Life Support: The Environment and Human Health [Paperback]

Michael McCally (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0262632578 | ISBN-13: 978-0262632577 | Edition: 1

Life Support brings together the best medical information available on the implications for human health of the global environmental crisis. Written by prominent physicians and public health experts who see environmental degradation as a serious threat to public health, it provides essential information for health professionals, policymakers, concerned citizens, and environmental activists.The book, which is a sequel to the 1993 Critical Condition, covers a broad range of topics, including air and water pollution, population and consumption, climate change, ozone depletion, ultraviolet radiation, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, war, and vulnerable populations (workers and children). It also discusses such controversial topics as environmental endocrine disruption and risk assessment. The focus is on solutions. Each chapter ends with specific recommendations for actions to solve particular environmental health problems.Underlying the book are three major themes: that the habitat is an important determinant of human health, that prevention of human illness must involve protection of the environment, and that well-informed physicians can and should communicate with the public and policymakers about environmental hazards.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...presents the evidence that humans, through our own actions, now threaten the global environment that we all need to survive." James E. Cone, M.D. JAMA

"This book does much to focus attention on some immediate threats to ecosystem and human health, an excellent reference." Joseph Grzymski Nature Medicine

"In Life Support, Michael McCally and 26 medical colleagues shine a spotlight on the often neglected but crucial connections between human and environmental health. Addressing topics as diverse as air and water pollution, climate change, cancer, emergent diseases, and the impacts of warfare, these experts show the multiple dimensions in which a healthy environment supports human well-being - our life-support system indeed. This book should be required reading for both medical professionals and environmentalists."--Anne H. Ehrlich, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University

"Life Support presents the most pervasive and challenging environmental health problems of our times. The blend of cross-cutting concepts such as the precautionary principle, risk assessment, vulnerability, and equity, with the persistent and emerging global health threats of climate change, transboundary pollution, and biodiversity loss gives the book its uniqueness. Taken as a whole, it offers a starkly realistic view of the state of our world upon which our health depends, and offers a guidepost for achieving solutions."--Jonathan Patz, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public HealthPlease note: Arrived too late to appear on book jacket.

About the Author

Michael McCally is Professor, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1 edition (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262632578
• ISBN-13: 978-0262632577
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)