INTRODUCTION

This section reviews key concepts on climate change and its various impacts on
society, and weighs in on the local, regional and global efforts to address it. It primarily aims
to inculcate environmental awareness among students.

Instruction: Examine the picture below. It was taken during the aftermath of Taal Volcano
eruption on January 12, 2020. Form groups with four members each. Discuss among
yourselves how climate change is connected to environmental destruction. You may share
with your group mates your memories of volcanic eruption in order to enrich your discussion.
Alternatively, you may share your own experience about the impacts of climate change on the
environment. Write notes on the space provided below and be ready to share the highlights of
your discussion in class.
Human Health, Environment and Society

The impact of environmental risk factors on health are extremely varied and complex
in both severity and clinical significance. For example, the effects of environmental
degradation on human health can range from death caused by cancer due to air pollution to
psychological problems resulting from noise. This chapter attempts to describe the major
impacts on human health of environmental degradation and to estimate the associated
amount of health loss. A better understanding of the economic costs of environment-related
health loss can help to inform environmental policy design.

All organisms depend on their environments for energy and materials needed to
sustain life: clean air, potable water, nutritious food, and safe places to live. For most of
human history, increases in longevity were due to improved access to these necessities. 
Advances in agriculture, sanitation, water treatment, and hygiene have had a far greater
impact on human health than medical technology.

Although the environment sustains human life, it can also cause diseases. Lack of
basic necessities is a significant cause of human mortality.  Environmental hazards increase
the risk of cancer, heart disease, asthma, and many other illnesses. These hazards can be
physical, such as pollution, toxic chemicals, and food contaminants, or they can be social,
such as dangerous work, poor housing conditions, urban sprawl, and poverty.