According to the Environmental Protection Agency, medical waste has not been regulated by the EPA since the 1988 Medical Waste Tracking Act expired in 1991. Instead, state environmental and health departments are responsible for the regulation of medical waste. Other federal agencies such as the CDC, OSHA, WHO, and the FDA do have regulations regarding… Read more »
Month: December 2020
Air Pollution: Is Your Baby at Risk?
Blog Post Semester blog post project where the connection between air pollution and birth defects is explored.
The Road to Environmental Justice: The Impact of Environmental Exposures on Life Expectancies Across SES Communities
Abstract This research explores the pathway of environmental exposures and its potential influence on socioeconomic disparities in health. Exposure to environmental pollutants has been linked to various health conditions including respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurocognitive diseases.[1] Many studies have found that people in lower-income communities are exposed to more concentrations of pollution than people in higher-income… Read more »
How Cellular Radiation Impacts Human Health and the Environment
Introduction In 2011, only 35% of all Americans had smartphones, but now in 2020, 61% of all Americans have smartphones (Demographics of Mobile Device Ownership and Adoption in the United States, 2020). It is evident that technology has become increasingly more prevalent in everyday human life, yet few conclusive studies have been done showcasing the… Read more »
The Relationship Between Human Population Density and the Species Richness of birds in Bloomington,IN
Introduction Most people are aware that the human population is growing at an exponential rate; however, many people do not realize the full extent of how our rising population is negatively affecting the environment around of us and Earth as a whole. The current world population is currently at 7.8 billion people and is estimated… Read more »
Analysis of Pharmaceuticals Found in Freshwater Bodies and Its Environmental Effects
Abstract This research project aimed to investigate how pharmaceutical use and runoff effects a wide variety of organisms, as wells as its effects on the aquatic environment surrounding urbanized lake basins. This project primarily focused on the Great Lakes of North America but placed great emphasis on Lake Michigan’s southern basin. The exploration of how… Read more »
Roadkill: The Next Pandemic
A B S T R A C T Some of the most well-known diseases throughout history are known, or speculated, to have an animal source. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought zoonotic disease spillover to the forefront of research and public interest. Zoonotic diseases can have many avenues of transmission and… Read more »
Eco-Architecture at Indiana University
Eco-Architecture at Indiana University Introduction Architecture has changed over the years as much as we have changed. People are always creating magnificent structures both in size and in beauty. Architecture changes throughout history and it usually changes hand in hand with how our society changes. From caves to skyscrapers, the exponential advancement of technology… Read more »
Effects of Pandemic on Human Health due to Changes in Transportation
Effects of Pandemic on Human Health due to Changes in Transportation By: Sloane Rauschenbach When I initially began this research project, I knew that I wanted to connect methods of transportation in Bloomington to human health, and I was primarily interested in the exercise aspect of it. After I began researching, I realized that there… Read more »
Microplastics in freshwater systems: Are microplastics in Bloomington, IN waterways?
Introduction Since World War II, plastics have been manufactured at an exponential rate and have surpassed most other man-made materials (Geyer 2017). This rate can be attributed to plastic’s ability to be very durable and stable (Rhodes 2018). While this may seem like an advantage in application, it negatively impacts the environment because of its… Read more »
Climate Change, Poverty, and Malaria- Oh My!
Abstract: Malaria is the deadliest parasitic mosquito-borne disease. Transmission rates and geographic distribution are being heavily influenced by climate change. As the effect of climate change on underdeveloped countries continues to worsen, the number of rates simultaneously follows. Although there is a correlation evident, the relationship between the two is still very complex (United Nations)…. Read more »
Anthropogenic activity and climate change: the never-ending cycle that impacts the prevalence and risk of future skin cancer diagnosis in Bloomington, Indiana
Final Blog Entry HUBI-B 400
The Correlation Between Exposure to Air Pollution and Covid-19
Background: Air pollution has been an increasing problem within the last century and continues to negatively affect the environment and human health every day. This increase in air pollution is caused by the uprising of energy use and production, especially from the combustion of fossil fuels via power plants and vehicle emissions. This causes harmful… Read more »
Feeling stressed about schoolwork? Spend some time in the beautiful green spaces on IUB’s Campus!
