Faced with an ecological crisis, public health emergencies and socioeconomic inequities, agroecology emerges as a transdisciplinary beacon of hope.
Our climate is our planet’s life support system, and the University of Michigan is spearheading innovative research and curriculum around evolving environmental threats to human health. As extreme weather events increase, air quality fluctuates, and illnesses transmitted by food, water, and disease-carriers such as mosquitoes and ticks broaden their impact, U-M experts are partnering with local communities to stage productive public health interventions.
From responding to climate change and extreme weather events to assessing the role of legacy infrastructure and institutions in public health, U-M researchers are on the forefront of sustainable and equitable public health interventions. Some of our key initiatives at the intersection of human health and the environment include: the Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease Center, the Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center, the Healthy Environments Partnership, the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy, the Center for Sustainable Systems , the Michigan Center on Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease (M-LEEAD) and Poverty Solutions. Find U-M experts in sustainability and environmental science, across fields and academic units.
Faced with an ecological crisis, public health emergencies and socioeconomic inequities, agroecology emerges as a transdisciplinary beacon of hope.
Southeast Michigan’s Huron River abounds with picturesque natural scenes, including burbling streams, graceful trumpeter swans, towering leafy trees, and… polluted foam? More than just an eyesore, this foam—now a common sight in waterways across Michigan and much of the U.S.—often contains a group of harmful synthetic chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which have been linked to a variety of negative health effects.
Traffic pollution emerges as a lead exacerbator for ailments that come with aging.
Air pollution from traffic emerges as a key risk factor for older adults losing their ability to care for themselves without some or total assistance. Traffic-related air pollution releases fine particulate matter and gasses like nitrogen dioxide into the air that can harm the lungs, heart, brain, and other parts of the body.
A grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Integrated Ocean Observing System will establish a Great Lakes Biodiversity Observation Network to coordinate with and learn from biodiversity observation networks along the U.S. coasts and ocean waters and other BONs in ocean and freshwater habitats worldwide.
“Clarity on vulnerable subgroups more susceptible to heat-related deaths will enable policymakers to design effective intervention strategies targeted to these subgroups. Downstream, this will ensure greater climate action equity.”