Chapter 16

As a group, we feel that environmental health is extremely important for our nation to realize all of the conditions which affects our health and well-being. There are many different problems which all fall under the heading of environmental health while there are still many more which have not been identified yet. Environmental hazards can be classified as biological, chemical, physical, psychological, social, or natural hazards. Even though we, as a nation, can't control many of the natural hazards which occur, it is important there are things implemented which can help control and be ready for a hazard once it comes.
The chapter brought up a great point in stating the worldwide population growth constitutes a potential serious problem and hazard for all. As the populations continue to grow, it becomes more of a hazard because of all the issues surrounding overpopulation. It is important for people to individually do whatever they can to conserve energy and resources. Even though it will not be a direct impact now, it will be beneficial down the road.

Chapter 7

This chapter discusses maternal, infant, and child health. The United States has made a dramatic improvement in decreasing the infant mortality rate; however, we are still one of the countries with the highest rate. Half of the pregnancies are unintended in the United States. This affects the children because some women may not realize they are pregnant so they are not receiving the prenatal health care necessary. This may lead to fetal alcohol syndrome for a lot of children. I found the fact that our country is 28th in infant mortality is outrageous because our medical system is one of the most advanced in the world. We are receiving funding from title nine and the establishment of family planning clinics has started to improve the maternal and child health of our nation.

Chapter 18

As a group, we realized outside of home, people spend the next largest portion of time at work so it's important for the workplaces to be safe. It is scary to realize that every day approximately 16 people die from work related injuries and many more die from work related diseases. Even though it is nice to have a job and we realize some jobs are just not safe (truck drivers, etc), it is important for people to put their safety and health above everything.
Also, it is important for people to follow certain guidelines and apply a variety of injury prevention strategies to ensure workplaces are safe. For example, people could eliminate a dangerous job, change the work environment, use safer machinery, and improve the selection and training of workers. Unsafe workplaces can be prevented or changed to make sure people are safe spending a lot of time at work. Far too often, there are schools leaving chemicals for too long in a room or unmanaged which can cause a lot of harmful effects to people and the surroundings.