Researches of the last years in the field of ecological epidemiology and the analysis of risk for health allow to claim with confidence that the polluted environment is one of the important factors defining changes of a state of health of the population. Expert opinions on the scale of this influence differ considerably now. These estimations vary…

Many farmworkers are faced with serious problems such as toxic drinking water, malnutrition, low levels of education and income, and poor health care. Based on statistical review, social surveys, and case studies, this document describes older farmworkers' living conditions, focusing on their housing problems. For many, housing is a luxury item…

Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars on bottled water. They purchase a bottle from the vending machine or buy a case at the grocery, no longer considering the water that's freely available from their taps. As consumers and as citizens, however, Americans should pause to study the personal and public consequences of this choice. In this…

The Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas consists of three counties: Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy. Poverty pervades in the Valley, especially in the colonias ("a poor, rural unincorporated community with 20 or more dwelling units, where home ownership is the rule"). Colonia residents are almost exclusively Mexican Americans.…

This is a report on a water treatment conference. Drinking water contaminant removal and dual (potable and nonpotable) water supply are spotlighted. (BB)

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plastic monomer and plasticizer and is a chemical that has one of the highest volume production worldwide, with more than six billion pounds each year. Its primary use is the production of polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins used to line metal cans in a host of plastic consumer products such as toys, water pipes, drinking…

THE END OF THE IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN LABOR IN 1964 AND SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO DEVELOP A DOMESTIC LABOR SUPPLY IN MICHIGAN PROMPTED A PILOT PROJECT IN 1966, SPONSORED BY THE RURAL MANPOWER CENTER, THE COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE, AND THE COUNTY LABOR COUNCIL, IN WHICH SUBURBAN YOUTH WERE RECRUITED FOR SEASONAL FARM LABOR. SCHOOLS…

Reports of ecological disturbances - wildfires, loss of biodiversity, drought, contaminated drinking water, extreme temperatures - fill the news. People have to navigate and manage these challenges. To do so effectively, requires that people are environmentally literate (EL), demonstrating an understanding of the problems, so they are motivated to…

Discussions held in the chemical education community have generated a variety of reports and recommendations for reforming the chemistry curriculum. The recommendations refer to teaching chemistry in the context of real-world issues. This has been suggested as a way to enhance students' motivation. It is suggested that real-world problems…

This article describes the Systems and Global Engineering (SAGE) Project in which students collaborate with others from around the world to model solutions to some of today's most significant global problems. Stevens Institute of Technology and the New Jersey Technology Education Association (NJTEA) have teamed up to develop innovative…

The voices of young people are beginning to be heard, but rarely are children living in poverty included in this research (Ridge, 2002). In this study, the authors used an interpretive approach that is informed by the phenomenological underpinning of the new sociology of childhood (Conroy & Harcourt, 2009; Schiller & Einarsdottir, 2009).…

Information on the worldwide occurrence of groundwater pollution by arsenic, the ensuing health hazards, and the debatable government regulations of arsenic in drinking water, is presented. Diagnostic identification of arsenic, and methods to eliminate it from water are also discussed.

This manual demonstrates how drinking water in schools and non-residential buildings can be tested for lead and how contamination problems can be corrected when found. The manual also provides background information concerning the sources and health effects of lead, how lead gets into drinking water, how lead in drinking water is regulated, and…

This citizen's guide to ensuring a safe supply of drinking water for all provides the information and analysis that individuals need to understand the issues and to participate in local decision making. The sources of drinking water, the types of human activities that results in contamination, and the contaminants that are of most concern are…