Environmental and Human Health Going Green Benefits Your

Environmental and Human Health: “Going Green” Benefits Your Health Jina Shah, MD, MPH Prepared for Health Fair, Milpitas, CA

Outline • Environmental and Human Health • Example: Energy Use, Diet and Global Warming • Example: Use of Styrofoam and Waste • Jain Perspective • Resources

Human Health and Environmental Health are Tightly Connected • We depend on air, food, water to sustain our bodies – The safety and cleanliness of these elements is threatened by human industrial and energy use • Climate is linked to livability and disease risks – Global warming has direct and indirect effects • Cancer, asthma, heart disease and more can be linked to specific toxic exposures – Exposures can be as workers – As consumers – As residents • No one wants landfills and incinerators in their backyard! • Babies are worse hit– toxins accumulate in breast milk!

Environmental Diseases A-Z • Allergies and Asthma • Birth Defects • Cancer • Dermatitis • Emphysema • Fertility Problems • Heart Disease • Immune Deficiency • Job related • Kidney diseases • Lead poisoning • Mercury poisoing • Pneumonconiosis • Skin cancer • Uranium poisoning • Zinc poisoning

Global Warming: What and How much • Definition: an increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns – Scientists are certain that human activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere and responsible for most of the warming in recent decades (EPA) – Global average air temperature near the Earth's surface rose 0. 74 ± 0. 18 °Celsius (1. 3 ± 0. 32 °Fahrenheit) in the last century (IPCC) Credit for slides 5 -11: Saurabh Dalal, 7/07, JAINA presentation (modified for this presentation)

Global Warming- How and Why • Human activities have changed the atmosphere – influencing the Earth's climate – particularly via global warming • Concentration of heat trapping greenhouse gases has increased in the atmosphere caused by – Burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil – Deforestation

Greenhouse Effect

Global Warming: Environmental Effects • An increase in global temperatures causes many environmental changes: – rising sea level, flooding, submerged islands – changes in the amount/pattern of precipitation – increases in the frequency/intensity of extreme weather events; record heat, wildfires, droughts, shrinking lakes – glacier retreat, permafrost melt, reduced summer streamflows – acidification of the oceans – destruction of wildlife habitats – endangered species & extinctions

Global Warming: Direct Health Effects • Changes in environment impact our diet and disease patterns: – changes in agricultural yields – increases in the ranges of disease vectors – environmental refugees

Inefficiency & Devastation • Animal Agriculture is a vastly inefficient use of resources – – Food IN to ‘Food’ OUT Water Land Energy • Animal Agriculture causes environmental devastation as a consequence – Land, water, air – Manure / urine – Rainforest destruction

Enormous Inefficiency and Waste • 12 -16 pounds of grain needed per pound of beef • 2500 – 5000 gallons of water needed per pound of beef – Only 25 -50 gallons for tomatoes, wheat, apples • 3. 25 acres of land needed per meat-eater – 1/3 acre for a vegetarian – 1/6 acre for a vegan • 78 calories of energy needed per calorie of beef protein – Only 2 calories needed for soybeans • 120 pounds of wet manure produced per day by average dairy cow

Cradle to Grave: The Life Cycle of Styrofoam® By Andrea Kremer Race, Poverty and the Urban Environment Professor Raquel Pinderhughes Urban Studies Program San Francisco State University Spring 2003 The public has permission to use the material herein, but only if author, course, university and professor are credited.

Styrofoam Uses: Food and Beverage Containers Styrofoam, the Dow Chemical brand name for Polystyrene, is perhaps most widely known for its use as coffee cups, disposable plates and take-out containers. The reasons for its popularity is that it has excellent insulating properties that keep hot products hot and cold products cold much longer than disposable paper cups and boxes.

Food containers • • • Cups Plates Utensils (unblown polystyrene) • Take-out boxes • Egg cartons • Clear plastic cups and boxes (unblown polystyrene)

Styrofoam Components: Benzene • Benzene is extracted from coal, but is also found • • in gasoline The extraction of coal is very hard on the natural environment. The earth distributed around the mine from deep inside is virtually dead in that it cannot support plant life. This leads to erosion of the land even long after the mine has been closed for use. Working in the coal mines has always been known of as a very hazardous job.

Styrofoam Components: Styrene and Polystyrene • Styrene for manufacturing is “cracked” or • • extracted from petroleum. Polystyrene is made, using a combination of Styrene and Benzene Polystyrene is basically a hard, brittle plastic (just like disposable plastic cups) and it doesn’t become Styrofoam until it gets injected with a “blowing agent” to make it 30 times lighter than its original weight. To make Styrofoam, certain gases are injected into the plastic, blowing tiny holes that become gas and air filled pockets once the plastic cools. These gases contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming

Global Warming The chart displayed above is from the EPA website. It shows how our Ozone Layer changed over only 10 years. The purple is an Ozone level of less than 2%. The Ozone Layer is the only protective barrier between us and harmful radiation from the Sun and outer space. This global threat is what lead to the “Montreal Protocol” to limit the use of certain chemical compounds.

