science to regulation, policy and gove- ance. The challenges raise fundamental questions about our understanding of the basic biological response to stressors, as well as the implications of those uncertainties in environmental risk assessment and management. In addition to the great breadth, there is also great depth in the research ch- lenges, largely due to the complexity of the issues. From a basic science point of view, many of the mechanisms and processes under investigation are at the cutting edge of science — involving new paradigms such as genomic ins- bility and bystander effects.

Ecotoxicology is the evaluation of toxic effects within the environment, typically within one specific ecosystem, like a forest, stream, or lake. For years now, ecotoxicological studies have tended to focus on one toxicant at a time. But that isn't how an ecosystem encounters toxicants (or stresses): there may be several elements at work in the air, several more in the water, and still more already within the soil of any given ecosystem, and all have some level of toxic influence on that ecosystem. Multiple Stresses in Ecosystems presents the state-of-the-art in determining the effects of these multiple impacts upon ecosystems. Resulting from a vanguard conference originally held in 1993 at UC Davis, this new work is divided into three sections that present methodolgies for assessing the health of an ecosystem; the effects of multiple toxicological impacts upon an ecosystem, and which tools are worth using to assess these dangers. Environmental scientists, chemists, toxicologists, risk analysts, and probably the entire membership of SETAC will find need for this book, as will wetlands scientists, ecologists, and research biologists.

Marine mammals face a large array of stressors, including loss of habitat, chemical and noise pollution, and bycatch in fishing, which alone kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals per year globally. To discern the factors contributing to population trends, scientists must consider the full complement of threats faced by marine mammals. Once populations or ecosystems are found to be at risk of adverse impacts, it is critical to decide which combination of stressors to reduce to bring the population or ecosystem into a more favorable state. Assessing all stressors facing a marine mammal population also provides the environmental context for evaluating whether an additional activity could threaten it. Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals builds upon previous reports to assess current methodologies used for evaluating cumulative effects and identify new approaches that could improve these assessments. This review focuses on ways to quantify exposure-related changes in the behavior, health, or body condition of individual marine mammals and makes recommendations for future research initiatives.