A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health Singer/A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health

Eco-social and environmental justice perspectives on breast cancer : responding to capitalism's ill effects / Mary Anglin -- Human and environmental health connections through the lens of agriculture and diet / Melissa K. Melby -- Towards more-than-human health promotion : enlivening medical anthropology through environmental anthropology and anthrozoology / Melanie Rock -- Conceptualizing ecobiosocial interactions : lessons from obesity / Stanley Ulijaszek, Amy McLennan, Hannah Graff -- Environmental racism and community health / Melissa Checker -- Alternative medicine and political ecologies of the body / Joseph S. Alter -- Perception of traffic pollution and causes of childhood asthma in the Netherlands / Helen Kopnina -- Washing away ebola : environmental stress, rumor, and ethnomedical response in a deadly epidemic / Ivo Ngade, Merrill Singer, Olivia Marcus, and Jose Hasemann -- Aesthetics of nature, environmental risk, and the practice of Lyme Disease prevention in the United States / Abigail Dumes -- Ecobiopolitics in the making of Native American reservation health inequities / Merrill Singer and G. Derrick Hodge -- Water, environment, and health : now you see it, now you don't / Linda Whiteford, MaryAnn Cairns, Rebecca Zarger, Gina Larsen -- Remembering the foundations of health : everyday water insecurity and its hidden costs in Northwest Alaska / Laura Eichelberger -- Food security : health and environmental concerns in the north / Kirsten Hastrup, Anne Marie Rieffestahl and Anja Olsen;A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health presents a collection of readings that utilize a medical anthropological approach to explore the interface of humans and the environment in the shaping of health and illness around the world. Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 10 Introduction 19 PART I Theories, Methods, and Anthropological Perspectives on Key Issues in Environment and Health 37 Chapter 1 Ecosocial and Environmental Justice Perspectives on Breast Cancer: Responding to Capitalism’s Ill Effects 39 Beyond Pink Ribbon Marketing: Rethinking the Models of Breast Cancer 42 “Hot Spots”: Place, Environment, and Breast Cancer 47 Notes 51 References 53 Chapter 2 Effects of Agriculture on Environmental and Human Health: Opportunities for Anthropology 62 Introduction 62 Ecological Interfaces: Soil and Human Microbiome 66 Balance and Biodiversity: Use of Synthetic Pesticides 69 Agricultural Practices in Political Economic Perspective: Food Security 72 Sustainable Solutions 74 Conclusions and Opportunities for Anthropology 75 References 78 Chapter 3 Toward “One Health” Promotion 86 Introduction 86 Welfare, Well-being, and One Health 88 One Health Promotion and the Social Lives of Dogs 91 Concluding Remarks 95 References 96 PART II Ecobiosocial Interactions and Health 101 Chapter 4 Conceptualizing Ecobiosocial Interactions: Lessons from Obesity 103 Introduction 103 Frameworks for Conceptualizing Obesity 105 Disentangling the Environmental, Biological, and Social Factors in Each Framework 109 What Is Missing from These Ecobiosocial Frameworks? 112 Conclusion 115 Note 116 References 116 Chapter 5 Environmental Racism and Community Health 119 Environmental Siting and Health Disparities in the United States 121 Assessing Environmental Health Risks 123 The Aftermath of Uncertainty 125 BOA Constrictions 126 Storage Wars 129 “Sore Eye” 131 Conclusions 134 Notes 135 References 135 Chapter 6 Medicine, Alternative Medicine, and Political Ecologies of the Body 139 Introduction 139 A Political Ecology of the Body 141 The Nature of Culture: Ecology, Modernity, and the Body 144 Nature Cure in India 149 Conclusion: Biosocial Ecology 154 References 155 Chapter 7 Asthma and Air Pollution: Connecting the Dots 160 Introduction 160 Asthma and Air Pollution 161 Environmental Health and Social Justice 162 Patient Organizations and Asthma 163 Car Culture and Environmental Health 163 What Drives This Car Dependency? 164 Air Pollution and Transportation in the Netherlands 166 Asthma in the Netherlands 167 Health and Antitoxin Awareness Movement 167 Connecting the Dots 169 References 170 Chapter 8 Washing Away Ebola: Environmental Stress, Rumor, and Ethnomedical Response in a Deadly Epidemic 175 Introduction 175 Ebola and Rumor in Cameroon 177 Rumor in a Time of Social Media and Mobile Communication 178 Ethnomedical Responses to Stress and Danger 179 Methods 181 Results 182 Conclusion and Recommendation 186 References 187 Chapter 9 Paradise Poisoned: Nature, Environmental Risk, and the Practice of Lyme Disease Prevention in the United States 191 An American Aesthetic of Nature 192 Environmental Risk Outside In 196 The Practice of Lyme Disease Prevention 201 Conclusion 207 Notes 208 References 209 Chapter 10 Ecobiopolitics and the Making of Native American Reservation Health Inequities 211 Introduction 211 Historical Background: Health and the Reservation Environment 214 Capitalism and Toxicity 217 Resilience, Reworking, and Resistance 224 Conclusion: Anthropology and the Ecobiopolitics of Indian