Introduction One reason many prospective students are drawn to attend Indiana University is for the beautiful, green scenery that is iconic of the campus. The campus covers 3,674 acres, one of the largest campus areas in the Big Ten.1 This large area is covered with many green spaces and beautiful scenery, like the Jordan… Read more »
The Pandemic of Medical Waste
Take a look into what the COVID-19 Pandemic has done in regard to environmental damage. The study consists of responses from five universities across the United States and including a large corporation from Bloomington, Indiana with the context of facial covering choice. As time passes, we are faced with consequences as a result of our… Read more »
From Pipes to Chemicals: The Impact of Modern Water Systems on Human Health and the Environment
From Pipes to Chemicals: The Impact of Modern Water Systems on Human Health and the Environment Water (H2O) is one of the most abundant molecules that covers Earth’s surface. It is an essential molecule in many organisms including humans. It is used for maintaining homeostasis, cellular processes, and metabolic functions. Without giving it much thought,… Read more »
The Correlation Between Air Pollution and Health Effects on Adults and Children
The Correlation Between Air Pollution and Health Effects on Adults and Children Summary Air pollution is an exceeding problem in our country and many other countries worldwide. It has caused economic hardship, taken many people’s lives, degraded our oceans, and ultimately changed our planet’s physicality. Specifically, over the last hundred years, it has been scientifically… Read more »
Biophilic Interventions in Bloomington, IN – Next Step for Promoting Positive Mental Health of Students
Abstract: Throughout this semester, I have heard the reoccurring theme of stress during my lectures. This discussion follows the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a lot of different subsets of stress for many individuals. However, even without the pandemic, stress levels have been increasing and the mental health of students in Bloomington, IN has been… Read more »
Exploring the Vulnerability of College Students Mental Health During COVID-19
Introduction For HUBI-B400 Ecohealth in the Anthropocene, we were assigned to produce a semester long research project studying the topic of our choice. My original plan was to research the origin of the pandemic and find out if people’s perceptions of bats had changed since the speculation of a bat having started the pandemic was… Read more »
Is Water Truly a Life Source? A Look at Water Treatment Byproducts Effects on Health
A new docu-series streaming on Netflix called Down to Earth with Zac Efron explores new and old ways of living in our world. Through the series, Zac Efron and Darin Olien travel around the world to find lifestyles that include: clean energy in Iceland, communal living in Costa Rica, and longevity in Sardinia. One very… Read more »
The Role of Environment in Human Health and the Mental and Physical Benefits of Shinrin-yoku
Introduction Nature offers a multitude of services to all walks of life, especially humans, and yet we often take it for granted. In Gretchen Daily’s 1997 book Nature’s services: Societal dependence on natural ecosystems, she defines the term ecosystem services. According to her book, “ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems,… Read more »
We Could Be Hurting Ourselves! Let’s Stop!
We Could Be Hurting Ourselves! Let’s Stop! Air Pollution and its Correlation with Alzheimer’s Disease Topic: How does air pollution exposure impact human health? Hypothesis: More air pollution will be associated with increased incidents of neurological impairments. Background: Earth’s atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, and 0.1% of other gases including carbon… Read more »
Noise Pollution on Human Health and the Environment
Introduction This project focuses on the evaluation of the impact of noise pollution in the Bloomington area. This study will utilize the measurements of noise levels, in dB, of the more urban areas of Bloomington and assess how damaging the surrounding noise is on the environment and people. The CDC determines a prolonged noise level… Read more »
Recycling patterns of students and the effects on water quality in Bloomington, Indiana
Abstract: Approximately 91% of all plastics are not recycled. This is due to consumers not recycling items, item contamination, or because certain plastics cannot be recycled. When recyclable materials are not properly disposed of they end up in landfills, nature, or in water sources. These plastic materials can contaminant the water sources, and can then… Read more »
Smoking Hurts the Environment? I Never Knew!
Background The high rate at which substance use and mental disorders occur together has been heavily studied over the past several decades. In a National study done, results showed that 51% of participants determined to have a substance-use disorder was also shown to have suffered from a mental illness at some point in their life… Read more »