AUB'S USF ENVIRO BLOG

Sacramento is notorious for being susceptible to wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat conditions. The city of Sacramento has the  Office of Emergency Management (OEM) who specifically handles all disaster related issues.  The OEM coordinates communication, plans preparedness, responds, and plans for recovery projects in the event of a disaster. There is a subdivision named the Emergency Operations Center (OEC). The OEC is run by city personnel and first responders. They also coordinate a Crisis Action Team (CAT) to facilitate the city-wide response. There is a staff member that specifically coordinates with other jurisdictions in the case extra help is needed.  There is also an emergency alert system called the Wireless Emergency Alert System (WEA) that coordinates with all cell phone carriers so that people will receive an alert on their phone. In the case one cannot reach a phone, cell phone issues, etc. you can actually sign up to receive alerts via landline...

The most troubling thing I find about climate change is the current leadership in the U.S. mocks the seriousness of the issue. Our president describes it as a “hoax” and supports every industry that is contributing to it  (including oil companies, factories, and factory farms). He actually took our country out of the global climate change agreement. I find it troubling that our government allows one man to single handedly expose our entire population to such a massive environmental calamity. It is sickening to say the least. As public health professionals, we need to have more of a say on capitol hill. We need to advocate for policy changes and re-look at the limits we set in place for these companies.  Policies need to be stricter and heavily enforced by the department of justice. There needs to be checks and balances. Advocation for a zero-tolerance policy would do the nation a lot of good and reduce emissions. We can start at the state level and have our representat...

Personally, living a ZERO WASTE life would be extremely hard with my lifestyle- especially with having a child. My son contributes to messes. Lots of messes from snacks hidden in his room to wasted papers he brings home from school. We do have a recycling bin that is constantly being filled to the brim from all the packaged products we use. It is seemingly Impossible to live a ZERO WASTE life because all food comes in packaging. I can be more conscious about the stem of trash within my household; making small changes overtime. For example, I could request no plastic or paper bags from grocery stores and stores in general. I usually bring my own cloth bags anyway, but I do like to use the little bags for trash because they seemingly keep the trash levels low around the house. I could use my water filter more, so I don’t have water bottles lying about around the house or in my car. I don’t drink a lot of juice or soda so this would be easy enough. I do overuse paper plates because I am ...

The chemical that I selected from the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) was Benzene. Benzene in its pure form is a colorless liquid that has a sweet odor and can occur naturally. Some Benzene sources include emissions from forest fires, volcanoes, gasoline, and cigarette smoke. Benzene is extremely reactive and flammable. Plastics, rubbers, paints, pesticides, detergents, furniture wax and even synthetic fibers have all been found to contain large quantities of Benzene.              Short exposure to high levels of Benzene in the air can cause in rapid heart rate, dizziness, unconsciousness, and tremors. Long-term exposure to Benzene is linked to anemia, Leukemia, weaken the immune system, and cause harmful effects on the bone marrow. If Benzene is consumed in large quantities in food and/or liquids it can cause stomach irritation, vomiting, convulsions, coma, and even death.        ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created by Congress due to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The act was established to ensure safe and healthy working conditions by setting and enforcing appropriate standards for working men and women. Because OSHA is a part of the United States Department of Labor, they are responsible for ensuring that private sector employers and their employees uphold the safety and healthy working standard conditions. OSHA  provides these employers with outreach, training, education, and assistance so these private sector employers are in compliance with the OSHA working standard conditions.              OSHA has created Safe + Sound, which is a year-round campaign in hopes of encouraging every workplace to set in place a safety and health program. The National Chicken Council is one of the participating agencies that has a safe and health progr...

Asbestos occurs naturally and can be found on every continent in the world dating back to approximately 750,000 years ago. However, the manufacturing of asbestos did not begin until the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s. By the early 1900s, more than 30,000 tons of asbestos was being produced annually and shipped worldwide. In 1906, the first death of pulmonary failure caused by asbestos fibers in the lungs was recorded. By 1908, Canada and the United States insurance companies began decreasing insurance coverage and benefits, while increasing premiums, for employees who worked around the asbestos industries. Despite the health warnings around the use of asbestos, the world production of asbestos was approximately 4.8 million metric tons (per year) by the year 1977.              Fortunately in the late 1970s, the public began understanding the link between asbestos exposure and the debilitating lung d...