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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Carl Hacker, PhD, JD, Management and Policy Discipline, School of Public Health University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1200 Herman Pressler, Houston, TX 77030, 713-500-9185, Carl.S.Hacker@uth.tmc.edu
Many problems faced by public health professionals are exacerbated, if not directly caused, by disruptions in ecological processes. The convergence of declining ecological systems and the rising demand upon these systems continues to bring into question the ability of ecological prosesses to sustain the biosphere. As public health professionals work to aid communities and populations adopt the kinds of behavior that promote health, they should also work to support sustainable ecological processes that assure a sustained biosphere. It is important that we work towards understanding ecological processes and towards assuring human needs are met in ways that are a part of these processes. Most human activities are a progression of steps that lead to an outcome. Some activities are seemingly simple systems, such as preparing a cup of coffee, while others, such as constructing a building, are involved and complex. In both examples, though, choices can be made that will have differing effects on ecological processes. This presentation introduces and aid for discovering how to make these choices. This heuristic, formulated by Karl Henrick-Robert, is based on a few simple, scientific laws and three principles of natural systems. These laws and principles lead to four questions to be asked about the nature of the changes that will occur in ecological or social processes as we choose one course over another to reach the outcome we seek. The derivation of these questions are explained and their application described.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.