304 results for "environmental health"

Environmental health is a field of study concerned with finding causes and potential problems in our natural environments, to learn if these conditions cause illnesses to human beings. Environmental health researchers tend to look for solutions for issues in our natural and man-made world. This would include research into climate, air and water quality, groundwater, toxic substances, hazardous waste, ultraviolet radiation, and human-created toxins.‎

There are valuable reasons why it's important to learn about environmental health, like being aware of the surroundings where we live and defending ourselves against poisonous gases or chemicals in our immediate area. We as humans interact with our environment nearly every day. These interactions affect our daily quality of life, our years of living, and the type of illnesses or conditions we may get.

Issues in the environment can have a huge effect on the way we live and our own personal health. If we breathe in poor air quality every day, our health may be prematurely affected by cancer or lung disease, and it may cause long-term damage to our respiratory systems.

If we live near contaminated groundwater, entire neighborhoods and communities can be affected. Using contaminated water can produce birth defects in babies and long-term illnesses in adults. Learning about environmental protection can help you move forward in an environmental health career.‎

Some of the careers that you might see in environmental health include roles like scientific information officer, chief of toxicology, and chief biomolecular screening. Other interesting career roles include director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and other positions there.

Other environmental health careers include occupational health nurse, environmental director, food safety inspector, corporate health and safety director, and environmental health and safety manager. These job opportunities usually require a college degree and skilled training and background through earlier experience in similar jobs.‎

Online courses on Coursera offer you opportunities to learn about environmental topics such as climate change and health, environmental management, ethics, and planning and design of sanitation technologies. In these courses, you will learn a range of subjects around environmental health topics, including climate science, epidemiology, infectious diseases, and evidence-based medicines. Understanding environmental health means understanding how these subjects all work together to bring us together more safely in our world.‎