Health and Environmental Sustainability

Catalog description

NURS / SUST 325N : Health in Environmental Sustainability; 3 credits. (Inter-Domain), (GHW), (GN). People live in constant contact with the environment: the built environment of homes, offices, and industrial facilities, as well as in cities or less developed areas such as farms or in nature / the outdoors. How do the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we live on, the food we eat, and the materials and chemicals we use in these environments impact our health? At a time when nations are spending up to 1/6th of their budgets on healthcare, it is critical to understand how we impact the environment and how it impacts us back. This course covers the importance of environmental health on individual and community health, the effects of environmental hazards on diverse populations and the impact of climate change on disease. It also reviews best practices for environmental health, for building healthy communities, and introduces students to environmental health advocacy. A beneficial environment sustains human health and the well-being of all species on the planet.