Abstract
In this chapter, we provide examples of units and lessons on environmental health issues related to air, water, soil and agriculture created by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) funded projects. We provide sufficient depth to enable the reader to implement the lessons suggested in this chapter or to develop their own lessons based on these project lessons. Although literally hundreds, if not thousands of pages of ideas and resources are available on the NIEHS website, we have not attempted to describe all of the lessons. Instead, we provide readers with sufficient examples and guidelines so they can develop and implement lessons on environmental health that best fit the needs of the students and locality. Of course, we do encourage the reader to access the NIEHS and other websites for resources on environmental health information and offer suggestions as to which ones might be appropriate for specific topics. We conclude by describing a model for environmental health curriculum design and implementation.
An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1811-1_5
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AMBIENT (2004a, January 13). Toxicology—Relating to environment health. Coral Gables FL: University of Miami
AMBIENT (2004b, April 1). Toxicology and you: Chapter 1. Slide show developed by AMBIENT.
Bilger, B. (2009.December 21). Hearth surgery: The quest for a stove that can save the world. The New Yorker, 85(42), 84.
Bronstein, A. C., Spyker, D. A., Cantilena, L. R., Jr., Green, J. L., Rumack, B. H., & Giffin, S. L. (2009). 2008 Annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 26th Annual report. Clinical Toxicology, 47, 911–1084.
Bruce, N., Perez-Padilla, R., & Albalak, R. (2000). Indoor air pollution in developing countries: A major environmental and public health challenge. Bulletin of the World Health Organ, 9(78), 1087–1092.
Canfield, R. L., Jr. Henderson, C. R., Cory-Slechta, D. A., Cox, C., Jusko, T. A., & Lanphear, B. P. (2003). Intellectual impairment of children with blood lead concentrations below 10 μg per deciliter. New England Journal of Medicine, 16(348), 1517–1526.
Carson, R. (1962). Silent spring. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Clark, C. S., Rampal, K. G., Thuppil, V., Roda, S. M., Succop, P., Menrath, W. et al. (2009). Lead levels in new enamel household paints from Asia, Africa and South America. Environmental Research, 109, 930–936.
Electronic Take Back Coalition (2011). E-Waste problem overview. Accessed at http://www.electronicstakeback.com/resources/problem-overview/
Environmental Protection Agency (2003). America’s children and the environment. http://www.epa.gov/economics/children/body_burdens/b2-graph.html and http://www.epa.gov/environhealth/children/ace_2003.pdf
European Commission on the Environment (2000, February 2). Commission adopts communication on precautionary principle. Brussels: European Commission on the Environment.
Fewtrell, L., Pruss-Ustun, A., Landrigan, P., & Ayuso-Mateos, J. (2004). Estimating the global burden of disease of mild mental retardation and cardiovascular disease from environmental lead exposure. Environmental Research, 94(2), 120–133. February.
Gottesfeld, P. (2009, February 20). Lead in the developing world. Living on Earth Accessed December 5, 2010.http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00008&segmentID=8
Hursh, D. (2010, August). Education for global sustainability: A case study of a school in Uganda. Unpublished manuscript.
Kitman, J.L. (2000, March 20). The secret history of lead. The Nation. 11–40. Accessed December 5, 2010. http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead?page=0,2
Legros, G., Havet, I., Bruce, N. & Bonjour, S. (2009). The energy access situation in developing countries: A review focusing on the least developed countries and Sub-Saharan Africa. UNDP-WHO. Available at http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/publications/environment-energy/www-ee-library/sustainable-energy/undp-who-report-on-energy-access-in-developing-countries-review-of-ldcs—ssas.en
Malveaux, F. J., & Fletcher-Vincent, S. A. (1995). Environmental risk factors of childhood asthma in urban centers. Environmental Health Perspectives, 103(6), 59–62.
Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., Randers, J., & Behrens, W. W., III (1977). The limits to growth A Report for the club of Rome’s Project on the predicament of mankind. New York: New American Library.
Meadows, D. H., & Wright, D. (2009). Thinking in systems: A primer. London: Earthscan.
NIEHS Center for Ecogenetics & Environmental Health at the University of Washington, Seattle and the Niehs New Mexico Center for Environmental Health Science. (2004). Lead Integrated Environmental Health Middle School Project.
NIEHS: environmental health science as an integrative context for learning (2006). Accomplishments, impacts and next steps: planning for tomorrow. Annual grant meeting, June 22–23.
Schettler, T. (2003, February 8). Developmental disabilities—impairment of children’s brain development and function: The role of environmental factors. The collaborative on health and the environment. Accessed at http://www.healthandenvironment.org/learning_behavior/peer_reviewed Paper adapted from: Schettler T. Toxic threats to neurologic development of children. Environmental Health Perspect. 2001 Dec;109 (Suppl 6:813–6).
Scott-Thomas, C. (2009). Survey shows consumer concern about preparation, not supply. Retrieved January 10, 2010. http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Survey-showsconsumer-concern-about-preparation-not-supply. Retrieved 10 January, 2010.
Smith, G. A., & Gruenewald, D. A. (2007). Place-based education in a global age: Local diversity. NY: Routledge.
Smith, G. A., & Sobel, D. (2010). Place- and community-based education in schools. NY: Routledge.
Steingraber, S. (1998). Living downstream: A scientist’s personal investigation of cancer and the environment. NY: Vintage Books.
Thinkport (2003). EnviroHealth Connections. Maryland Public Television. http://thinkport.org/classrom/connections/general/more.tp
University of Minnesota (2009, February 24). Confidence in food safety plunges in wake of peanut butter contamination. Science Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2010. World Health Organization (2008, June 23). Lead intoxication in Senegal. World Health Organization: Global Alert and Response. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090224133018.html, http://www.who.int/csr/don/2008_06_23/en/index.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 David W. Hursh
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hursh, D.W., Martina, C.A., Trush, M.A., Davis, H.B. (2011). Environmental Health Curriculum. In: Teaching Environmental Health to Children. SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1811-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1811-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1810-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1811-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)