Introduction
This term paper is situated in an area of specific health related and environmental concern: the human dimensions of global change. For about a decade now there has been growing scientific interest in the global environmental changes resulting from anthropogenic activity. However most of this research has focused on the scientific bases of environmental transformations with little attention to how human social responses are linked to global change. As a result, scientists and researchers alike are beginning to ask questions about the symbiotic relationship between human well being and physical change.
Abstract
This research compilation plans to use one environmental health component of the global change phenomena -
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In general, the incidence of non-melanoma and malignant melanoma skin cancer has increased significantly over the past few decades, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavian countries. This large "outbreak" has intrigued researchers into examining the relationship of the growing risk of skin cancer to increases in ground-level UV-B radiation due to ozone depletion.
According to the latest Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion issued by the United Nations and the US Government, human-influenced ozone-depletion may peak around 1998
and will persist well into the 21st century. For the US and other mid- latitude countries of the Northern Hemisphere, ozone losses during summer and fall months may peak at 6-7% relative to ozone concentrations in the 1960s. Winter/spring depletion could peak at nearly twice those levels.
Vienna Convention and Skin Cancer Incidence
The 1985 Vienna Convention built a baseline for international restrictions on the production of ozone depleting substances. To evaluate the consequences of these restrictions the convention and its associates projected skin cancer incidence under three scenarios: 1) no restrictions (the Business as Usual curve); (2) reduced production of five ozone-depleting chemicals by 50 percent by 1999 (under the "Montreal
The third factor that plays a major role in causing skin cancer is the Ozone layer. It helps protect people from ultraviolet radiation. However, the ozone layer is shrinking and this is due to man-made products like sprays and combustion of cars that are emitted in the atmosphere. This process is allowing more ultraviolet penetration to the earth thus increasing risk of skin cancer (Bair, 1991, P. 367,368). Ultraviolet radiation are the chief causes for skin cancer because the UV radiation
Over the last several years, the total number of skin cancer (melanoma) cases in Australia has been rising dramatically. Evidence of this can be seen with statistics provided by the Cancer Council of Australia. They determined that melanoma is most common form of cancer for individuals between the ages of 15 and 44 years of age. To make matters worse over 1 million people are screened for this disease every single year. This is illustrating how some kind of increased protection is required to protect consumers against the sun's ultra violet rays. ("Skin Cancer Facts and Figures," 2012)
The National Skin Cancer Awareness Program represents the new public health approach. This is because it has been created to prevent and reduce the incidence of skin cancer among teenagers and young adults. It takes into account the social determinants that influence a person’s health. For example, due to the sun’s very strong UV rays, Australia is a very hot country and
EXCESSIVE SUN EXPOSURE AND SKIN CANCER IN AUSTRALIA Genet Degfaw Student ID No. 4559316 20 October 2017 Table of content 1. Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 2. Background-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3-4 2.1 The importance of sunscreen in preventing skin cancer------------------------------------3 2.2 The Australian population at greater risk of skin cancer------------------------------------4 3.
The ozone should always stay in tact to protects the earth from UV radiation, which is harmful to humans (skin cancer) and also the earth (global warming). If allowed to build up indoors, VOCs often contribute to lightheadedness, headaches, allergies and more importantly has also scientifically proven harmful to asthma sufferers. As a matter of fact, according to Professor Roy Harrison, professor of environmental health at Birmingham University, there is a body of research on VOCs in the indoor environment which links them with those kinds of symptoms - headaches and not feeling so good (news.bbc.co.uk). After proven to have negative effects on the ozone layer as well as humans, the production of CFCs was shut down and in fact it’s banned in the US. Some scientists were not convinced by the act of banning CFCs in spite of all these evidences. “Given the large economic impact of a ban — it was estimated that industries relying on CFC production generated $8 billion in business and employed 200,000 people in 1974 — several scientists in the field advocated waiting a few years for science to make more progress on the issue before making any policy decisions.” (bio.sunyorange.edu)
In the article, Browner tries to convince the reader that it is the right thing for the United States to change or revise the ozone standard that was developed in the 1970s to apply to the 1990s. She backs up this claim by stating that: “Americans want clean air. They want their children protected. They want EPA to do its job--ensuring that the air they breathe is safe and healthy” (Browner, 1997, para. 7). I also agree that this is true. Even if we have to cut back on some of the luxuries we Americans feel entitled to, if it helps to improve the health of the overall health of the
At the moment the o zone regulation limit is seventy five parts per billion and the EPA’S Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee recommends to set the standard in between sixty and seventy parts per billion. The National Association of Manufactures says that the new regulation woud increase energy cost and reduce family incomes to about an equal amount of one hundred eighty two thousand lost jobs for Texas. The new ozone regulations could put a kink in natural gas production and then result in about a fifteen percent increase in electricity prices. Forty percent of the U.S. population already live in areas that don’t meet the current EPA regulation. Those people are at risk for aggravated asthma, difficulty breathing, pre mature death, cardiovascular harm, and lower birth
In the United States, more cases of skin cancer have been diagnosed than any other type. It is estimated that about 2 million of these cases arise every year, and can be prevented significantly from utilizing sun protection.
