Health and the Environment
To be able to understand the importance of the environment for our health, we need to know a little about the interdependence between environment and humans. The interactions between plants, animals and the physical and chemical environment, as well as the ways in which humans have altered, and are altering this environment have health implications that are not always immediately obvious. Frequently, we initiate changes that are going to have their effects some time in the future , and the legacies that we leave to future generations(intergenerational).
Whilst some environmental changes have very direct health consequences, we should not forget the indirect benefits that accrue from a healthy planet. The principle that we should hand on to the next generation an environment no less rich than the one we ourselves have inherited echoes the stewardship philosophy that first emerged in Britain amongst intellectuals such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge as reflected in The Ancient Mariner. Coleridge develops the theme of the horrible consequences of wantonly killing an albatross. Through this act he brings about the death of fellow sailors. The contemporary view that humans were apart from the rest of the natural world and had the right to control and use it as they wished is prevalent today in many of the actions taken by humans.
