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. 2024 Jan 1;64(4):E493-E498.
doi: 10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2023.64.4.3156. eCollection 2023 Dec.

The health of mankind and the health of the planet in a historical-ethical perspective: an inseparable relationship and a single destiny

Mariano Martini  1 , Anna Maria Spagnolo  1 , Marina Sartini  1 , Maria Luisa Cristina  1   2 , Davide Orsini  3
Affiliations

The health of mankind and the health of the planet in a historical-ethical perspective: an inseparable relationship and a single destiny

Mariano Martini et al. J Prev Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Recent years have seen increasingly severe natural disasters, the consequences of which have been catastrophic. Clearly, our global environment is undergoing major changes. The climate is becoming deranged and pollution on a global scale afflicts air, water, and land. We are faced with an unprecedented shortage of cultivable land and fresh water for drinking, irrigation, and livestock farming, while our marine systems are breaking down. These environmental changes have a very high anthropogenic component; they are induced by human activities that are potentially dangerous for both the environment and human life. Moreover, not only do they have an enormous impact on the environments in which we live and on our way of life, they also have harmful effects on our health. Indeed, we must understand that our body - as Hippocrates explained long ago - is a system that constantly interacts with the surrounding environment.

Keywords: Environmental ethics; Global health; Increased temperatures; Waterborne pathogens; Weather Variability (RWV).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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