Reservations 227 References 228 PART III The Political Ecology of Health 235 Chapter 11 Water, Environment, and Health: The Political Ecology of Water 237 Introduction 237 Theorizing a Political Ecology of Water and Human Health 238 Case Study: Political Ecology and Piped Water in Alto Beni, Bolivia – Water Infrastructure and Management 240 Case Study: The Political Ecology of Water – The Case of Cholera 244 Case Study: The Political Ecology of Water Scarcity and Emotional Distress – “It hurts my heart because this is where I was born and raised” 247 Conclusion 251 Notes 251 References 252 Chapter 12 Remembering the Foundations of Health: Everyday Water Insecurity and Its Hidden Costs in Northwest Alaska 254 Introduction 254 Water Insecurity in Remote Alaska Native Communities 257 Everyday Water Insecurity and Hidden Costs 259 Conclusion 269 Notes 270 References 271 Chapter 13 Food Security: Health and Environmental Concerns in the North 275 Introduction 275 Local Tradition: Food Preferences and Fear 279 Social Action: Dietary Choice and Risk Handling 283 Hidden Knowledge: The Microbiology of Health 288 Concluding Remarks: Food Safety in Changing Environments 291 Acknowledgments 293 References 293 Chapter 14 New Toxics Uncertainty and the Complexity Politics of Emerging Vapor Intrusion Risk 299 Introduction 299 An Emerging Environmental Health Risk 301 Uncertainty and Complexity 304 Ethnographic Case Study: The IBM-Endicott VI Site 306 Future Global Political Ecologies of VI Risk 310 Conclusion 312 Notes 315 References 315 Further Reading 318 Chapter 15 The Political Ecology of Cause and Blame: Environmental Health Inequities in the Context of Colonialism, Globalization, and Climate Change 320 Introduction 320 Environmental Mismanagement Tropes 322 Climate Change and Food Insecurity in Upland Nepal 325 Housing, Mold Exposure, and Industrial Development in a Canadian First Nations community 330 Conclusion 337 Notes 339 References 339 Further Reading 342 Chapter 16 Political Ecology of a Drug Crop: The Intricate Effects of Khat 343 Consumption: Political Ecology of Drugs and Health 345 Production and Trade 348 Health Effects of Increased Purchasing Power for Farmers and Traders 349 Production: Use or Misuse of Resources? 351 Moving Forward with Production: Political Ecology of Silence 356 Conclusion 360 Notes 360 References 361 Chapter 17 Reestablishing the Fundamental Bases for Environmental Health: Infrastructure and the Social Topographies of Surviving Seismic Disaster 366 Introduction: Infrastructure, Social Topography, and Seismic Culture 366 Studying Seismic Disaster 372 How Social Topography and Seismic Culture Shape Emergency Response Narratives 373 In the Seismic Moment: “It all depends on where you are.” 379 Conclusion 383 Postscript: The Incendio of 2014 385 Acknowledgments 385 Notes 385 References 387 PART IV Adverse Feedback Loops in Environmental Health 391 Chaptert 18 Modifying Our Microbial Environment: From the Advent of Agriculture to the Age of Antibiotic Resistance 393 Introduction 393 The Epidemiologic Transition Theory 394 The First Epidemiologic Transition: Agriculture and the Microbiome 395 The Second Epidemiologic Transition: A Short-lived Reprieve from Infections 398 The Third Epidemiologic Transition: Chronic Diseases Meet Antibiotic‐resistant Infections 399 Conclusion 404 Acknowledgments 405 References 406 Chapter 19 China’s Cancer Villages: Contested Evidence and the Politics of Pollution 414 Introduction 414 Developing an Understanding of Cancer Villages 417 The Appearance of “Cancer Villages” as a Politico-semiotic Paradigm 417 Popular Epidemiology with Chinese Characteristics – The Struggle over Evidence 420 Shangba: Media Storms, Choosing Targets, and the Importance of Cohesive Communities 423 Dongjing: From Violent Protests to Petitioning and Lawsuits 424 Huangmengying and the Huai River Basin: Strong Civil Society and High‐level Attention 426 Conclusion 429 Acknowledgments 430 Notes 431 References 431 Chapter 20 Mining and Its Health Consequences: From Matewan to Fracking 435 Thinking Into the Future: Eco-Risks of Extractive Mining Industries 435 A Bit of Mining History: Nothing New Under the Sun ... 438 “The Importance of Time” 440 Health Consequences of Mining: A Brief Overview 442 Eco-risks of Mining: The Medical Anthropology of an Occupation 448 Notes 449 References 450 PART V Pluralea Interactions and Ecosyndemics in a Changing World 453 Chapter 21 Pluralea Interactions and the Remaking of the Environment in Environmental Health 455 Introduction: Rethinking Environment Health 455 Defining Pluralea 457 Case Study 1: Health and the Air We Breathe 458 Case Study 2: Superstorms: The Example of Hurricane Sandy 461 Case Study 3: Coral Life and Human Well-being at Risk 464 Conclusion 470 Acknowledgments 471 References 471 Chapter 22 Private Cars as Environmental Health Hazards: The Critical Need for Public Transit in the Era of Climate Change 476 Introduction 476 The Private Car as a Manifestation of Global Culture of Automobility 477 Environmental Health Hazards of Private Cars 481 Challenges and Alternatives to the Private Car 490 Conclusion 494 References 496 Chapter 23 Health and the Anthropocene: