YOUR ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
An Opportunity to Educate the Public, Policy Makers, and Other Professionals
D. Gary Brown, DrPH, CIH, RS, DAAS
A s I mentioned in a previous column, environmental health professionals were the founders of the American Public Health Association. Most people do not realize that environmental health profes- sionals were key personnel at the start of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 1, 1946, helping to fulfill the primary mission of CDC to prevent malaria from spreading across the nation. Environ- mental health professionals helped start Earth Day. Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern en- vironmental movement in 1970, which arose out of pollution aecting our health. The Earth Day website states, “Until this point, mainstream America remained largely oblivi- ous to environmental concerns and how a pol- luted environment threatens human health.” The first Earth Day had 10% of the U.S. population participating from all politi- cal parties, walks of life, and communities throughout the land. People were participat- ing to improve the health of people in the U.S. through a reduction in pollution. The early 1970s saw the creation of the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Act. In addition, numerous environmental laws were passed, including the National Environmental Education Act; Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Endangered Species Act; and Federal Insecticide, Fungi- cide, and Rodenticide Act. Earth Day went global with the first World Environment Day on June 5, 1973, led by the United Nations Environment Program. This year marks the 50th anniversary of World
As environmental health professionals, we need to let our policy makers, fellow pro- fessionals, and the public know the impact pollution has on health. Air pollution causes approximately 7 million premature deaths every year. Single-use plastics make up 70% of marine litter. The CDC Waterborne Dis- ease & Outbreak Surveillance Reporting website (www.cdc.gov/healthywater/surveil lance/burden/findings.html) estimates that 17 waterborne pathogens caused 7.15 million illnesses, 601,000 emergency department visits, 118,000 hospitalizations, and 6,630 deaths in 2014. Further, CDC estimates each year that 1 in 44 people gets sick from water- borne diseases in the U.S. The Marketing Rule of 7 states a person needs to hear a message at least 7 times before they will take action. This rule was developed by the movie industry in the 1930s when stu- dio executives discovered a certain amount of advertising was required to compel someone to see one of their movies. Regardless of a magic number of times for people to hear a message, everyone agrees messages are more eective when repeated. As we all know, not all messages are created equally. We have the wonderful advantage that environmental health messages are meaning- ful and impactful since they aect health, something near and dear to everyone’s heart. The varied stories of our profession can cre- ate an emotional connection. Unlike many professions, we touch all aspects of life hav- ing thousands of jobs performed by environ- mental health professionals. How many other professions can claim their members work in
We have the wonderful advantage that environmental
health messages are meaningful and impactful.
Environment Day, which has grown into a global platform for raising environmen- tal awareness and spurring environmental action. Millions of people from 150 countries have taken part in World Environment Days, helping drive change along with motivat- ing national and international environmen- tal policy. Each World Environment Day is hosted by a dierent country and the ocial celebrations focus on a particular theme. The 2023 campaign is #BeatPlasticPollution, hosted by Côte d’Ivoire, and focuses on sus- tainable solutions to plastic pollution. International days and weeks are a power- ful advocacy tool that provides an occasion to educate the public, policy makers, and other professionals. As stated in my September col- umn, I am asking you to assist by becoming like the Whos—shouting from the roof tops the words people must hear far and near—by talking to folks outside our sphere, especially the younger generations about this wonder- ful, magical career.
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