The majority of skin cancer is caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and artificial sources such as solariums. Research indicates that it is not just the overall amount of UV radiation that determines the risk of skin cancer, but also the pattern of exposure that shapes that risk, as well as the type of skin cancer that develops. Anyone can develop skin cancer but many people in Australia are at higher risk than others. People who work indoors and have infrequent but intense periods of exposure may be at higher risk of melanoma than someone who works outdoors but avoids being sunburnt.
as stated earlier in the essay, the incidence of people treated for skin cancer compared to the population means that two percent of the population will be treated or diagnosed every year however there is a group particularly affected by these statistics. According to the Cancer Council Australia (2014), non-melanoma skin cancer is more common in men than in women, this may be due to the fact that men may wear less when going out in the sun and will take risks more, possibly by not wearing protective clothing and sunscreen. As well as this fact it is also conveyed that the age group most affected by melanoma is ranged between 15-44 years old, this may be due to people from this age group especially teenagers and young adults tanning on
The following paper will base on my chosen articles on our climate. I will provide a summary of each article. I will also compare and contrast the risk perceptions that are presented in each article I will identify any environmental stressors that are related to the environmental risk. It will be concluded with a discussion of my own risk perception of the issue. By the end of the paper you will be familiar with different affects that the environment has on us and risks that we take every day just breathing.
The scariest fact found when researching the effects of exposure to the sun’s harmful rays is that ninety present of skin cancer is caused by it. Doesn’t knowing the facts make you want to shield yourself and your children by never going outside again? Unfortunately, that is just imposable but educating our youth is the first step to prevention since most sun exposure is achieved before the age of eighteen. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one out of every five American’s will develop skin cancer. The three main types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and malignant melanoma. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common
Scientists all over the world have been widely researching to find out ways in which the ozone layer is being destroyed through human actions. The ozone layer is gradually being destroyed by ozone depleting chemicals. These chemicals include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydroflourocarbons (HFCs), methyl bromide, halons, methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride among others (Ryding 173). These chemicals are used locally in coolants, fire extinguishers, solvents, pesticides, aerosol propellants and foaming agents.
Climate change. A phrase that encompasses a vast wealth of information, the totality of which is difficult to fathom let alone concisely elaborate upon in a condensed format such as a course or writing assignment. Through this course, the interconnectedness with which humans influence the balance of climate change is abundantly clear. Ecosystems plants and animals depend on are all connected and influencing one another but these scales are imbalanced, mostly as a result of human activities. The web of interconnectivity in climate change is complex, but there is a reemerging consensus at it’s core that human actions, such as global development, has major ramifications and the health and welfare of people and the environment are paying the price. Those daring enough to say they aren’t influencing climate change haven’t truly examined the many facets of their lives consuming energy and in turn increasing carbon emissions that alter climate. For most, transportation is a necessity. This usage requires energy consumption, most likely in the form of fossil fuel resource depletion and in turn the generation of carbon emissions. Transportation routes by land or sea may alter ecosystems that further elevate carbon emissions. With an understanding that the topic of climate change and carbon emissions is massive at best, the aim of this assignment will be to provide the reader with a basic understanding of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions and the relation to climate change. A
"National Geographic: Eye in the Sky--ozone, Pollution." National Geographic: Eye in the Sky--ozone, Pollution. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2017.