Environment & Health: Under the Microscope Lecture Series

Speakers: Dr Janet Fisher (Chancellors Fellow, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh) and Dr Sharron Ogle (Programme Director, Biomedical School, University of Edinburgh)

All living things depend on their environment for energy and for the basic requirements that sustain life - air, water, food and habitat. This simple dynamic is not in dispute. However there is a growing body of evidence that suggests the relationship between environment and human health is in fact a reciprocal one, each having complex effects on the other.

The ecosystems services approach provides a framework for decision making, and for valuing the ‘products, functions and services’ ecosystems provide, to ensure that society can maintain a healthy and resilient natural environment, now, and for future generations. The UK National Ecosystem Assessment indicates that the United Kingdom relies on its ecosystems for a range of services that include climate regulation, waste removal, pest control, flood protection, food supply, potable water, natural medicine, aesthetics, recreation and tourism, among many others.

Speakers:Prof David Stevenson(University of Edinburgh) and Dr Becky GaitMBChB MRCGP MFPH (fidra)

What do we mean by extreme weather and what are the implications for health? Prof. David Stevenson and Dr Becky Gait  take us through some of the human health impacts related to heat waves (including their inter-relationship with air pollution), extreme cold, and flooding.  How may extreme weather change over the 21st century under a range of future climate scenarios? Prof. Stevenson and Dr Gait highlight the importance of identifying vulnerable populations and discuss risk management and adaptation, including proposals and policies of the Scottish Government included in the Climate Change Adaptation Programme 2014.

Speakers: Dr Kate Heal (Senior Lecturer, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh) and Dr Jeremy Langrish(Clinical Lecturer, Cardiology, University of Edinburgh)

Safe drinking water is vital for human health but, despite the inclusion of this in the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations recently estimated that 2 billion people do not have access to safe water. In the talk we will define what is “safe” water and explore the effects of water pollution on human health and development. The causes of water pollution and measures to address it will also be examined. Dr Heal will focus on key topics in more and lesser developed countries using case-studies and recent research examples.

Air pollution exposure is a major public health concern and is estimated to result in approximately 7 million deaths worldwide each year from cardiac and respiratory illnesses. Dr Langrish will discuss the association between deaths from heart disease and exposure to air pollution and explore the reasons why inhalation of air pollutants has a detrimental effect on the heart and circulatory system. Furthermore, he will discuss how we might reduce this risk on a population and individual level in order to improve public health.

Speakers:Professor Catharine Ward Thompson (Professor of landscape architecture, University of Edinburgh) and Professor Jamie Pearce (Professor of Health, University of Edinburgh )

Over the past 150 years there have been substantial improvements in urban health. Indicators such as rising life expectancy and falling infant mortality suggest significant public health successes. Whilst health has tended to improve at the city scale, these gains have not been equally shared; some neighbourhoods and people have benefited more than others. The result of this is that inequalities in health are as wide as they have been since the Victorian period.

As we pass the point, globally, where more people live in towns and cities than in rural locations, new questions are being raised about how well such environments serve as human habitat. It has been predicted that, by 2025, there will be about 30 ‘megacities’ around the world with a total population exceeding 10 million; urbanisation opens the door to 'western' diseases, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes and stress. Even if we just focus on the UK context, what does it mean for human wellbeing as urban areas expand and most people live urban lives?