Final blog!

I cannot believe the semester is over! I learned so much in this class that I do not even know where to start. I found the topics on climate change particularly interesting. There are so many ways that climate change affects our health and our lives. Climate change has always concerned me in other ways, but now I have new things to add to my toolbox when discussing this with patients and coworkers. I was amazed to find out some of the things I did concerning my personal care products that I put on my skin every day. I have begun looking into alternative products not only for myself, but to recommend to my patients. The topics covering environmental injustice were incredibly important, and I am glad that these were brought to my attention. Living in my privileged little bubble, I never realized that there were still so many injustices that exist among minority and lower income populations regarding environmental health. As health care professionals, we need to be aware of this and become involved to help push for change. We also need to vote! I have skipped voting in the past because I did not see why I needed to, but I have realized over the course of this class that my vote, and the vote of all nursing professionals and public health professionals, are highly important! We now have the knowledge, and we need to put it to work! We need to use this vast knowledge for good. As far as the class structure itself, I will have to admit that I was skeptical about the blog setup at first, but I actually really enjoyed it. I liked having our small blog groups and getting to know about my small group through the blogs. Being such a large class, this is a great way to split up the group. I also enjoyed seeing presentations last night, and I was very impressed with everyone's public speaking skills! Thanks to Dr. Sattler, Jen, and everyone else for a great class!

EHN: Air Pollution and Lung Concerns

The article I found for this week is entitled "Air Pollution May Be as Harmful to Your Lungs as Smoking Cigarettes, Study Finds". According to the article, exposure to air pollution causes similar changes in the lungs as changes obtained via smoking that cause emphysema. Exposure to even slightly elevated levels of pollution can accelerate lung damage, even in those who have never smoked. This is especially concerning in areas like the Bay Area where air pollution levels are particularly elevated. Patient education regarding reducing exposure to air pollution is crucial, especially in highly populated areas. Indoor air filters can be used at home to reduce indoor exposure. Wearing an N95 mask while outdoors may help reduce exposure to certain particulates.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/08/13/750581235/air-pollution-may-be-as-harmful-to-your-lungs-as-smoking-cigarettes-study-finds

Blog #26: Radiation

I have an iPhone and have been using iPhones for years. I had never before looked at the warnings on my phone. Looking at the legal tab, it is very confusing. There are hundreds of pages of information regarding legal information about the company and other related items. I would guess that health information is located in the document somewhere, but it seems impossible to find. Fortunately, according to the National Cancer Institute, although many studies have examined the potential health effects of non-ionizing radiation from cell phones and other sources, there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk in humans. Researchers are still studying this and that may change in the future. Information about cell phones, non-ionizing radiation, and health risks can be found here: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet#what-is-radiofrequencynbspradiation-and-how-does-it-affect-the-human-body.

Blog #25: Greening Healthcare

The clinic at my place of employment has a few opportunities for exposure to hazardous chemicals. There are a number of ways to “green” the clinic to make it safer both for those of us working in that setting and for the environment. Reducing the use of fragrances and products with added fragrance would help reduce exposure to these chemicals that have the potential to cause respiratory symptoms in those exposed. Our company has a policy in place that employees are not permitted to use personal fragrances, but we still use products that have added fragrance. Disposing of pharmaceutical waste must be done in a specific manner to reduce harmful release of certain substances into the environment. However, patients are not typically instructed on how to properly dispose of unused medications at home. Incorporating this education into medication instruction would be beneficial in many ways. Patients must be aware that flushing medications in the toilet is never an option. There is unfortunately no green team in my work setting. We are a small company, and it is up to the employees to offer suggestions for changes and new regulations. The clinic supervisors and higher level leadership make the purchasing decisions. Fortunately, the clinic supervisors are involved to offer first-hand experience working in the clinics to help guide important decisions about products purchased.

Environmental Health News: Clorox to Reduce Environmental Impact

The following article from this week is about the Clorox company, an Oakland-based company, vowing to reduce its environmental impact over the next five years. The company has already begun marketing new compostable cleaning wipes and plans to make bigger changes in the next few years. They plan to make all of their packaging compostable, reusable, or recyclable by the year 2025. They have already had a huge positive reaction toward their compostable wipes and hope that these changes toward better sustainability will also help business. Clorox products are used in a number of health care settings and these new innovative products can have a huge impact on waste produced by these entities. Other companies will soon follow suit if Clorox continues to show success with these changes.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/22/clorox-ceo-what-is-good-for-the-environment-is-good-for-business.html

Blog #24: Renewable Energy

I have a small background in nuclear power that I studied before I got into nursing. Although this section is about renewable sources, I do believe that nuclear is a wonderful alternative while we are transitioning to renewable resources. One of the issues with wind, hydro, and other renewable sources of energy is low efficiency. Nuclear removes that obstacle while offering clean energy with zero carbon emissions. I would love to see coal and natural gas be completely removed from our energy production, and nuclear may be able to help with that transition. Do not get me wrong, however; I do believe that we need to become fully independent from non-renewable energy (including nuclear), but we are still far from that goal. The U.S. needs to put more money into research on renewable energy and ways to improve its efficiency so that we may provide efficient and adequate energy that Americans can afford.

According to the EPA, the Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI) provides incentive payments for electricity generated by renewable resources. Additionally, on the EPA website is listed state incentive programs for use of renewable energy. California has the Emerging Renewables Rebate Program in which the California Energy Commission offers cash rebates on fuel cell renewable energy electric-generating systems. Fuel cells convert certain organic materials into energy using a chemical process. California also offers supplemental energy payments to energy suppliers in California to cover above market costs for using renewable resources, such as solar, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, etc. The link below outlines incentive programs by state.

https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastemin/web/html/rpsinc.html