Workers’ Health: Benzene Exposure • Benzene is the most toxic of all the chemical • components of Styrofoam and enters the human body either through the skin or respiratory system Benzene is listed on the Hazardous Substances List because it is a known MUTAGEN, CARCINOGEN and is FLAMABLE. Many scientist believe there are no safe exposure levels for carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). However, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) defines safe worker limits at 1 ppm (parts per million) over 8 hours and exposure of 5 ppm to not exceed 10 minutes.

Workers’ Health: Benzene Exposure • Effects of short-term levels of exposure have been • known to cause: dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches, vomiting, convulsions, coma, and death from irregular heartbeat. Effects of long-term levels of exposure have been known to cause: skin scaling, leukemia, plastic anemia, and death.

Workers’ Health: Styrene Exposure • Styrene is also very toxic in high levels, and is in • • the fatty tissue of every single one of us right now. Styrene is listed on the Hazardous Substances List as a MUTAGEN, FLAMABLE and REACTIVE. A mutagen alters one’s chromosomal make-up. Styrene is also considered a neurotoxin. OSHA defines safe levels as 50 ppm over 8 hours and 100 ppm to not exceed 15 minutes.

Workers’ Health: Styrene Exposure • Exposure to Styrene at low levels for a short time • • can cause: eye, nose and throat irritation. Exposure to Styrene at higher levels for a short time can cause: dizziness, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, trouble concentrating, memory problems, poor learning ability, brain damage, and death. Exposure to Styrene over months and years can cause: trouble balancing, learning impairments, fetal damage, decreased fertility in females, lung cancer, and shortened lifespan.

Waste

Styrofoam Waste Facts • Here are the basic facts of Styrofoam waste: – Although Styrofoam breaks into pieces easily, it will take 500 years for one cup to dissolve. My unanswered question is: dissolve into what? – Our nation averages 547, 945 tons of garbage per day and Styrofoam products make up 0. 25% of this weight. It sounds a little more impressive when that comes out to 1, 369 tons. Don’t forget, this stuff is pretty light weight. So, by volume Styrofoam waste takes up 2530% of our nation’s land fill space. – There are over 25 million Styrofoam cups thrown away each year.

Styrofoam in Landfills • Can make up to 30% of the garbage volume in landfills. • Takes half a millennia to dissolve. • Because of the landfill strategy of compacting the garbage • and then packing dirt on top, practically nothing breaks down as it should, and that methodology winds up giving paper the same decomposition time as Styrofoam captures water from seeping into the soil and therefore allows water to soak garbage until it’s almost a soup-like mixture. When heavy rains come, this soup escapes the Styrofoam barrier onto the landfill lining (if there is one) or more likely off into our soil and groundwater.

Jain Declaration on Nature and Jain principles • Basic Jain principles (vratas or vows) compel us to consider and pursue what’s right – Man, vacchan, kaya– Mind, speech and action – Karu, Karvanu, anumodan- Things we do, things we tell others to do or are done for us, things we encourage or praise • Ahimsa – Minimize harm and respect all – planet, people, other living beings • Parasparopagrahao Jivanam– Mutual interdependence of life Anekantvad – Human view is not only view of life • • Samyaktva- Equanimity • Jivdaya – Compassion to all living beings L. M. Singhvi, Jainism and Ecology

Jain code of conduct • Anuvrats – Nonviolence, truth, nonstealing, chastity and restraint, nonacquisitiveness • Kindness to animals • Vegetarianism: How about one step further– • • veganism? Avoid waste Charity L. M. Singhvi, Jainism and Ecology • “Eating meat is like driving a huge SUV. . . a vegetarian diet is like driving a hybrid car, and. . . a vegan diet is like riding a bicycle”

What Can We Do? • Reduce and conserve energy • Limit population growth • Use alternative and renewal energy (bio-diesel, • • solar, wind, etc) Vegetarian and vegan diet Governments, corporations, communities, schools, and other organizations to get actively involved as well as individual-lifestyle and political action ØJCNC!!

Global Warming: Individual choices ØEliminate production and consumption of meat and other animal products ØAlso benefits people's physical and spiritual health – Prevents the massive mistreatment and suffering of farmed animals as well as our effects on others ØMoving to an-all-plant-based (Vegan) diet is perhaps the single greatest step we can take to reduce Global Warming Credit: Saurabh Dalal, 7/07, JAINA presentation

What can we change in the temple? • Can we eliminate the use of styrofoam and • • disposable products? Can we encourage carpooling or find ways to limit the amount people drive to the temple? What alternatives are there? The GREEN Team needs your input! See our table at the Health Fair and talk to us!!

Our bags and bags of waste go into the…

Milpitas Landfill

Helpful Environmental AND Vegetarian Resources • Vegetarian Union of North America / International Vegetarian Union – www. ivu. org • FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement) – www. farmusa. org • Earth. Save International – www. earthsave. org • Worldwatch Institute – www. worldwatch. org • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – http: //www. ipcc. ch/ • UN FAO – http: //www. fao. org • US EPA – http: //www. epa. gov/climatechange/index. html

Thanks • Saurabh Dalal • Andrea Kremer • Mitthu Jain • JCNC Leadership and Green Team!