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This project was supported by Award Number RC1ES018084 from the National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences or the National Institutes of Health.
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The medical and technological advances of the past few centuries have helped improve human life on Earth, but technology has also had some unintended, harmful effects on human health and the health of other living things in our environment. This collection highlights these issues, examines how we are identifying the causes and effects of these health problems, and how public health works to improve conditions.
Learn about the risks environmental contaminants pose for a developing fetus, in this video adapted from Contaminated Without Consent.
Grades: 9-12
Learn how doctors in both the veterinary and human health fields unraveled the mystery of the deadly West Nile virus outbreak in New York City in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival.
Grades: 6-12
The key tactics of epidemiology—surveillance and response—were first used by Dr. John Snow during a cholera outbreak in 1850s London, as dramatized in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival.
Grades: 6-12
Aaron and Justin investigate which sunscreen best keeps out harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun, in this video from DragonflyTV.
Grades: 3-8
In this video from DragonflyTV, Katie and Susie investigate whether malformations in frogs in a nearby pond are being caused by ultraviolet light from the Sun, chemical pollutants, or parasites.
Grades: 5-8
Learn about a study in which participants discovered contaminants in their homes, and how green chemistry may provide alternatives to such everyday toxins, in this video adapted from Contaminated Without Consent.
Grades: 6-12
This interactive activity produced for Teachers’ Domain examines some of the career opportunities available in the environmental public health field and describes how the work of professionals in this field directly impacts human health.
Grades: 9-12
In this video segment adapted from Need to Know, learn about the controversial method of extracting natural gas known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and how residents who live near drill sites are concerned that it's polluting their water.
Grades: 9-12
In this video segment adapted from American Experience: "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring," learn how the lethal impact of the pesticide DDT on wildlife inspired biologist Rachel Carson to write Silent Spring.
Grades: 6-12
Scientists discuss whether or not endocrine disrupting chemicals, which may cause birth defects and other health concerns, should be controlled in the absence of conclusive proof, in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: "Fooling with Nature."
Grades: 6-12
Follow anthropologist Elizabeth Guillette as she studies the effects of pesticides on children in a farming community in Mexico, in this video segment adapted from Playing with Poison.
Grades: 9-12
Learn why heart disease, a largely preventable condition, is the leading cause of death in this country today, in this video adapted from The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America.
Grades: 6-12
In this lesson, students learn about epidemiology and the role epidemiologists play in responding to disease outbreaks and protecting public health.
Grades: 9-12