The Interdisciplinary Aspects of Public Health and Environmental Justice
- a workshop series -

Environmental justice (EJ) encompasses several issues ranging from housing regulations to the distribution of natural resources, many of which have been addressed by researchers in environmental health science and other disciplines. Yet, there has not been a significant interdisciplinary or philosophical discussion zeroing in on the public health dimension of complex environmental problems such as climate change as they relate to environmental justice. These groundbreaking workshops bring together scholars, researchers, and public officials aiming to find common ground for conversation with these closely related themes. Those involved will examine the public-health aspects of environmental justice and set the tone for future conversations on the subject. The scope is sharp yet the range is extensive. Some areas of focus include climate change, desertification, global poverty, sea-level rise, resource management, and globalization. A few of the questions we will ask include: what are the new challenges for public health and EJ concerning topics such as climate change, desertification, and sea-level rise? What are the most effective and ethical avenues for dealing with these new challenges? Is EJ considered a social priority for estimations of public health? How can we amend scientific and public policy to handle the problems associated with climate change? How does one ease the tensions between public priorities and ecosystem functionality? The first session was on April 28, 2012 at the University of Texas at El Paso. The University of North Texas hosts the second workshop in Denton, TX on September 15 of 2012. The final workshop takes place during December of 2012 at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL. Those wishing to participate in the Denton workshop should send inquires and abstracts of 100 – 150 words, prepared for blind review, to Shane Epting at shane.epting@unt.edu by August 1, 2012.