What is Environmental Risk Analysis

This is part two of two overview chapters of the most important contemporary environmental health challenges. This second chapter discusses environmental health as a socio-political and ethical issue. It argues that effectively moving towards healthier and sustainable societies requires not only sound scientific knowledge but also policies, medical practices, healthcare systems, and health-related attitudes and behaviors that are informed by a deep socio-political understanding and that reflect a new integrated approach to environment and health. The need for contemporary technological societies to develop mechanisms like education, environmental and health governance, and public accountability for environmental health equity and justice is highlighted. The chapter concludes by proposing a multidimensional framework, based on both natural and social sciences, for the transition to healthy and sustainable societies and for improving the welfare of all people, as well as future research directions for environmental health sciences.