Mounting Concern about Tick-borne Disease Interactions 501 Linking Ticks, Human Health, and Anthropogenic Change 501 The Application of the Syndemics Model to TBDs 504 Ticks in Human Health 505 Syndemic Understanding of Increasing TBD Burden 518 Conclusion 524 References 525 Index 535 EULA 539 Eco-social and environmental justice perspectives on breast cancer : responding to capitalism's ill effects / Mary Anglin -- Human and environmental health connections through the lens of agriculture and diet / Melissa K. Melby -- Towards more-than-human health promotion : enlivening medical anthropology through environmental anthropology and anthrozoology / Melanie Rock -- Conceptualizing ecobiosocial interactions : lessons from obesity / Stanley Ulijaszek, Amy McLennan, Hannah Graff -- Environmental racism and community health / Melissa Checker -- Alternative medicine and political ecologies of the body / Joseph S. Alter -- Perception of traffic pollution and causes of childhood asthma in the Netherlands / Helen Kopnina -- Washing away ebola : environmental stress, rumor, and ethnomedical response in a deadly epidemic / Ivo Ngade, Merrill Singer, Olivia Marcus, and Jose Hasemann -- Aesthetics of nature, environmental risk, and the practice of Lyme Disease prevention in the United States / Abigail Dumes -- Ecobiopolitics in the making of Native American reservation health inequities / Merrill Singer and G. Derrick Hodge -- Water, environment, and health : now you see it, now you don't / Linda Whiteford, MaryAnn Cairns, Rebecca Zarger, Gina Larsen -- Remembering the foundations of health : everyday water insecurity and its hidden costs in Northwest Alaska / Laura Eichelberger -- Food security : health and environmental concerns in the north / Kirsten Hastrup, Anne Marie Rieffestahl and Anja Olsen The political ecology of vapor intrusion risk : local-global dynamics of an emerging environmental health problem / Peter C. Little -- The political ecology of cause and blame : from distal drivers to local re-engagement / Eleanor S. Stephenson and Peter H Stephenson -- Environment, food, and drugs : the intricate effects of khat / Lisa Gezon -- Reestablishing the fundamental bases for environmental health : infrastructure and the socio-topographies of surviving seismic disaster / Stephanie C. Kane -- Modifying our microbial environment : from the advent of agriculture to the age of antibiotics / Kristin Harper and George Armelagos -- China's cancer villages : contested evidence and the politics of pollution / Anna Lora-Wainwright and Ajiang Chen -- Mining and its health consequences : from matewan to fracking / Elizabeth Cartwright -- Pluralea interactions and the remaking of the environment in environmental health / Merrill Singer -- Private cars as environmental health hazards : the critical need for public transit in the era of climate change / Hans A Baer -- Health and the Anthropocene : mounting concern about tick-borne disease interactions / Nicola Bulled and Merrill Singer.

A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health presents a collection of readings that utilize a medical anthropological approach to explore the interface of humans and the environment in the shaping of health and illness around the world.

• Features the latest ethnographic research from around the world related to the multiple impacts of the environment on health and of societies on their environments
• Includes contributions from international medical anthropologists, conservationists, environmental experts, public health professionals, health clinicians, and other social scientists
• Analyzes the conditions of cultural and social transformation that accompany environmental and ecological impacts in all areas of the world
• Offers critical perspectives on theoretical and methodological advancements in the anthropology of environmental health, along with future directions in the field

An initial series of readings offers critical perspectives on the latest theoretical and methodological advancements in the field of environmental health and illness. Chapters then proceed to cover a variety of topics related to the core themes of ecobiosocial interactions and health, the political ecology of health, adverse feedback loops in environmental health, the growing number of multiple (pluralea) adverse environmental interactions, and ecosyndemics - the environmental conditions that promote deleterious interactions among diseases. Reflecting the most recent international ethnographic research, A Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health is an essential resource for those studying issues related to the complex interactions between human health and the environment in the twenty-first century. --Book Jacket Featuring contributions from noted scholars in medical anthropology, environmental and public health studies, and related fields in the social sciences, this timely volume gets to the root of such broad concerns as the reasons why humans degrade their environments, the resulting threats to health, societal distribution of environmental health problems, efforts of communities to limit these problems, and the very future of global human health